“I was determined to land every jump. I was confident from the beginning.” Yuma Kagiyama on his free skate at the Summer Cup
Yuma Kagiyama showcased free skate at Summer Cup, gearing up for Olympic season
original source: Nikkansports dd August 11th, 2025
Yuma Kagiyama (22) secured a resounding victory in his second competition of the season, building momentum as he heads into the Olympic year. Here’s a translation of his comments.
Following his first-place finish in the short program (SP), Kagiyama also topped the free skate with a score of 204.78, earning a total of 289.72 points. His free skate score surpassed the 200-point mark for the first time since his victory at last year’s Nationals.
“I was determined to land every jump,” he said. He opened his performance with a quadruple salchow, landing it cleanly. “I felt like I could do it.” He followed with a clean quad toe loop–triple toe loop combination and successfully landed all seven of his planned jumps. As he concluded his routine, Kagiyama clenched his right fist triumphantly.
“I was confident from the beginning. I was able to perform exactly as I practiced,” Kagiyama said brightly, his expression reflecting his satisfaction with his performance.
While Kagiyama’s free skate was a triumph, his two competitions this season have underscored areas for improvement. In the short program on August 9, he fell on quadruple flip, prompting him to consider adjustments to his jump layout.
“In practice, I’ve been landing it about 70% of the time, but in competition, I still feel a bit uncertain. I need to increase my repetitions and build confidence,” he said, reflecting on the mistake. He also mentioned the possibility of incorporating the yet-unattempted quadruple lutz in the future. “I can’t just stop here,” he added decisively.
Kagiyama’s next event will take him to Italy, the host of the upcoming Winter Olympics, where he is slated to compete in his first international competition of the season, the Lombardia Trophy (September 12–14).
Just as he did in his stellar free skate at the Summer Cup, Kagiyama plans to continue building unshakable confidence in his daily training.
“I’ll keep working to ensure I can bring this level of confidence to every performance,” he stated, looking forward to the challenges ahead.
Related topics: Yuma Kagiyama
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