Yuma Kagiyama: “I was really happy. Ilia’s program before mine was cool, but mine was really bright and upbeat too. Since I was the last skater, I wanted everyone to leave feeling happy.”
Yuma Kagiyama on his performance in the men’s short program at the Olympics.
original source: sportiva.shueisha.co.jp dd 11th February 2026 by Toshimi Oriyama
Yuma Kagiyama delivered a strong performance in the men’s short program at the Milano-Cortina Olympics, placing second despite a minor mistake, and is preparing to attempt a quadruple flip in the free skate as he aims for gold. Here’s a translation of his comments posted on Web Sporttiva.
“Ah, I messed up. It was like, ‘Oops,’” he said with a wry grin. “I couldn’t quite control the rotation and over-rotated,” Kagiyama reflected on a mistake on triple axel.
“My body was moving really well. Since there wasn’t much time after official practice, I just rested at the rink. With less time than usual before the competition, my body was still in high gear from practice, so I think I jumped higher than I expected.”
“Even so, looking at the whole program, there was a lot I did well. The triple axel wasn’t a mistake to get too down about, and I think it was something I could recover from quickly.”
Kagiyama said he didn’t feel any fatigue from skating the team short program three days earlier.
His score was 103.07 points. Even with the mistake, he was satisfied with his second-place start. He was, of course, aware of Malinin’s score just before him.
“To be honest, when it comes to the short program score, whether I’m close to or far from Ilia, it doesn’t really matter for the free skate. So I just focused on doing my best.”
Kagiyama acknowledged Malinin’s exceptional strength in the free skate. Still, he was satisfied with his own performance, skating to an upbeat piece as the final skater, hoping the audience would leave in high spirits. “I was really happy. Ilia’s program before mine was cool, but mine was really bright and upbeat too. Since I was the last skater, I wanted everyone to leave feeling happy. I also wanted to finish in the most enjoyable way possible. At the same time, I focused on nailing the quads and other key elements. I think I managed to balance everything well.”
Kagiyama feels the benefits of preparing for back-to-back events and is confident he can approach the free skate calmly in three days.
“As with the team event, I see the gold medal as something that comes as a result, not as the main goal. Results always follow after you do your best. I’ll be attempting the quad flip in the free skate for the first time in a while, so I want to adjust well and focus on delivering a performance with no regrets.”
Related topics: Olympic Games, Yuma Kagiyama
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