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The 15-year-old wunderkind lived up to the expectations by holding off the Republic of Korea's Shin Jia and countrywoman and friend Takagi Yo to top the podium.

Korea

Find out how the 15-year-old wunderkind meets the expectations by holding off the Republic of Korea's Shin Jia and countrywoman and friend Takagi Yo to top the podium.

Gangwon 2024: Japan's Shimada Mao strikes women's figure skating gold

She did it.

Amid huge expectations and a hyped friendly rivalry with the host country’s **Shin Jia**, **Shimada Mao** came through to win the women’s figure skating gold medal at the **<a href="https://olympics.com/en/gangwon-2024/" target="_blank">Winter Youth Olympic Games (YOG) Gangwon 2024</a>** on Tuesday (30 January).

Shimada fell on her quadruple toeloop but still posted the day’s best free skate score with a 125.94 for a 196.99 total.

The 15-year-old Shimada managed to hold off Shin, who finished with a 191.83. Taking bronze was her Japanese compatriot, Takagi Yo, who tallied a 183.20.

Shimada said the crowd and pressure were far more intense than she expected, and was relieved to have realised a dream.

“I knew it was going to be loud here but I was still really nervous,” she said. “Jia skated so well before me and the crowd was so much more intense than what I imagined.

“This was my goal all long and while I didn’t openly say it here, I was out to win a gold medal. It makes me so happy that I did it, and I’m glad to see my friend Yo on the podium with me.”

While her performance Tuesday was not totally flawless, Shimada was at least in smiles as opposed to being covered in tears - not to mention a gold medal slung around her neck.

"This season was so frustrating for me but every time something didn’t go right, I worked harder and I think that’s the reason why I managed to perform under this kind of pressure," she said.

*   <a href="https://olympics.com/en/news/gangwon-2024-figure-skating-womens-short-program-results" target="_blank">Gangwon 2024: Shimada Mao tops women's short program with untouchable skate</a>
*   <a href="https://olympics.com/en/news/gangwon-2024-figure-skating-results" target="_blank">Figure skating at Gangwon 2024: All results and scores - complete results</a>
*   <a href="https://olympics.com/en/news/gangwon-2024-watch-womens-figure-skating-competition-live" target="_blank">Gangwon 2024: How to watch women's figure skating live from Winter Youth Olympic Games</a>
*   <a href="https://olympics.com/en/news/gangwon-2024-figure-skating-preview" target="_blank">Figure skating at Gangwon 2024: Preview, full schedule and how to watch YOG live</a>
*   <a href="https://olympics.com/en/news/gangwon-2024-shimada-mao-interview" target="_blank">Gangwon 2024: Shimada Mao showing she's more than a famous figure skating name - a lot more</a>

## Shin Jia on winning medal in front of home fans: 'I was too nervous'

“I was too nervous today. It was fortunate that I didn’t make any big mistakes until the end," said home favourite Jia, who posted the second-best score in the free skate.

"I feel really happy to get a medal in front of the home crowd."

She then added: “Because I was so nervous, while I was skating, I couldn’t skate smoothly or fast. If I had one more chance, I wish I could do better in that area.”

The 15-year-old figure skating star is aiming to add Youth Olympic gold to her haul of Junior World and Junior Grand Prix final titles. Named after another famous Japanese skater, the Tokyo-born prodigy spoke exclusively to Olympics.com ahead of Gangwon 2024, about her targets, inspirations, and enjoying the process.

Gangwon 2024 | Winter Youth Olympic Games

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Shimada Mao on Gangwon 2024: I have to be aggressive and go for it

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Shimada Mao won gold in the women's figure skating event at Gangwon 2024.

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Gangwon 2024: Japan's Shimada Mao strikes women's figure skating gold

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