Shoma Uno: “It was one of the most disastrous performances in my long competitive career… And that was my senior debut. I never imagined I would be able to achieve such great results for such a long time.”
Big interview with Shoma Uno about his career.
original source: news.yahoo.co.jp dd. 7th October 2024 by Keiji Miyamoto, Text: J SPORTS Editorial Department
In the big interview for “Figure Skater’s Oasis: KENJI’s Room” hosted by former ice dancer and world-renowned choreographer Kenji Miyamoto, Shoma Uno talks about his career. The interview is quite big so it’ll be divided for several parts. Here’s a translation of part 1 where Shoma talks about his debut and nine seasons since then.
Q: It’s been three to four months since your retirement announcement. How do you feel now?
Shoma Uno: Usually, the off-season would be for shows, and the season would be for competitions. I think I’ll really start to feel (my retirement) soon. However, when I hear current competitors talk about having practice the next day after rehearsals or shows, I sometimes think, ‘Being an active competitor is tough.’
Q: I see, I see. Today, I want to hear various stories, but this is your second time on “KENJI’s Room,” isn’t it? You first appeared here when you were 17, nine years ago. Do you remember?
Shoma Uno: Yes, this is my second appearance. I remember that we did yo-yo tricks the first time. We did, right?
Q: We did, we did. You remember well. We have a video from that time, let’s watch it together. You were so young! How do you feel seeing your first appearance again?
Shoma Uno: Oh… I was speaking at what feels like one and a half times slower pace, and my voice was so quiet (bitter laugh). It feels like it took me several seconds to say just one phrase.
Q: Definitely, your voice was quiet (laughs). But it was cute, and I couldn’t stop smiling while watching. However, the content of what you were saying was very solid.
Shoma Uno: As I was watching, I kept thinking, ‘speak faster’. It really shows how people grow as they get older (laughs).
Q: At your retirement press conference, you also commented that you never thought you’d be able to speak in front of people.
Shoma Uno: I think that time was really the true me. But having the opportunity to appear like this and as time passed, even someone like me can become capable of speaking this much. It’s all about experience.
Q: You speak very well now, but was there a particular reason you became able to speak like this?
Shoma Uno: It was gradual. At the time of my first appearance, I felt I had to talk about certain things, like wanting to win a gold medal at the Olympics. It was something I had predetermined internally that I needed to discuss. But once I realized I could speak freely, I became able to enjoy the moment and speak using my own words. Lately, I’ve been told I talk too much.
Q: Shoma-kun, you’ve grown in such a way and have achieved wonderful results as a skater. Did you ever think you would achieve this much?
Shoma Uno: Not at all. I never imagined I would achieve such great results. I never practiced feeling that my skating career would end without achieving anything, but still, I ended up achieving good results for a longer period than I had imagined.
Q: Let’s now reflect on the kind of skating career Shoma-kun has had since transitioning to senior level. Remember the 2015-16 season, after your appearance on “KENJI’s Room” and your move to seniors?
Shoma Uno: I remember. For me, that first senior year was very intense. Especially the first senior competition. I made three mistakes in the short program (bitter laugh). I popped a quadruple toe loop and a triple axel. I put both hands down going from a flip into a triple toe, but I repeated the first triple toe and got a step-out. It was one of the most disastrous performances in my long competitive career… And that was my senior debut. I think I finished ninth… I almost forget the placement, that’s how it went. But from there, I refocused for the next competition. Somehow, I achieved good results and made it to the Grand Prix Final. However, at the World Championships, I was too tense and couldn’t show my best. Later, at a team competition in the US, I successfully landed my first quadruple flip.
Q: The first quadruple flip in history, recognized by Guinness. (You jumped it) in 2016.
Shoma Uno: That’s right. Actually, to receive a Guinness record, you have to apply and then perform the task successfully while a Guinness official watches. I didn’t know that at the time. I thought I’d automatically get it since I had succeeded. So, it was good that I succeeded again at the Japan Open afterward, but if I had failed at that moment… I wouldn’t have received the Guinness recognition.
Q: I see. So, there’s a rule with Guinness that ‘they have to see it with their own eyes.’ I didn’t know that.
Next, let’s talk about the 2016-17 season. You made it to the podium in every competition you entered. You won Nationals, third at the Four Continents Championships, and second at the World Championships. That’s impressive, right?
Shoma Uno: At that time, I was constantly competing against Yuzuru (Hanyu), and it was often the case that Yuzuru would win and I would be second. However, looking back at the entire season, I think it was really good. The World Championships at the end of the previous season left me with some regrets, but that frustration led to good growth, and this season ended with a second place. Moreover, I was able to win Nationals, which I think was a very desirable outcome for me.
Q: It sounds like you were consistent and managed to switch your mental state effectively.
Shoma Uno: Yes, I think so. But I also think that I was still young back then. I feel like there were times when I was good and times when I wasn’t.
Q: I see. The following season was crucial. You won a silver medal at the Pyeongchang Olympics. Was your first Olympics very different from other competitions?
Shoma Uno: I was the last to skate. Watching everyone’s scores, I vaguely knew that if I could achieve a personal best, I could win. However, after falling on my first jump, I thought ‘it’s impossible now.’ But from there, I was able to perform just as I had practiced. It turned out to be a highly desirable result for me. Regarding the Olympics, I always said in interviews that ‘not just the Olympics, but every competition is special to me. The Olympics is just one of them.’ But, indeed, the Olympics felt significant and amazing. After this Olympics, I became very well-known, and I even got messages from friends asking, ‘who?’ (laughs).
Q: Like kids you used to play with in elementary school, right? (laughs) But if they watch this program, they might think, ‘Is he talking about me? Maybe I should refrain from emailing casually.’ Now, let’s move on to the next season, 2018-19. You won the Four Continents Championships, achieving a long-coveted title. But you were dealing with injuries this season, weren’t you?
Shoma Uno: I’m not sure… I don’t really remember the Grand Prix series much, but I was experimenting with different things, including changing my boot manufacturer. Regarding injuries, I think I had a significant injury during the Japanese Nationals. I had been injured a few times around Nationals before, significant injuries. The period from the Grand Prix Final to Nationals is short, and with the back-to-back Grand Prix events, there’s always an increased risk of developing some issues or injuries around the Japanese Nationals. Throughout the year, it was rare to perform my best at the Four Continents or World Championships, but this season at the Four Continents, I left with good results. That was great.
Q: And you left the Grand Prix Tokai after the 2018-19 season ended.
Shoma Uno: Personally, I didn’t want to leave. However, the graduation also carried with it hopes that I would soar even higher. At first, since I had not decided what to do next, I was a bit lost. At the same time, I had often decided on my practice routines and other things myself, even while being supported by my coaches, so I thought maybe I could manage on my own. So, I went into the 2019-20 season that way.
Q: It was a season you entered without a coach, but you achieved your fourth consecutive victory at Nationals.
Shoma Uno: At the beginning of the season, I was without a coach. I had a rough time at the Grand Prix event in France. The practice sessions weren’t going well at all. That’s when I asked coach Stephane Lambiel if I could join him midway through the season, and that’s how I started working with him.
Q: Were you a bit anxious when entering the season?
Shoma Uno: Yes, I was anxious, but I practiced hard, especially because I was without a coach. I believed that if I couldn’t do it, it would all come down to my own planning and preparation not being good enough. So, I practiced more than usual, but things just wouldn’t go well. No matter how much I practiced, it just kept getting worse. People around me were saying, ‘It’s okay to take a break or even quit.’ Amidst that, I had a desire to skate joyfully, which led me to go to Stephane.
Q: Stephane is a fun person, but how was it actually going there?
Shoma Uno: I skated joyfully and freely for about a year. Coach Stephane is always fooling around (laughs).
Q: He’s playful, huh? But isn’t he scary when he gets angry? He basically doesn’t get angry, but I often get scolded. He’d shout “KENJI!” (bitter laugh). With the season affected by COVID-19, the World Championships were canceled. How did you feel at that time?
Shoma Uno: Initially, I didn’t really perceive it. But gradually, the usual competitions began to disappear. There were no ice shows either… It’s hard to put into words, but suddenly, it felt like there was a hole in my heart. I had lived only for skating.
Q: Not having a place to showcase what you’ve been practicing must have been confusing.
Shoma Uno: Exactly. That’s how it felt. There was a lot of practice, and I think there was tension and stress wondering whether it would go well in the competitions or not. But those feelings existed because there were competitions. This season made me acutely aware of the importance of competitions among other things.
Q: I remember at that time, I was traveling to local competitions, telling athletes at various places, “A lot of people are cooperating to make this happen. Dividing the changing rooms, arranging the pathways. Many people are working hard; we should be thankful that we can even have competitions.”
Shoma Uno: That’s really true. I realized just how much effort goes into organizing a single competition.
Q: In the midst of all that, in August 2020, Shoma Uno launched the Shoma Uno Upload Channel. Are you on YouTube too?
Shoma Uno: Yes, there were no competitions and no shows, so there really wasn’t any opportunity to be seen. That’s why I started it. The content is quite laid-back; sometimes I talk about skating, sometimes I analyze my own skating videos. Sometimes I chat with guests, and sometimes we talk about things completely unrelated to skating. But the frequency of updates has been a bit sporadic… I’ve been taking it easy.
Q: I see. Nevertheless, during that season, amidst cancellations of competitions due to the pandemic, the Japanese Nationals were held after a long while. Do you have any memories from participating in them?
Shoma Uno: I was incredibly nervous. That Japanese Nationals was my first competition of the season. The World Championships had been canceled, and I hadn’t participated in any competitions up until the Nationals, so I was really tense for the short program. Even though there was no audience, I was able to perform very well. I truly felt the value of having competitions.
Q: And in the following season’s World Championships, you placed fourth.
Shoma Uno: I didn’t make it onto the podium, but considering my condition before the competition, I performed well. Following that World Championships, I got really fired up as a competitor… I was at the same competition as Yuma Kagiyama. Even though he performed better than me, he said he looked up to me. Hearing that made me feel somewhat embarrassed, or rather, it made me want to be more confident and accept such words with pride. Thinking this, I entered the next season.
Q: That’s a truly wonderful and cool story.
Shoma Uno: For the first time, as a competitor, I strongly felt that I wanted to be a skater who could truly be proud of himself.
Related topics: Shoma Uno
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