Mone Chiba: “The real season begins now. True strength is being able to deliver under pressure. That’s what I’ll focus on as I move forward.”
Mone Chiba won her first Challenger Series title at the Kinoshita Cup with a personal best score of 216.59 points, delivering an emotional performance to Romeo and Juliet and gaining momentum for the upcoming Olympic season.
original source: Nikkansports, September 6th, 2025 / Hochi News
Mone Chiba, last season’s World Championship bronze medalist, claimed victory after leading the short program (SP) and scoring 143.48 points in the free skate. With a total score of 216.59, she set a new personal best and celebrated her first Challenger Series win, building momentum as the Olympic season intensifies. Here’s a translation of her comments posted on Nikkansports and Hochi News.
Chiba skated an emotionally charged program to Romeo and Juliet. She nailed her opening triple flip-triple toe loop combination and the following triple loop but had a shaky landing on the triple salchow. “I’m disappointed about the salchow. This performance wasn’t perfect by any means, so I want to reflect on the points I can improve and aim even higher,” she said. Reflecting on her performance, she said, “I carefully executed the step sequence and was able to express emotions through my skating.”
Despite the victory, Chiba remained self-critical. “I still have a long way to go,” she remarked. Regarding her under-rotated triple salchow, she commented, “The jump was too tight – it’s important to execute it the way I always do in practice.”
Chiba noted, “There are parts I can confidently take pride in and parts where I feel there’s still a long way to go. I won’t be satisfied with this result – I want to keep building steadily, one step at a time.” Looking ahead, she added, “The real season begins now. True strength is being able to deliver under pressure. That’s what I’ll focus on as I move forward.”
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