"It feels unbelievable," said the new champion, who was emotional upon receiving the gold medal. "It's great that I finally became Cinderella on the ice. I know this is the venue for the next Olympics, and I was thinking about it a lot. My goal here was to skate clean both in the short and free and finish my programs with a smile.
"I always watch the national flag rise and hear the national anthem in figure skating competitions on TV, but today, this happens because I won," she continued. "It feels great and unbelievable to experience this in the venue that's going to host the Olympics."
Mihara was an up and coming junior skater last season who made it to the Junior Final in December 2015. However, following this event, she was diagnosed with arthritis.
"A year ago, at this time I couldn’t even stand up and walk, and to be able to compete at the Four Continents and to be selected for the World team is something just incredible," the 16-year-old said following her clean short program that put her into fourth place.
She overcame the painful illness and came back stronger than ever, giving solid performances throughout the season. The "Cinderella" free was no exception. Once more, the petite Japanese put out a flawless program with seven triples to score 134.34 points and 200.85 points overall. And so, her fairy tale story became true: Like "Cinderella," she rose from the ashes to triumph.
"I find it hard to believe that I won," said Mihara. "It’s great that I finally became the Cinderella on the ice. My goal here was to skate clean both in the short and free and finish my programs with a smile. I’m glad I was able to achieve that."
"I didn’t pick the music myself, but when I decided to return to the ice, I wanted something with a happy ending and I told my coach that," she explained. "The reason I was able to come back so strong from the illness is the support from many people that were surrounding me, and also due to my will of wanting to be on the ice and skate again. I could not have done it alone. I want to thank all the people who helped me to get here."