Shoma Uno: “I didn’t understand English, but Stephane’s feeling of not wanting me to hate skating really came through. Rather than seeking results, my mindset shifted towards having a fulfilling skating life.”
Interview with Shoma Uno about Stephane Lambiel and best performances of his career.
original source: number.bunshun.jp dd. 26th December 2024 by Mie Noguchi
Interview with Shoma Uno was posted in a special article from the documentary program NumberTV produced by “Sports Graphic Number.” Here’s a translation of his comments.
“If I were to use the word ‘setback’ for any moment in my skating life, it was then. It was the first time I thought, ‘Is this as far as I go?'” Shoma Uno told about 2019 when he parted ways with his former coaches Mihoko Higuchi and Machiko Yamada and found himself without a coach and placed his personal lowest at the Grand Prix France, finishing 8th.
At the bottom of his despair, the person Uno reached out to was Stephane Lambiel, who had offered him support at the rinkside during the season’s first competition. Lambiel recalls that time: “I welcomed Shoma to Switzerland, wanting to boost his motivation. I hoped he would find joy in practicing, so I supported him focusing not on meticulous techniques but on the mental aspect.”
“I didn’t understand English, but Stephane’s feeling of not wanting me to hate skating really came through. Rather than seeking results, my mindset shifted towards having a fulfilling skating life,” Shoma told.
Six months after his retirement announcement, when asked about the “best performance of his competitive career,” Shoma Uno confidently replied. “It’s between two. Either the ‘Bolero’ when I won the World Championships in 2022 or the free skate at the 2023 NHK Trophy.”
“The previous year at the World Championships, I finished fourth. I was enjoying skating since meeting Stephane, so I had no complaints about not being in the very top echelons. But he asked me, ‘What do you think you need to become the world’s top?’ …Realizing he believed I could make it to the top, I thought, ‘I need to try once more, for Stephane’s sake, to deliver good results,'” Shoma told.
The ’21-’22 season marked a shift in complexity and he pushed for five quads in the free program. “My mindset changed to, ‘I’ll endure underperforming as long as I eventually reach the top of the world,’ and continued practicing a program that incorporated as many skills as possible. This was when I was most passionate about my skating career.”
After completing his “Bolero” performance, he looked back at his coach. “I once talked with Koshiro Shimada, who I train with, about how we wanted to perform in a way that would make Stephan happy for the rest of our skating lives. That’s what we always think about. So after the performance, I immediately looked at Stephane.”
The other best performance that Shoma mentioned was the 2023 NHK Trophy free skate. “This season, despite some uncertainties (including about my career), Stephane and I were satisfied with the practice leading up to the NHK Trophy from the China Cup, and the performance was satisfying too. However, the results didn’t follow. I feel like if I don’t designate it as ‘the best performance’ myself, I’ll never be rewarded.”
“Stephane is a playful person. He gets more nervous than any competitor before a competitions. And if he feels the scoring wasn’t fair during the competition, he gets angrier than anyone, even raising his voice at the technical panel on the bus ride home, asking, ‘What was that about?’ (laughs). He is a coach who passionately cares about his skaters,” Uno told.
His last performance at the 2024 World Championships had mistakes, and he finished fourth, but again, he looked back at his coach the moment he finished. “It’s very like me. It wasn’t my most spectacular stage. But both Stephane and I, if we had been fully satisfied there, might have thought skating was enough. The way it ended made me realize, ‘It means I still have skating to do.'”
Speaking to himself as he moves towards a new stage, “If you give up after giving up, you will end up failing. But using the experience of setbacks somewhere in your life, I think, can turn those setbacks into a process toward success.”
Related topics: Shoma Uno, Stephane Lambiel
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