Sota Yamamoto: “Competitions and daily practices are not always enjoyable, but the time when I express myself on the ice is when I feel most myself and that’s why I think I’ve been able to keep going.”
Sota Yamamoto about past season and motivation to continue skating.
original source: jbpress.ismedia.jp dd. 19th May 2024 by Takaomi Matsubara
Sota Yamamoto about past season, his motivation to continue skating and also a bit about his new program in an interview with JBPress, here’s a translation of his comments.
“I think I’m happy right now. It was a season where I felt pressure within myself,” Sota shared his feelings about this one season, and also about the time he has spent in skating. “I felt like my efforts finally paid off after spending that season”.
“I entered the season feeling the pressure, but I didn’t perform well in the summer competitions or at the Autumn Classic. Although I was satisfied with the result at Skate Canada, I couldn’t say my condition was good during the competition, so I think that came out in the next one.”
The “next one” was the China Cup. He stayed in sixth place and did not make it to the GP Finals.
“The one and a half months until Nationals were really difficult and I had days when I hit rock bottom. I often had days when I couldn’t do or couldn’t jump a quadruple jump. There were days when I couldn’t do it no matter how much I tried, and I had to end my practice because I was really broken during it,” Sota reflected on his training before Nationals.
“The month and a half leading up to the Japanese Nationals was really tough, and I actually felt the competitions were easier than training. I was constantly struggling with the pressure of having to compete even though I was in poor shape. I thought it would be a milestone once the Nationals were over. I was pushed to my limits, and I was able to let go. In both the short and free programs, I was able to perform without worrying too much about the results or the scores, in a good way. I think it was precisely because I had spent some truly difficult days that the competition felt lighter.”
“Excellent performances continued from the third group, and also from the first skate in our final group,” he recalled the Nationals. “I didn’t watch the performances, and tried not to. However, there was a monitor in the backstage, and when I was warming up in the corridor right before my turn, I saw it. The technical points of the current skater and the one who is at the top so far are shown. I saw that one was around 100 points, and another was around 98… implying they both had almost flaw-free performances.
Though I would be lying if I didn’t say I felt some pressure when I saw this, seeing it helped me to shake off my nerves and focus solely on doing what I can, delivering the performance I am aiming for, without worrying too much about scores or rankings. Everyone performed well and I think the synergy effect created a really good competition.”
In the interview Sota also told about his desire to had his choreography done overseas. He had his new short program choreographed by Benoit Richaud in the United States in mid-April.
“I had asked David Wilson to choreograph my short program last year, but it was done in Japan. It’s the first time I’ve had choreography done overseas since I asked someone from overseas to do it five years ago. I had a strong desire to have my choreography done overseas for my own level up.
There are various conditions to have choreography done overseas, including financial issues, so I have had a lot of choreographies done in Japan. However, thanks to the support from many people, I was able to make it happen. Firstly, I am grateful to those around me, and I had a strong desire to use every minute and second for my own growth. In Japan, we do the choreography in three or four days, but we had a full week for it this time, and I think we were able to meticulously build it up, including three days to finish and then brushing up each part for the remaining half. I hope to make this wonderful work my own throughout this season.”
When asked what figure skating means to him, Yamamoto responds. “I think it is my life. I can’t imagine a life without figure skating, I want to live the life of a figure skater.”
He also reflects on the driving force that has kept him going until today. “I think I’ve been able to keep going because it’s what gives me the most sense of being alive. Competitions and daily practices are not always enjoyable, but the time when I express myself on the ice is when I feel most myself and that’s why I think I’ve been able to keep going. I think that’s probably how I’ll always approach it.”
He is also proud of never giving up, no matter what happens. “If asked about my strengths, I would say unbeatable strength, the strength to get back up. My skating life may not always be at a high level with perfect performances, but I think I have the power to always get back up and not give up, even after addressing issues, facing injuries, and other obstacles. When you have an injury like I did, you would usually quit, but for some reason, I didn’t, and I’ve managed to come back from situations that seemed impossible.
I realized after my comeback how big the gap was to get back to competitive level skating. I’ve encountered many obstacles and realized how high those walls are. In that regard, I am happy just to be able to fight at the senior level with everyone in these past few years. Additionally, realizing the joy of getting results again, I think I am happy now.”
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