Kazuki Tomono: “Well… even though I was injured, it feels frustrating. I had set high expectations for myself. I still haven’t made it to the Finals, and I feel like I’m falling behind my peers, and this year was really meant to be competitive.”
Kazuki Tomono on his performance at Grand Prix de France 2024.
original source: Nikkansports / Nikkansports / Nikkansports / Nikkansports dd. 3d November 2024 by Aika Matsumoto
Kazuki Tomono (26) commented on his performance and skating after an onjury at Grand Prix de France 2024. Here’s a translation of his comments posted on Nikkansports.
Kazuki Tomono, who was 3rd in the short program (SP) at the third event of the Grand Prix (GP) Series, finished his first GP of the season in 5th place with a total score of 231.48 points.
He calmly reflected, “The score was low. I fell twice; it can’t be helped, but I think I might’ve done everything I could. Perhaps I couldn’t have expected much more.” About three weeks ago, he injured his right hip joint and arrived at the venue without being able to practice jumps satisfactorily.
“Honestly, I’m surprised that I did well,” he said about his short program. “But, the spins; well, I had only practiced spins and steps, so I’m really frustrated about losing levels there. But, I think maybe my legs came into play with the jumps and other elements. Still, I spent a lot of time on the program, and since I couldn’t jump much, I really crammed in practice. Ah, I’m really frustrated about the spins. Well, for now, yes, well, I included jumps. It was a full-on performance, really the first since the Kinki Championships. That was a factor, but I’m glad I managed to skate it well and tomorrow (in the free program) I can perform with an attitude that’s even more satisfying. There’s nothing to fear anymore, nothing to protect, I think it’s all about pushing forward.”
“I was incredibly calm.” Kazuki told about his mindset entering short program competition. “Perhaps the calmest I’ve ever been in my life. I was confident in my program, so all I had to do was relax and execute the jumps. The effort I put into the program maybe reduced the anxiety about the jumps, as if to say, even if I can’t jump, it can’t be helped; that might have actually worked in my favor.”
“After yesterday’s short program, I realized today that if I had been in this condition, it would have been much better,” he reflected on the free program. “Today too, especially in the second half (of the free program), my movements were really good, and I think the movements in the step sequences and the program were also really good, so I’m very happy that I was able to showcase what I’ve worked on in these areas. However, even with the injury, I think what’s important is how much I could push through, and even though I couldn’t practice as much as I wanted… well, in the first half especially, I think I didn’t quite reach my peak. But for now, I want to fully recover by the next competition so I can perform at my best.”
“Well… even though I was injured, it feels frustrating. I had set high expectations for myself in the Grand Prix series this season. I wanted to make it to the Finals,” Kazuki admitted, speaking of his feelings after the free program. “I still haven’t made it to the Finals, and I feel like I am falling behind my peers, and this year was really meant to be competitive. I was ready to give my all as I would for the Nationals right from the first Grand Prix event, but I couldn’t train as planned. I wonder if I could have performed better if I had realized the issue sooner and not pushed myself too hard — it’s a new kind of frustration. But even in these circumstances, I want to be a competitor who can perform.
Yesterday, everything went without issues, I did the free skate, and the coach was just like, ‘It’s good that you could skate’, but I managed to finish with just a bit of tension, which was good. Everyone has injuries, and even Adam (Siao Him Fa) performed well in the free skate and turned things around. (Kao) Miura, too, had thigh pain last time, and even (Yuzuru) Hanyu has won an Olympic gold medal while being unable to train properly due to injuries. I thought I was a skater who hardly ever gets seriously injured, but I still need to fight hard in such situations, and high-level training does bring about injuries. It’s really a miracle that nothing happened until now, and I think such things are expected. I should take these situations as opportunities for growth, and there was some regret in this aspect this time. However, such experiences are surprisingly valuable, and while there might not be much time until Finland, I hope to perform at full capacity, and even if it doesn’t go well, I want to be able to say, ‘It didn’t work, but I gave my MAX.’ I think it would be good if I could manage to do my best in each and every performance from now on.”
He plans to compete in the second GP event at the Finland competition (November 15-17, Helsinki), and stated, “I was wondering if it would get worse during the competition, but that didn’t happen. There were no particular issues, and if I continue practicing carefully without getting complacent, I should be able to compete in my best condition next time.”
Related topics: grand prix, Grand Prix de France, Kazuki Tomono
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