“It’s an individual sport, but I genuinely wanted to cheer them on.” Miura decided to watch his teammates performances “I felt an unfounded confidence, like ‘I can deliver a clean performance too.’”
Kao Miura led the men’s short program at the Four Continents Championships with a personal best, as Japanese skaters swept the top three spots ahead of the Milan-Cortina Olympics.
original source: Nikkansports 23d January 2026 by Katsube Kota
Kao Miura (20), who will represent Japan at the Milan-Cortina Olympics starting February 6, took the lead with a season-best score of 98.59 points. Here’s a translation of his comments.
Kao Miura made a strong start at this event, which he considers a rehearsal for his first Olympics, and nodded, “The most important thing was that I was able to stay very calm. I’m really enjoying the competition itself.”
He broke his own rule. Since this season, he had deliberately avoided watching other skaters’ performances to focus on his own. But this time was different. “It’s an individual sport, but I genuinely wanted to cheer them on.” Miura decided to watch his “teammates” Yamamoto and Tomono, who had struggled at international competitions this season, perform with his own eyes.
His teammates delivered flawless performances in the earlier skating order. “I felt an unfounded confidence, like ‘I can do it too.’” Following them, Miura landed two quadruple jumps and a triple axel, leading to a satisfying performance. “I wanted to follow the women’s example,” he said, and made it happen, as Japanese skaters filled all three seats at the post-SP press conference. “That was the best part,” he laughed.
His step sequence and two spins did not reach the highest level 4, and the grade of execution for his quadruple toe loop was lower than expected. “There are still plenty of areas to improve,” he said calmly. For Miura, this event is just a stepping stone. For the free skate on the 25th, he maintained his focus: “I’m not thinking about the gold medal at all. I want to find out what I need to improve.”
Related topics: Four Continents Championships, Kao Miura
Leave a Reply