“Coach told me “God was on your side today, Hana,” and I myself accepted it as a victory won by luck. I can do more.” Hana Yoshida on winning Finlandia Trophy 2024.
Hana Yoshida on winning Finlandia Trophy 2024.
original source: Nikkansports dd. 16th November by Honoka Takemoto / Nikkansports / Nikkansports
Hana Yoshida (19) commented on winning Finlandia Trophy Grand Prix. Here’s a translation of his comments posted on Nikkansports.
“It was a very short period, but I think I did everything I could. The biggest change was in the composition of the free program. I swapped the last lutz and a sequence with triple salchow. I practiced that part quite intensively,” Yoshida shared how she has spent the past two or three weeks after her previous competition. “The last lutz had some mistakes in the competitions. I’ve been trying various things, but I failed again in my last competition in Canada, so I decided to change it so I would have no regrets. There might be some risk, but I feel it’s moving well within me.”
Hana Yoshida scored 131.59 points in the free program, and a total score 199.46 points. She edged out Rino Matsuo, who scored 199.20 points in total, by a margin of 0.26 points.
“It was significant to win such a close battle, but it’s still frustrating.” She received a message from her coach Hamada saying, “God was on your side today, Hana,” and she herself accepted it as a “victory won by luck.” “I can do more,” she stated with determination.
“I’m really happy to win the gold medal, but I wish I had landed the triple Axel better. Nevertheless, I’m pleased because I didn’t give up until the last moment. I wanted to enjoy the competition and the atmosphere, and it was really fun, and I think I managed to give a strong, expansive performance. Thank you to all the spectators,” Hana told.
She will challenge the Grand Prix Final again in three weeks, where she won a bronze medal last year. “I feel regret after both competitions. I want to finish feeling like I’ve given it my all and make it a lead-up to the Japanese Nationals. I also think I can delve deeper into the story, so I want to train my emotions more,” she pledged.
Now aiming for the 2026 Milan Olympics, with a growing confidence to compete internationally, her focus this season is on improving expressiveness. Initially rooted in expressing emotions genuinely as they come, now she is exploring themes like “finding a place or breaking out of my shell.” Together with her coach, they are working to give the program more depth and make it memorable.
Related topics: Finlandia Trophy, grand prix, Hana Yoshida
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