Medalist (メダリスト)

Now, the final jump.

A triple Lutz and a triple loop.

He's landed it!

An absolutely clean performance from Shinichiro Sonidori!

What incredible mental strength at a grand setting like the Olympics!

That's how I first encountered skating.

I'm Yuna Yagi. I'm four years old!

Four?

You're still the same age as Rioh, aren't you?

So cute!

I got to meet my idol.

On top of that, he took me on as his very first student

and taught me to skate.

I was overwhelmingly happy about that.

You skate very beautifully.

I was so happy to have him as a coach that I just had to be the best.

Since I had that goal in mind,

no amount of training ever felt like too much.

Because my coach was always watching me.

She can already jump!

She learned that just by watching someone else do it. An incredible talent.

I practiced difficult jumps,

and memorized difficult choreography.

As the very first student taken on by that Shinichiro Sonidori,

I had become Meikoh's number two athlete following Riina.

Huh?

Shortly after that, Hikaru mastered all five types of triple jumps.

THE QUEEN'S LEAP

Oh, here she is.

- It's Inori! - Oh!

She's much faster than all the other skaters.

Could it be that these two have the same idol as me?

What is it?

Nothing.

Warm-up time is over.

All skaters, please go back to rinkside.

Oh.

Good job, Yotsuha.

Yuna!

I was so, so bad.

That's not true.

There were lots of beautiful moments in your performance.

It was amazing.

Yuna.

What is it?

It's as if destiny sent this championship along today

to give you a chance at becoming a gold medalist.

Sometimes I think that you're training harder than Hikaru.

That's why…

Thank you, Yotsuha.

But I don't think skating is the kind of thing

where whoever works the hardest comes out on top.

We've seen that play out a thousand times.

Yeah.

Okay, I'm going to go and prepare myself mentally.

Good luck.

Impressive. Just what you'd expect from the Meikoh Wind number three athlete,

coming up behind Riina and Hikaru.

I'm going 14th, which means I'm going second-to-last.

I've got a bit of a wait.

I'm impressed by how hard you're working, Yuna.

Hmm?

It's all thanks to you, Coach Shinichiro, for cheering me on.

What? Shinichiro?

Please look after Rioh.

Rioh's dad?

Yuna, you're a bit of a worrier, aren't you?

Yes, I am! My head is full of anxiety and worries.

You've practiced so hard.

You'll be fine as long as you don't panic.

You really think so?

I have total faith in you, Yuna.

I'll do my best. I love you, Coach Shinichiro!

Okay! Let's do this!

Are you okay?

Did you… hear… me?

I love you, Coach Shinichiro!

KID FROM MEIKOH RIOH'S DAD COACH SHINICHIRO

I love, love, love you!

Hmm?

Don't you dare tell anyone.

How can she tell that I'm lying?

You were at the opening ceremony.

The nerves are messing up my stomach.

Did you eat too many bananas?

I'll get you some medicine.

Thank you.

But it's the coach's job to stay composed at times like these.

- I gotta get it together. - Coach Akeuraji.

I'm sorry I didn't get to say hello properly earlier.

I hope today goes well.

No, it's okay.

TOO CLOSE

I don't think he gets what personal space is!

- And also… - Yes?

I wanted to thank you for looking after Rioh two months ago.

- I'm truly... - You've already thanked me for that

100 times!

- No, I haven't thanked you enough! - You've thanked me enough!

Hello, Yuna.

Why are you bothering Coach Shinichiro?

Leave him alone.

He was the one bothering me, actually.

Allow me to introduce Yuna Yagi.

She's the first skater I ever trained.

Pleased to meet you.

You're his first student.

Nice to bump into you.

This is Inori Yuitsuka, the skater I'm coaching.

Pleased to meet you.

You'd better forget it quickly.

How can she read my mind?

I thought the first skater you trained was Rioh.

I planned to start training him when he reached six years old.

In the end, after Yuna started so young, he started early too.

Coach Akeuraji!

Ah, speak of the devil.

Hello.

Having no regard for personal space must run in the family.

Get away from him!

Good luck today, Coach Akeuraji!

Thank you.

I'm not even the one skating.

- Good luck to you too, Yuna. - Thanks.

You can go do as you please.

I'm gonna work harder than you can even imagine!

I made a promise to Riina at the opening ceremony earlier.

I'm going to take the gold medal at this championship!

- Inori. - Huh?

Let's each put on our best performance to win this.

Aim for gold.

Mmm.

You probably don't know this,

but before Hikaru came on the scene, Yuna was Meikoh's number two skater.

Setsuna Ashikaga's score, 67.40.

She currently ranks in seventh place.

Well, well, well, well. There are still three skaters to go.

But for the moment, Manaka is in first place.

Could it be possible for her to win?

But no, next up is Shinichiro's skater.

He is the man who, even after everyone in his generation retired,

continued to pursue an Olympic medal with unstoppable devotion.

He won't just hand over the prize like that.

As I expected, because Rinna opened with a strong Lutz,

the other skaters have chosen challenging choreographies.

And since Setsuna Ashikaga, last year's champion,

fumbled her performance,

there's less competition when it comes to technicality.

The one I'm worried about is Coach Akeuraji's skater, Inori Yuitsuka.

Her progression has been super fast, so her past scores are outdated.

However, the most important thing is that we pull off our own routine perfectly.