Team Japan

[ralucutzagy]

 

[SuzyQ]

Mitsuki could not make it 

Again, he can't go to the Senior Nationals with Yuzuru, his idol.

 

Get well soon 

 

[Yuazz]

Wow I didn't expect that podium for junior men.. Now that's a surprise that the winner of gold and silver didn't even got GP assignment this season.. With this result who will be selected to Jr WC?  Tsuboi and Sato? 

[guitarist]

19 minutes ago, Yuazz said:

Wow I didn't expect that podium for junior men.. Now that's a surprise that the winner of gold and silver didn't even got GP assignment this season.. With this result who will be selected to Jr WC?  Tsuboi and Sato? 

I think Tsuboi gets it automatically? But the other one will be determined later. Guess it'll depend how they do at Nationals and how Koshiro does at JGPF. Knowing JSF though, it'll be hard for Sato to get it...

[Yuazz]

36 minutes ago, guitarist said:

I think Tsuboi gets it automatically? But the other one will be determined later. Guess it'll depend how they do at Nationals and how Koshiro does at JGPF. Knowing JSF though, it'll be hard for Sato to get it...

What's the criteria for 2nd spot? 

[Paskud]

SEND SHUN TO JWC, YOU COWARDS!!!!!!!

[EisElle]

mh, depending on how JGPF will go for Koshiro (and likely on how SrNats will go), I can see fed leaving Shun at home and sending Koshiro (especially if he manages to grab a gpf medal)...despite Shun having the highest scoring potential...I guess they want to see how consistent these boys can be, they want those 3 spots back...

How consistent is Tatsuya? btw I like his FS costume, it reminds me of a mix of Yuzu's Etude+MR

anyway, congrats to the medalists and to those who will go to SrNats, and congrats to the ladies! I'm happy that both Yuna Aoki and Tomoe are in top six, and Tomoe on podium and of course Nana! Happy for Yuhana too (tho weird to see her in jr considering the age of some of current sr ladies..tho I understand the field was way too crowded already...)

Japan really has some very great jumpers...they only need some more polish, which will come with time, and most important they need to land those beautiful jumps they have...

sad for Rion tho and for Moa...but no surprises there. If only she could have someone to help her improve those jumps...

[WinForPooh]

On 11/25/2018 at 4:48 PM, ralucutzagy said:

 

His spins are soooo much better! Wow, I could hardly believe my eyes. I'm so happy, I really really like this kid.

[yuzuangel]

On 11/25/2018 at 11:13 AM, guitarist said:

I think Tsuboi gets it automatically? But the other one will be determined later. Guess it'll depend how they do at Nationals and how Koshiro does at JGPF. Knowing JSF though, it'll be hard for Sato to get it...

Too bad about the short, Shun lost by literal fractions 

[sallycinnamon]

Congratulations to the junior medalists!

Were the other men really 4-5 points better in PCS in the SP than Shun? He could've won if his PCS would've been higher by just 0.5 point....and that would have secured him a spot at Junior Worlds.

Imo Shun should get the second spot for Worlds. His scoring potential is huge with 2x 4T and 2x 3A in the free.

[kaeryth]

 

[kaeryth]

 

[Rainbow]

Here’s a video featuring Sota produced by a local TV station titled “Dramatic Comeback.  Three Surgeries.  Challenge of Sota Yamamoto, Successor to Hanyu” aired Nov. 18, 2018.

 

 

I started to translate only the beginning part as the program is sort of a recap of the story we know about, but I ended up translating the whole episode as this is an inspiring coverage of Sota.

 

Q: Don’t people tell you that your name sota is unusual?

Sota says “Do you think so?  Well, my friends sometimes jokingly call me ‘Kusata.’ (t/n:  草太Sota’s first part of the name 草’so’ can also be pronounced as ‘kusa.’  草means grass.)  It looks like my parents had been unable to deciding which of the two names to pick; Ryota or Sota, and when I was born and the moment they saw my face they went for Sota, the one with 草kusa.

• He has a pleasant smile and on ice his skating with lovely flow using his long arms and legs is captivating.  But…
• Showing his ankle he says “This is the surgery scar.  I have bolts implanted.  I am still worried a little bit (about my ankle).  I haven’t completely gotten over the feeling that something is not quite right. 
• When he was 13 he moved from Osaka to Nagoya to train skating and started to be recognized as one of the rising star.
• At age 15 he placed 3rd at the World Junior Championships and he was on the podium next to the winner Shoma Uno (at age 17) who is now a Pyeongchang Olympics silver medalist.
• Sota says at that time “I want to follow Uno senshu now and do my best to achieve good results as a junior.”
• The same year at the Japanese Junior Nationals (in November 2015) he won gold successfully landing  a quad-triple combination when he was still in the first year of high school.  With his high jumps and gorgeous skating he attracted many people’s attention and was expected to be a successor to Hanyu senshu.  But…
• Right before his senior debut, he fell during practice and seriously injured his right ankle.  Sota says “It hurt so much that my pain was the only thing on my mind.”  He underwent three surgeries until his ankle healed and was forced to be off ice for one and a half year.
• Sota says “I wanted to quit already.  It was painful to even walk.  I went through rehabilitation but my recovery was so slow.  It came to my mind that perhaps I could not skate anymore.”
• Although he had thought about quitting skating, the place he chose to be was on ice.  In October last year, one year seven months after the injury, he was at the Chubu Regionals which is a preliminary round leading to the Japanese Nationals.
• His jumps which used to be his outstanding strength were only single rotation jumps.  It was far from his potential but he brought out his best.
• Sota says “From the time I started skating when I was 5-year old I was practicing like it's the most natural thing every day.  But once I was off ice I truly realized how much I wanted to skate and to compete.”
• Two months after the competition where he made his comeback, at the Japanese Nationals he successfully landed triple jumps for the first time after his injury, leaving the clear impression of his reemergence.
• His coach says “His skating captures our eyes and captivates our soul as well.  While he was unable to jump I was watching him working diligently on other things such as polishing his artistic presentation.  I hope he will be able to show at competitions gradually what he has gained through his hard work.
• Two years and eight months after the serious injury he finally got to compete at the senior GPS.  At the November NHK Trophy he was sixth after the short and was going into the free.
• After the opening 3A failed into a single jump he changed the layout and replaced the second jump with a 3A which he successfully landed with a positive GOE.   Although he could not yet land a quad jump which he used to be able to when he was a junior, his spins, which he improved while suffering from injury, received his best score.  He finished 6th scoring 213.40.
• Sota says “I have been working so hard in order to compete at this event.  So much so that I ended up making a detour, but I want to achieve better results so I want to continue doing the best I can.

[kaeryth]

 

[Rainbow]

Translation of the transcript of Mitsuki's interview by Kenji Miyamoto broadcasted on 10/31/18. Part 1 of 2, page 1 - 6. https://www.jsports.co.jp/press/arti...111454606.html
 

Page 1
 

Practice Rink under Reconstruction
- Sumoto kun in personal clothes ... I have only seen you in jerseys till this time.
Mitsuki: Because I only wear jerseys usually [laughter].
- Now you strike me as a nice young man. So thank you for your time today. Um, Sumoto-kun is now a high school student. In what year are you in?
Mitsuki: Third year.
- Third year of high school. Do you go to school?
Mitsuki: I... yes...somehow.
- Studying hard too? You are preparing for your (college) entrance exams?
Mitsuki: Entrance exams ... That too, but my practice rink is unavailable now so I am having a hard time.  (t/n: Rinkai Rink was closed from April 9 to Sept. 30, 2018)
- How do you practice?
Mitsuki: At Nishinomiya (t/n: in Kobe), Hyogo during the time they are open to public (regular business hours). I could reserve the rink, but then the hour starts at 4 o'clock in the morning or 12 o'clock midnight. School work is also quite hard right now until the exams are over. So basically, I practice for 2-3 hours around noon with general public from Monday to Thursday. On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday I’m at Chukyo rink (in Nagoya) every week; elsewhere I cannot run-through the programs to music.
- Oh, it is hard. (Early in the morning) you cannot move your body easily, can you?
Mitsuki: I cannot go (so early).
--Huh?
Mitsuki: I don’t.
- Oh, you don’t go there at 4 o'clock
Mitsuki: It (reservation) is available, but if I did that, I would mess up at school, my study.
- So you don’t go there at 4 o'clock in the morning. You got everybody think that you were there early morning and I was talking on that assumption [laughter]. What about starting at 12 o'clock midnight?
Mitsuki: I never have [laughter].
- Haven’t you [laughter].

First Encounter between Kenji and Sumoto
- Actually, it is almost the first time to talk to each other.
Mitsuki: This is my first time. At Nobeyama (training camp) Kenji sensei was teaching steps ... not sure ... Ummm ... was it my first year there?
- Nobeyama, the youth talent discovery event? The one where I was a lecturer? You were there!
Mitsuki: That's right [laughter].