Nobunari Oda: “I don’t think anyone has seen a person performing a quad jump at the age of 40. I want to do it and apply for a Guinness record.”
Interview with Nobunari Oda.
original source: number.bunshun.jp dd. March 1st 2025 by Mie Noguchi
In an Interview posted on Sports Graphic Number Web, 37-year-old Nobunari Oda speaks about his pursuit of skating and love for the competition. Here’s a translation.
In December of last year, Nobunari Oda returned to the Japanese Nationals at the age of 37 after a break of 11 years.
“From the youngsters’ perspective, I think they find it annoying for an old man to land jumps successfully. They must be thinking, ‘How can this old man land quadruple jumps?’ That’s why I thought of becoming even more of an annoying old man, aiming to jump more than anyone else during the official practice.”
At the beginning of this season, Oda, having continued skating for many years, felt pain in his hip joint, and decided that this season would be his last. Even so, he was adjusting to land a quad toe loop at Nationals.
“I wanted my juniors to feel like, ‘If that person can do it, then I can do it too.’ I felt there was a reason for me to come back to competitions at this age. My mindset was, ‘Show everything respectable that I can.'”
Speaking of a young generation of skaters, Nobunari mentioned “It’s truly a new generation. Although Yuzuru Hanyu and Shoma Uno just touched upon the 6.0 system, their fundamental approach to skating included freedom and lack of restrictions. But today’s kids are born into clearly defined rules. All elements are precise, from the number of spins to the requirement of not immediately touching the foot after turning in steps for certification and the technique in jumps. It’s interesting and fun to see the elite quality of today’s young skaters.”
He also spoke about changes in jumping technique, saying “The technique for quadruple jumps has significantly advanced compared to the early days of quad jumps during my generation. The current era’s quad toe loop is all about how to keep the right foot sliding, but I had a habit of stopping my right foot. I wonder how Yuzuru Hanyu slides it, how Yuma Kagiyama swings his right foot about 180 degrees back after jumping, and how Ilia Malinin sets the axis of rotation after the jump. I’m still studying everyone’s strengths, trying to see if there’s something I can incorporate into my own technique.”
Even after retirement, 37-year-old Oda has new ambitions to enhance his quadruple jump precision.
“I don’t think anyone has seen a person performing a quad jump at the age of 40. Given that the technique is well-established, the generations younger than me might find it easy to do quads at 40. So since I’ll turn 40 first, I might as well jump it first and apply for a Guinness record (laughs). I need to leave some mark.”
Related topics: Nobunari Oda
Haha I love his mindset ! He should definitely go for it !