Yuma Kagiyama: “I think Malinin will raise his level in various areas next season, so I have to make a tremendous effort to catch up even a little.”
Yuma Kagiyama about past season and competing with Ilia Malinin.
original source: Nikkansports / Hochi News
On the April 24th, the Japan Skating Federation held a ceremony to celebrate the 2023-24 season in Tokyo, with Yuma Kagiyama in men’s figure skating being awarded the Outstanding Player Award. Here’s a translation of his comments made in his speach posted on Nikkansports and Hochi News.
Reflecting on his comeback season after recovering from a left ankle injury, Kagiyama said, “I think I was able to have a season with no regrets. In terms of planning (my comeback), I think I did a good job.” He rated the season “80 points” and was proud to say, “I did everything I could.”
After the World Championships where he won silver but finished about 24 points behind Ilia Malinin, Kagiyama stated that he was constantly thinking about how to win by “looking at the scores in detail and combining elements to see how to catch up even a little,” together with his coaches Masakazu Kagiyama, Carolina Kostner and choreographer Lori Nichol. “I think Malinin will raise his level in various areas next season, so I have to make a tremendous effort,” he said, expressing his determination.
“First of all, I’ve decided to increase by one in the number of quad jumps,” Kagiyama said. He revealed that he considers learning the quad lutz for the future, saying, “I have the confidence to bring it up to the same accuracy as the (quad) flip.” Next season will be the pre-season towards the 2026 Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo Olympics. “Not only Malinin, but there are also many strong skaters in Japan. Quads are important, but as it is figure skating, performance skills are of course also important. I want to strive to be an all-rounder skater,” said Kagiyama.
Related topics: Ilia Malinin, Yuma Kagiyama
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