Marin Honda: “Being able to enjoy skating and practice, that’s the best state for an athlete, and I think it was a huge thing for Shoma Uno to have found that for himself.”
Translation of Marin Honda’s comments about Shoma Uno made on the eve of 2024 World Championships.
original source: sportiva.shueisha.co.jp dd. 18th March by Komiya Yoshiyuki
Marin Honda, who retired from professional figure skating this January, has been appointed as the “Field Caster” for Fuji TV’s Figure Skating SP. She will be responsible for reporting and live broadcasting the World Championships starting on March 18th in Montreal, Canada. Here’s a translation of her comments about Shoma Uno posted on Sportiva.
“Q: Shoma Uno, who is aiming for his third consecutive win this time, also faced some downturns due to injuries and other factors at the time when he changed coaches, but by overcoming adversity, he has the personality of a champion who smiles at the rink.
Marin Honda: I think that if you fundamentally enjoy it, it will affect both the results and the content of the performance, because figure skating is an expressive sport. Being able to enjoy skating and practice, that’s the best state for an athlete, and I think it was a huge thing for Uno to have found that for himself.
He’s one of the skaters I hope could skate joyfully for a long time. Like Kaori Sakamoto, I think it’s unimaginably difficult to aim for victory while being in a situation where a three-peat is expected, but I hope he does his best.
Q: It seems that Uno has a strong belief that if he confronts himself and overcomes that, it will definitely lead to results.
Marin Honda: I have never seen another skater who does not get nervous in competitions more than Uno does. Of course, I mean that in a good way. I feel he has a lot more passion for skating than most people when it comes to skating, but once he enters the competition venue, I don’t feel that at all. I think he reaches a state where he doesn’t want anything more, saying ‘I’ve come this far, so everything will be fine no matter what happens next.’ I feel that this, together with his past experience and accomplishments, is his strength.
I think it’s incredible that he has experienced many competitions in the past against great skaters, and now that he is in a position where he is being chased, he is able to bring himself to a mental state where he can have confidence. But often, even when things aren’t going well in practice, he does well in competition. He himself often says ‘I wonder how I was able to do it?’
Normally, if you can’t do it in practice, you get anxious and want to jump it in the competition, and that is why you feel nervous and anxious. But Uno’s thinking is that he is not frustrated if he can’t do it in practice. I think this mentality is something he has learned from competing in various events as an athlete for many years.
Q: Uno has been selecting slow music in recent years, continuing to take on difficult challenges and perfecting his artistry levels.
Marin Honda: I think in a short program which is 2 minutes and 50 seconds, even when they are given difficult music, the first impression for the athlete is that they can somehow manage. But in Freeskate which is 4 minutes, it is difficult to fully express songs that are slow and have very little sound like this season’s “Time lapse/Spiegel im Spiegel,” and it takes time to understand the sound.
Understanding the music, not missing each sound, and having many quad jumps in it is the completed form. This season, Uno’s goal is to avoid being all about jumps, but my first impression is, ‘He’s doing something difficult…’ There must be many more songs that are easier to skate to and to jump to. But I think it’s also part of coach Stephane’s strategy, and when I watch a beautifully completed freeskate, I feel there’s a reason why he chose that music.”
Related topics: Marin Honda, Shoma Uno
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