Daisuke Takahashi: “This medal feels like a reward for everything I’ve been through. Injuries have taught me so much about skating and life. This isn’t the end but just a stepping stone.”
Daisuke Takahashi on his Olympic experience
original source: sportiva.shueisha.co.jp dd August 15th by Oriyama Toshimi
In the interview, Daisuke Takahashi reflects on his Olympic experience. Here’s a translation of his comments posted on Web Sporttiva.
In 2002, Takahashi became the first Japanese man to win the World Junior Championships, and by his second senior season, he began competing at the World Championships. However, his fierce awareness of the challenges of competing internationally began after a difficult performance at the 2005 World Championships, which was a critical event to secure spots for the 2006 Torino Olympics.
During the 2004–2005 season, Takahashi placed 6th at Nationals but claimed 3rd at the Four Continents Championships, earning a spot at the World Championships. Shortly before the competition, Takeshi Honda injured his right ankle during official practice and was forced to withdraw after a painful fall attempting a quad toe loop. As a result, Japan’s only hope for securing two Olympic spots fell on Takahashi, who needed to finish at least 8th.
Takahashi kicked off the short program ith a clean quad toe loop–triple toe loop combination, scoring 72.18 points to sit in 7th place. However, the pressure weighed on him during the free skate:
“I performed in the qualifier and short program thinking, ‘There’s still another chance,’ but during the free skate, I became restless and nervous even during warmups. I tried not to think about the Olympic spot, but I was consumed by the fear of falling below my current ranking.”
His free skate earned just 108.04 points (18th in the segment), dropping him to 15th overall.
“Fighting alone was incredibly tough. I pressured myself, thinking I had to shoulder everything, and I just couldn’t handle it for three days. Right now, I feel crushed,” Takahashi admitted after his performance.
The All-Japan Championships in December 2005 determined Japan’s sole male representative at the Torino Olympics. The competition came down to a rivalry between Takahashi and Nobunari Oda.
His free skate earned 148.60 points, bringing his total to 223.12, narrowly trailing Oda.
Takahashi was visibly emotional: “These tears are tears of frustration,” he said. However, a scoring revision later revealed that one of Oda’s jumps violated the technical rules. His triple loop, part of a three-jump combination, was judged as an invalid element. With his free skate score adjusted, Oda’s total dropped to 218.70, making Takahashi the national champion.
“Winning due to a ranking change doesn’t make me entirely happy. If I hadn’t messed up my axels in both the short and free programs, I could have claimed victory without dispute. Still, if I’m going to the Olympics, I wanted to go as the national champion,” Takahashi reflected.
In February 2006, Takahashi made his Olympic debut in Torino. As Japan’s lone representative in men’s figure skating, he faced enormous expectations. His score of 73.77 in the SP placed him 5th.
Two days later, Takahashi performed in the final group for his free skate, a first for him in an international event. Facing immense pressure, he faltered on his opening quad toe loop, turning it into a fall. “Standing at the start position, I was so nervous and couldn’t move my body as I started skating,” Takahashi said.
Reflecting on his performance, Takahashi admitted: “I lost points on the quad and later spins due to fatigue. But had this been last season, it might have been worse. The fact that I was able to finish at today’s level despite feeling rushed shows growth. I’m glad I didn’t play it safe and instead approached this as a challenge. I want to go back to the basics and restart from here.”
Despite a respectable 8th-place finish, his inexperience and nerves left him dissatisfied: “In the free skate, hearing the overwhelming cheers made me anxious and lose confidence, ultimately leading to self-destruction,” Takahashi admitted.
His coach, Utako Nagamitsu, emphasized that the Torino experience was pivotal for Takahashi’s growth: “The lessons he learned at Torino allowed him to stay composed when skating last at the next World Championships. He turned adversity into strength.”
The 2006–2007 season marked significant growth for Takahashi, beginning with his first Grand Prix victory at the NHK Trophy and a silver at the Grand Prix Final. He went on to win Nationals and entered the 2007 Tokyo World Championships with high expectations.
In the short program, Takahashi faltered on his opening combination, scoring 74.51 points and placing third. However, he rebounded in the free skate, landing two triple axels and earning the highest free skate score of 163.44 points. He ultimately finished second overall, claiming silver:
“I was so nervous I felt like crying before my skate, but even if it wasn’t 100%, I was glad I could perform reasonably well in front of the Tokyo crowd.”
During the 2007–2008 season, Takahashi focused on improving flexibility and incorporating the requirements of the new judging system, which placed greater emphasis on spins and step sequences.
In late 2008, Takahashi faced a career-threatening setback after tearing his right ACL and sustaining meniscus damage during training. He underwent surgery in November and began a grueling rehabilitation that required 8-9 hours of daily physical therapy. The recovery process tested his emotional resilience, and at one point, Takahashi withdrew completely, cutting off contact with his circle and battling mental exhaustion.
His coach, Nagamitsu, recalled worrying deeply about his well-being during this period: “I even considered apologizing to everyone and letting him retire, so he wouldn’t have to suffer anymore.”
Entering Vancouver 2010, Takahashi focused on mental and physical preparation. Despite not fully regaining his quad consistency, he delivered a flawless SP, scoring 90.25 points – the highest score of his career at the time – and placing third, just 0.60 points behind Plushenko.
“I trusted in my training and felt relaxed seeing that I wasn’t far behind Plushenko,” he said.
In the free skate, Takahashi missed the quad attempt but delivered a gritty performance, keeping mistakes to a minimum and scoring 247.23 points to claim the bronze medal – the first Olympic medal for a Japanese male figure skater.
“This medal feels like a reward for everything I’ve been through,” Takahashi said with a smile. Reflecting on his journey, he added, “Injuries have taught me so much about skating and life. This isn’t the end but just a stepping stone.”
One month after Vancouver, Takahashi claimed the top spot at the 2010 World Championships. He made history by attempting the first-ever quad flip in competition, and although it was under-rotated, he landed it and delivered an otherwise clean routine, securing gold with a flawless display of spins and steps – all earning the highest Level 4 ratings. Takahashi became the first Japanese male skater to win a World Championship.
Returning to competition after achieving an Olympic bronze medal and a world title in 2010 proved to be an unexpectedly turbulent experience for Takahashi. The 2010–2011 season saw him grappling with a lack of motivation and uncertainty about his future in the sport: “Honestly, I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I just felt lost,” Takahashi admitted.
His coach, Utako Nagamitsu, noticed the lack of fighting spirit as he trained: “In the first half of the season, his desire to compete wasn’t there, and his practices reflected it.”
The 2010 Tohoku earthquake shifted Takahashi’s mindset. The earthquake prompted the relocation of the 2011 World Championships from Tokyo to Moscow, where Takahashi experienced equipment issues (a broken skate blade) and mistakes in his free skate, finishing fifth overall. Watching Patrick Chan claim victory with record-breaking scores after placing second to him at the previous Worlds, Takahashi felt a strong desire to improve:
“I didn’t want to end my career on such a disappointing note,” he said.
Determined to rebuild, Takahashi underwent surgery in May 2011 to remove bolts from his right knee and spent time in France refining his skating fundamentals with ice dance coaching.
As Takahashi geared up for what would be his final Olympic season, he showed flashes of his resilience: winning the NHK Trophy, claiming silver at the Grand Prix Final, and earning a record-breaking short program score (94.00 points) at the World Team Trophy. However, inconsistency plagued him during major events like the Four Continents Championships and World Championships, where he finished seventh and sixth, respectively.
During the 2013–2014 season, Takahashi grappled with a shinbone injury sustained during training, which hampered his preparation for the Sochi Olympics. His coach, Nagamitsu, reflected on the challenges: “It might have been my mistake, pushing him too hard when he was tired. But making it to his eighth Grand Prix Final and competing at Nationals meant everything.”
Despite finishing fifth at Natioanls, Takahashi secured a spot on the 2014 Sochi Olympic team.
At Sochi, Takahashi confronted not just his physical challenges, but also the dominance of competitors like Canada’s Patrick Chan and Japan’s Yuzuru Hanyu, who had emerged as a new star. Entering with lower expectations, Takahashi accepted his limitations but remained hopeful:“Looking at my condition and the strength of my competitors, I knew a medal was unlikely. But the Olympics can be full of surprises, so I didn’t give up on the hope of a medal.”
For the free skate, Takahashi again struggled with his quad jumps. A downgraded quad and an under-rotated triple axel dashed his medal chances. However, his performance to Beatles Medley captured the crowd’s admiration with its fluidity and emotional depth. Despite finishing sixth overall, many regarded his skate as one of the most memorable performances of the Olympics: “I just wanted to give everything I had in my performance,” Takahashi shared.
Post-Sochi, Takahashi reflected on the significance of continuing beyond Vancouver: “Seeing the sixth-place result, some people might think I should have finished my career after Vancouver. But the three years leading to Sochi allowed me to experience so much—both good and bad. Continuing was worth it.”
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