Episode 4 · Medalist

Medalist

Tsukasa spent his teens chasing a solo skating career that had already left without him. In Japan, champions start at five. He started in middle school. Too late for singles, he settled for ice dance, which was never the dream. At twenty-six he's bouncing between part-time jobs, and then he takes a coaching gig he doesn't believe in. Before his first day, he catches a fifth grader sneaking onto the rink. Inori is quiet, clumsy, no friends, and her family won't back her skating. Then she steps on the ice and turns into someone else entirely. He sees it happen. He knows that look, because he used to have it. He offers to coach her. Her mother is a wall, the rink is full of kids who started years ago, and Inori doubts herself every step. Tsukasa promises he'll take her all the way to victory. Can a washed-up dancer and a girl nobody believes in really reach the Olympics?