[Video] 2014/02/15 Interview w/Y. Ueda (in Sochi)

[¯\_(ツ)_/¯]

Uhh.....might have gotten the date wrong. Just making a guess on a probable one. Go right ahead and correct me if I'm wrong (there's a 50% chance I am). Also don't know which program and station this was from so if anybody knows, I'd be much obliged if you could enlighten me.

 

This is an old one and it be the first interview of Hanyu's I ever attempted. (Gotta love all his post-Sochi interviews xD There are 1230919 of them and I picked this one cos I find it the funniest. Also love most of his really old circa 2010-2012 ones, too ^__^) Think I might've seen another one somewhere but by the time I came across it, this was already done, so...here y'all go. lol. I figured poeple can always skip it if the content looks familiar. xD

 

As always, please approach me if you wish to post this elsewhere. =)

 

2014/02/15 Interview w/Y. Ueda (in Sochi)

 

 

Quote

Ueda:

Congratulations!

 

Hanyu:

Thank you!

 

U:

You must be tired. Sorry to have to get you to do this. Did you manage to get any sleep last night?

 

H:

Not really, no.

 

U:

Oh really? We'll make this real quick then.

 

H:

Lol! Thank you.

 

U:

Go ahead and take a seat right there.

 

H:

Don't mind if I do. Man, I'm nervous.

 

U:

You're nervous? I'm nervous! You're the one with the gold medal here.

 

H:

Well, I'm only 19...

 

U:

Ladies & gentleman, let's give a warm welcome to Yuzuru Hanyu, who fabulously took home the gold medal for the men’s figure skating event! Congratulations!

 

H:

Thank you very much.

 

U:

You wrote that you wanted to win the Olympic gold in your elementary school yearbook. Now that you actually have, how does it feel?

 

H:

I don't have any real feelings about it. All I can say is that I've given it my all.

 

U:

How did you break the news to your family?

 

H:

I haven't yet, actually.

 

U:

What?! You haven't?? What kind of a son are ya??!

 

H:

Lol! You're right. I suck.

 

U:

Were you too busy to call?

 

H:

I actually met up with my mother a few times since but all we could talk about was how I messed up in my LP.

 

U:

But you already won! What's there to regret? What did she say to you?

 

H:

My LP from yesterday wasn't exactly the greatest this season so the two of us were trying to figure out what exactly happened.

 

U:

Wait...what heights are you actually aspiring to here? I mean you've pretty much already cleared the beanstalk (and conquered the giant), Jack! Are you saying you wanna go beyond even that??

 

H:

Lol! But it doesn't feel like I've truly won it. It just somehow turned out that I barely managed to hang onto the top spot by the skin of my teeth.

 

U:

Well, I think that, in itself, is pretty great. So you got that record high score for your SP and everything but, in your head, were you always aiming for the gold?

 

H:

I think I probably was but kept telling myself I wasn't so I guess my brain just wasn't processing what's really going on. My head somehow fooled itself into thinking it wasn't full of that gold medal but in truth, it was. I didn't fully get myself and that's probably the major part of the reason why I wasn't able to bring my best to the table, and probably why my body ended up all stiff.

 

U:

So you felt that something about you was different? Like during the 6-minute warm-up, did it feel as though this or that part of your body wasn't moving the way it should?

 

H:

Definitely. I was struggling to get my body to respond the way I wanted it to during that 6-minute warm-up. I had zero confidence.

 

U:

So you panicked?

 

H:

I did. A lot.

 

U:

I see. I did notice that you didn't seem quite as happy after the LP as you were after the SP.

 

H:

I was devastated. I thought I'd fallen way down the rankings.

 

U:

Ah, so you thought your chances of winning gold became slimmer...

 

H:

Yeah, I thought they were as good as gone. When I was skating that program, I kidded myself into thinking that I wasn't thinking about that gold but right after it, all I could think about was how it was right there but I've let it slip right through.

 

U:

I see. And you don't seem the type to bank on the mistakes of others. Like going, "Argh! I messed up! Please let Pat fall over! Pleeease!" Did you think that?

 

H:

Lol! I was all out rooting for him actually.

 

U:

Wow. You were?

 

H:

Yeah, but I think it was more for myself than anything. Cos even if I had won the gold, it wasn't through a performance I could be proud of. And if that's going to be the case, even if it's someone else's, I thought I'd rather see a performance of a lifetime.

 

U:

Wow. I could learn a thing or two from you. Because when I heard Neptune was starting a new program, all I could do was chant in my head, "Let it flop! Let it floooopp!!11one!" You champs sure are a different breed.

 

H:

............

 

U:

But I dare say that the momentum you've built and achievements you've made these two years have been nothing short of splendid so here's what I'd like to know, was there anything within yourself that you feel has changed in a big way?

 

H:

After I relocated my training to Canada, my mental state changed little by little and, after the East Japan Earthquake, my passion for skating itself became stronger.

 

U:

Were you able to relax a little at the Athletes' Village the few days you were there?

 

H:

Naaah, not really.

 

U:

You mean you were a nervous wreck all throughout?

 

H:

I guess you could say that. When it comes to figure skating at least, your worst enemy is none other than yourself. The competition itself is basically all about beating yourself. Within the rink, it felt like any other competition but at the Village, you're surrounded by the Olympic vibe, and the venues that you see on TV are all a stone's throw away so when you're actually staying there, you'd definitely get a sense that this is it. This is the Olympics.

 

U:

And this is what sets the Olympics apart from other sporting events, isn't it?

 

H:

Yeah, it is.

 

U:

Did you get a room all to yourself?

 

H:

No, it was two persons to a room.

 

U:

Oh! Who with?

 

H:

I roomed with Tatsuki Machida.

 

U:

Oh? What did you two talk about?

 

H:

Well...we didn't speak about our events, that's for sure.

 

U:

So you both knew you were nervous?

 

H:

Yeah, we were both tense so we were each trying to not ruin the other's rhythm.

 

U:

When you were standing up there on the highest podium, did you look back on everything that led you to where you were?

 

H:

It's always been my dream to be there, that much is true, but the majority of what I felt as I climbed up that podium was surprise, really. I wish I could say it was happiness that I felt but honestly, I was really just stunned for the most part.

 

U:

What's the first thing you'd like to do when you get home?

 

H:

There's nothing in particular I want to do...but that's not what you want to hear, is it? Lol!

 

U:

Nothing at all? You don't feel like wanting to just forget everything for a bit and go amuse yourself somewhere?

 

H:

The thing I most want to do now is to immediately train up my Salchow.

 

U:

You're kidding! Why not just take it easy for a bit?

 

H:

I just can't get over the disappointment. I mean, winning the gold is a proud achievement and all but I really don't feel like I'm worthy of the win. I haven’t earned the right to take pride in it, I feel, as a Japanese national.

 

U:

But you are! And you have!

 

H:

I know I can aim higher and do better.

 

U:

Still, the entire country's celebrating your win so you'll be busier than ever before. You know, you should really pick the programs you want to be on now, before you return to Japan. And if you'd like my advice, you won't go wrong with "Sekaiichi Uketai Jugyo" and "Oshareism". I wouldn't recommend "Shabekuri 007" because Ken Horiuchi may be a bit, erm...much, shall we say, for young people (much like yourself).

 

H:

Lol! Imma go for just that, then.

 

U:

So you're doing the opposite?! But really, everyone would still appreciate it if you would. So what was the Olympics like for you?

 

H:

More than anything, it was nerve-wracking. But the experience that I gained from all that pressure is something that will help me in my life from here on out, and also in skating and in other disciplines, as well.

 

U: It may be too early to ask you this seeing what you've achieved only yesterday but mind if I asked what your goals are for the future?

 

H:

I've been selected to skate at Worlds come end of March and what I'm aiming for is to skate a perfect program this time, so I'll be putting in a lot of practice to make that happen.

 

U:

Wow. Thank you very much for being here despite your fatigue.

 

H:

Thank you.

 

U:

Let's give a big hand to our Olympic gold medalist, Yuzuru Hanyu!

 

-FIN-

 

 

[yana]

3 hours ago, ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ said:

 

 

 but this interview already subbed. Here , I'm upload back in Gdrive.

Not subbed by me. Source

[¯\_(ツ)_/¯]

 

2 時間前, yana said:

 

 but this interview already subbed. Here , I'm upload back in Gdrive.

Not subbed by me. Source

 

Ahhh I've never seen this! And the video quality seems decent, too. Lol. I feel so dumb now. I guess I should delete my post then ^.^. What happens if I do that and it's the opening post to a thread...? 

 

ED: Mmmh on second thought, I'll just leave it up here. Can't hurt, since it's all done up already. People can always just skip it. >_<

[yuzuangel]

thank you for the translation!