Mone Chiba: “In two weeks before the Final I will be taking care of my health and building more stamina, strengthening my heart and making health my number one priority.”
Mone Chiba on winning silver at the Cup of China 2024.
original source: Nikkansports dd. 24th November 2024 by Kengo Abe
Mone Chiba (19) commented on winning silver at the Cup of China 2024 and qualifying to the Grand Prix Final. Here’s a translation of her comments posted on Nikkansports.
“Yes, I received an edge call, but I was able to fully rotate all seven jumps. I think that’s a significant improvement. Even during the performance, as I jumped one by one, I thought I might have cooled down a bit before performing, but I was able to focus and push off firmly with each jump. I believe that avoiding under-rotation counts as another success. I changed the choreography of the step sequence, so I was happy to maintain the level because I thought, ‘I must perform this well here,’ but then I fell because I got too excited. I ended up falling on my bottom (laughs). After that, I calmed down and drew a back inside loop, which I believe connected to achieving level 4.” Mone reflected on her performance in the free skate.
When asked about setting maintaining “calmness” as a personal challenge and how would she rate yourself today, Mone answered: “Today, well, since I’ve been here, I’ve felt good about my jumps, and I think in the first interview I was worried about ‘blowing it in the actual performance,’ but I was able to jump well in the actual performance, so I’m really relieved (laughs). It went smoothly.”
“Honestly, I enjoyed skating more today than during my fifth skate at the NHK Cup,” she admitted, spaking bout ability to compete under pressure. “I was definitely nervous, but I smiled more naturally than at the NHK Cup, so maybe I find the atmosphere in China conducive to skating. The encouragement from the people in China was very warm, which made me happy.”
Speaking about getting for the Grand Prix Final for the first time in her career Mone Chiba said: “Yes, I still feel the frustration of falling in the step sequence, and I haven’t fully grasped the joy of making it to the Final yet, but being able to compete well among the strong contenders at this Chinese competition has given me great confidence to move forward. Two weeks later, it’s… Grenoble. It’s a competition in France, and last year’s regretful memories still linger, so I want to make better memories in France in two weeks’ time by taking care of my health and building more stamina, and like Amber, working on the strength of my heart, literally strengthening my heart muscle (laughs). I’m looking forward to heading to Grenoble.”
“It was one of my goals for this season. Achieving this significant milestone will definitely contribute to my confidence moving forward,” she told about Final. “If I can concentrate during this short period and maintain and boost my condition, I aim to return to training in a healthy state, making health my number one priority, and stay healthy.”
Related topics: Cup of China, Mone Chiba
Leave a Reply