Medalist

both are about someone who got a late start in their respective sports, but have the passion and talent to make up for it. both are heartfelt, inspiring, thrilling to watch, and have amazing characters.  

Both shows are about a veteran athlete who has been pushed out of their sport discovering a young girl talent in the same sport and choose to mentor her. Further, both shows heavily feature the characters dealing with their personal struggles outside their given sports and what they have to do to live the way they truly want to. 

If you're looking for a sports anime very similar in format to Medalist. I believe this one is incredibly similar in feel. It's all about improving and challenging competitions. So if you liked Medalist. I can almost guarantee this would also be your cup of tea :)  

The protagonist starts developing their natural talent for the sport they love, slowly learning and evolving their skills with the goal of becoming the best in the world. Both animes contain a high amount of drama related to their respective sport 

Both anime have an older main character who wants to achieve his dream. They focus on motivation, perseverance, and the pursuit of becoming the best version of oneself despite the harsh reality. 

The two series have the same scriptwriter (Jukki Hanada of Euphonium, YoriMoii and Stein's Gate fame). Both series use a mixture of constantly alternating drama and comedy. Both titles are super popular in Japan but less known in the West. Both use 3D-CGI for animation (Medalist extensively, Girls Band Cry almost exclusively). Both series use motion-capturing as input for the CGI process, Medalist for the skating perfomances, GBC during the rock concert scenes. Both have great OP / ED and OST music. 

Both series have female leads striving to be the best in a sport that they are previously inexperienced in and making incredible progress in a short amount of time compared to the other characters that have spent years learning said sport. 

This anime also explores themes of overcoming oneself in situations where those around you are more talented in a certain area. 

If one of these anime stole your heart, you need to experience the other. Kaleido Star and The Medalist are twin flames - both tell visceral, uplifting stories about ordinary people chasing extraordinary dreams. Sora's circus ambitions and Inori's skating dreams unfold through bloody knees, crushing self-doubt, and moments of pure artistic transcendence. What makes them special isn't just the breathtaking performances (though the animation delivers chills every time), but how they honor the gritty reality behind the glory. The late-night practices, the mentors who see your potential before you do, the way triumph tastes sweeter because you earned it through tears. Different stages (circus tent vs ice rink), same soul. If you loved one, the other is waiting to give you that same heart-pounding, tearful, victorious feeling all over again. Some dreams are worth falling for. read more