Mone Chiba: “If I let myself be dragged down by disappointing results, the GP Final won’t have meant anything. For my own future, I have to turn frustration and results into motivation.”
Mone Chiba placed fourth in the women’s short program at the Japanese Nationals.
original source: news.yahoo.co.jp dd. 19th December 2025
On the first day of the Japanese Nationals, which also serve as the final selection event for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics, the women’s short program (SP) was held. Mone Chiba started in fourth place with a score of 74.60. Here’s a translation of her comments.
After completing the official practice the day before, Chiba reflected, “I have no choice but to give it my all.” This season, she won two consecutive Grand Prix Series events, but faltered in the free skate at the GP Final, finishing fifth. She has been working on corrections and added, “I want to focus on my own skating and go all out with single-minded determination.”
“Of course, I was scared before my performance,” she said, reflecting on her performance in the short program, but she landed her opening triple flip–triple toe loop combination and the double axel. Although her triple lutz was called for an incorrect edge takeoff, she finished without major mistakes and said with relief, “I was able to get over the first hurdle.”
Before her performance, her coach, Mie Hamada, gently tapped her on the face for encouragement. “I approached it with the mindset of allowing myself to skate freely. I focused on communicating with coach Hamada, and that switched me on and let me skate with a smile,” Chiba said, noting the positive effect.
The fate of the Olympic spots will be decided after the free skate on the December 21st. “If I let myself be dragged down by disappointing results, the GP Final won’t have meant anything. For my own future, I have to turn frustration and results into motivation and connect them to success,” Chiba told.
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