“At first, I was worried about overlapping with other skaters. But both Lori and Carolina strongly recommended it to me, saying, ‘This is absolutely perfect for you.’” Yuma Kagiyama on choosing “Turandot”
Yuma Kagiyama reflects on choosing “Turandot” for his free skate in the Olympic season
original source: Nikkansports dd. July 5th 2025 by Matsumoto Wataru
Yuma Kagiyama (22) shared his thoughts on selecting “Turandot” for his free skate during the upcoming Milano-Cortina Olympic season. Participating in the “Milano-Cortina Olympic Strategy Camp” at Kansai Airport Ice Arena in Osaka on July 5, Kagiyama spent the day repeatedly reviewing his quadruple flip jumps. Here’s a translation of his comments posted on Nikkansports.
While he did not perform his free skate during the camp, Kagiyama confirmed his decision to use “Turandot” as his Olympic free program music. This legendary piece has been skated to by many prestigious athletes: Shizuka Arakawa won gold with it at the 2006 Turin Olympics, and Shoma Uno claimed silver using the same piece at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics. Initially hesitant about choosing such a widely used piece, Kagiyama admitted:
“At first, I was worried about overlapping with others and thought, ‘Is this the right choice?’ But both Lori [Nichol, the choreographer] and Carolina [Kostner, the coach] strongly recommended it to me, saying, ‘This is absolutely perfect for you.’ I believe it’s one of the pieces most fitting for the Olympics, and with this program, I feel confident heading into the season.”
Kagiyama revealed that he originally considered about five pieces, one of which was “Firebird,” which Shun Sato ultimately selected as his new free skate music.
“I was actually rooting for that piece quite a bit,” he said with a laugh. Reflecting on how their choices worked out, Kagiyama added:
“If I had gone with ‘Firebird,’ we probably would have ended up overlapping, but somehow, we avoided that entirely. Fortunately, ‘Turandot’ isn’t being used by any other Japanese singles skaters this year. Everyone has chosen programs they’re confident in, which makes it exciting – not just for the skaters but also for the audience. I think this will be an incredibly enjoyable season to watch and compete in.”
Related topics: Yuma Kagiyama
Leave a Reply