* machine translation, inaccuracies may exist
Info: https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/4812531381
Source: https://weibo.com/ttarticle/p/show?id=2309404595791158182157
Excerpts from the 2009 World Junior Championships report
Yuzuru Hanyu:
“Although I was more focused than ever before, I felt that the other skaters around me were even more focused than I was. The jumps performed by skaters at the world level were completely different in terms of speed and distance, and they had so much height, too! It was a huge source of inspiration for me. Even though I made mistakes on my jumps, my program component scores (PCS) were quite high, so I think I was able to show what I wanted to express through my performance. I want to become a skater who makes people say, ‘I want to see him perform again.’”
Five-Person Roundtable Discussion in Bulgaria
Yuzuru Hanyu, Haruka Imai, Narumi Takahashi, Mari Suzuki, Mervin Tran
— An intense week has come to an end. How did you spend your day today?
Imai: We all went out into town and wandered around some shopping malls.
Hanyu: We took photos of a church, but only from the outside!
Takahashi: We tried some unsweetened yogurt. There was this clear, water-like layer on top of it.
Hanyu: Yeah, I really couldn't stomach that! I mean, since we were in Bulgaria, I thought I just had to try the yogurt.
Takahashi: We saw it at the food court and thought it looked really good, so we bought some. But it turned out to taste awful! (laughs)
— So when you think of Bulgaria, yogurt is what comes to mind?
Suzuki: Yes, yogurt!
Hanyu: It's Kotoōshū's home country. (Note: Kotoōshū is a Bulgarian-born sumo wrestler who competed in Japan)
Takahashi: There are lots of tall people.
Tran: And there are so many stray dogs! They're scary...
Hanyu: Before coming here, I didn't even really know where Bulgaria was.
Imai: It's near Greece.
— How does it compare with other countries where you've competed internationally?
Imai: Compared to Belarus, I find the food here much more to my liking, which I'm really happy about.
Takahashi: When we went to Mexico for the JGP, the altitude was so high that it was hard to breathe. It was really tough. Some skaters even suffered from altitude sickness. In pairs skating, you don't just use your legs; you have to engage your whole body too, so it's quite demanding. Compared to Mexico, anywhere else feels like a breeze!
Hanyu: Italy is pretty high up, too. And I think the venue in France was somewhere in the mountains as well.
Takahashi: Oh, really? Then that must have been tough, too!
— How did you adjust after arriving in Bulgaria?
Suzuki: Since the women's singles event was scheduled last, we had plenty of time to practice, and I feel I managed to maintain my condition pretty well. That said, I was still somewhat overwhelmed by the reality of competing at such a major event. I don't think I handled the mental preparation as well as I could have, so that's something I need to reflect on.
Takahashi: There's a seven-hour time difference from Japan, but it didn't really affect our daily routines. (Note: Takahashi's pairs partner, Tran, is Canadian and flew in from Canada.)
Hanyu: Eh? Is it the same (time difference)?
Takahashi: Yeah. It's the opposite direction from Japan, so coming from Canada, you add seven hours.
Tran: But my shins were really hurting on the first day. Maybe I'd tied my skates too tightly.
Takahashi: Maybe they were swollen from the flight, right?
Imai: During my third practice session after arriving here, I landed a Lutz awkwardly and sprained my ankle. I couldn't walk, so I had to hop around my room on one foot.
Hanyu: You even ended up in a wheelchair! Some of the foreign skaters asked me, "Break?" They were asking if you'd broken something. I was really worried, but I didn't know how much pain you were in, so all I could do was tell you to hang in there.
Suzuki: The next day, it swelled up and there was internal bleeding. I was so worried about you.
Takahashi: I've sprained my ankle before a competition too, so I really understand how frustrating that can be. But if I got depressed, Haruka would get depressed, too, so I tried to act as though nothing was wrong.
Imai: Exactly. Everyone kept reassuring me, saying, "It's only a minor injury!" That really helped put me at ease. I took painkillers on the day of the competition, so I didn't feel any pain. And since my jumps had been going well during practice, I went into the competition feeling confident.
— It's a shame about your short program, Suzuki.
Suzuki: During the six-minute warm-up, I couldn't land my first triple jump, and I think I started to panic right then. I guess I'm still mentally weak. Although I messed up the jump, I managed to calm down and concentrate on all the elements that followed. I told myself not to give up and to see the program through to the end. So I managed to finish with a smile, and I'm glad I was able to do that.
Takahashi: That's amazing! Really impressive!
Hanyu: Mari couldn’t even manage a smile when asked to give us a smile during practice. But she managed to smile this time. That's quite something, isn't it?
Tran: If you skate with a sad expression, people watching might think, "Has this person given up?" But if you skate with a smile, it actually makes people want to cheer you on even more.
— Is this the first time you've failed to make it past the qualifying round?
Suzuki: Yes. I wasn't able to perform to the best of my ability, and that's how things turned out. This is the most frustrated I've ever felt throughout my figure skating career.
Imai: Mari, you definitely have the ability to make it through. When I was in my first year of junior high school, I also failed to make it past the qualifying round at the National Junior High School Skating Championships. After that, I worked really hard in practice, and by my second year, I even made it to the All-Japan Junior Championships. So I'm sure you can do it, too...
Hanyu: Exactly! I also failed to advance past the short program at a competition in Hong Kong once, and I was incredibly frustrated. But I think that frustration really helped motivate me in my subsequent training.
Suzuki: Yeah, I've already put it behind me, so I'm doing fine. As soon as the competition was over, all sorts of things I wanted to work on immediately started popping into my head. I want to add a triple-triple combination to my jumps, too. Watching the other skaters also inspired me in terms of their expressiveness and skating skills. I've already figured out what I want to work on next.
— It sounds like that experience will be really helpful for your next competition. What about you, Hanyu?
Hanyu: I injured my lower back before coming here, and for a while, I couldn't even land a single Axel because I was scared. But after arriving here, my condition started to improve, so I tried to stay positive. I also decided to stop doing mental imagery training, because whenever I did it, I’d end up unable to sleep.
Takahashi: Oh! Me too! It keeps me awake as well! I also tried to avoid mental imagery training this time around.
Hanyu: Exactly. I also paid attention to my diet and other aspects of my daily routine.
Takahashi: The hotel buffet had rice and other things, and the food tasted pretty good. I didn't have any problems with the meals.
Hanyu: I also brought some instant rice from Japan that you can prepare just by adding hot water. So I had oyakodon (chicken and egg rice bowl) before the competition. It was delicious! But I was still incredibly nervous on the bus ride to the venue. I kept thinking, "Why aren't we there yet?" But then, as soon as we arrived, I thought, "Wait, we're already here?!"
—To me, you seemed to have just the right amount of pre-competition nerves.
Hanyu: This time, I learned how to warm up properly. If I practice too much, I won't have enough stamina for the second half of my program. So this time, I practiced while imagining what it would feel like to skate on the ice, watching my own body in the mirror as I did the movements.
Imai and Suzuki: We do visualization training in front of the mirror too!
Tran: That's how we do visualization training for jumps, too.
Hanyu: Oh, so everyone does it! Well, that's something I learned this time.
Takahashi: Everyone always says, "Don't overdo your training before a competition," but I'm actually the exact opposite. I do strength training like crazy, eat protein bars, and tell myself, "I'm getting stronger!" I also wear a titanium necklace. Even though my coach told me it’s ugly and I shouldn't wear it, I wear it anyway. But this time, I managed to finish my skate without any regrets!
Tran: I've gotten faster too, which is great. And I've built up more muscle, so my twist lifts have more height now. I'm doing better than last year!
— It sounds like everyone has gained something valuable from this competition. Well done, everyone!
By
yuzurujenn ·
