Sota Yamamoto: “I believe I minimized mistakes, but I truly felt the overall level around me has risen. A single mistake can lead to significant consequences, and I was painfully reminded of that.”
Sota Yamamoto on placing 4th at Skate Canada 2024.
original source: Nikkansports / Nikkansports / Nikkansports dd. 29th October 2024 by Daisuke Fujizuka
Sota Yamamoto (24) who was third in the short program, scored 164.84 points in the free skate and finished the event in fourth place. Here’s a translation of her comments posted on Nikkansports.
“I believe I minimized mistakes, but I truly felt the overall level around me has risen. A single mistake can lead to significant consequences, and I was painfully reminded of that. I am filled with regret,” he reflected on his performance and not reaching the medals.
There were issues with his quad jumps; the salchow in the first half was under-rotated, and he fell on the toe loop in the second half. “Right when I landed salchow, I felt that it was under-rotated, so I was trying to switch mentally and move on to the next element. However, during the toe loop in the second half, there was a moment when I lifted off, and the axis I jumped on and carried through was off, so I think that’s something I’m a little disappointed about,” he told about salchow. As for the toe loop, he commented, “I felt it was a downgrade as well. It only scored about two points, equivalent to that of a double toe loop. It made me really aware of how significant that is. I can’t help but think “If only I’d turned around…” or “What if…”, but I think I managed to keep the mistakes to a minimum.”
He had been working on correcting a bad habit in his triple axel following the SP, saying, “I’m still too conscious about the axel. It’s the era of doing several quads, so I shouldn’t be fussing over axel too much.”
Sota also shared that he plans to include quad flip into his program. “For this season, I created a program that incorporates a quad flip, but during the Nebelhorn Trophy, it wasn’t certain yet. So, I changed to a triple loop at the last minute and used the same layout for today’s program. Originally, it was meant to include a quad flip, but I performed it without it. Ideally, I’d continue practicing it and hope to include the quad flip.”
His next competition will be the fifth event in Finland, which opens on November 15. “I want to look back again on what aspects are reflected in the scores and which areas have not improved, then carry those insights into the next competition,” he told.
Related topics: grand prix, Skate Canada, Sota Yamamoto
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