- Joined
- Nov 14, 2007
Some rough translations from a Japanese magazine for you before the new season starts. 
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Source: Cutting Edge 2012 Plus, Men's figure skating Team Japan fan book
Published: 27 July, 2012
Re: Coach's intervew; Utako Nagamitsu talks about Daisuke Takahashi
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<1>
"Going into the Worlds in Nice I was worried about his skating boots, to tell the truth. The boots he prepared for the Worlds did not skate as good/smooth as the ones he previously had put on. I was not sure if he would be all right with those boots; how they would affect his skating itself and quads. Last season and the season before that, he could not land any quads unless the conditions; both physical and mental, as well as his boots conditions, were in his absolute best, you know."
"Men's free skate was the one such exciting competition we haven't had for a while! And Daisuke did land the quad with that not-the-best-conditioned boots in the middle of such nerve-wrecking situation. Good for him, and how lucky he was for he did not give up skating, I would say! (laugh) He could experience such an exciting and great battle with these world's top skaters, because he did not give up competitive skating. He is one of the most fortunate men in the world, isn't he?"
"He starts landing quads regardless of boots condition, finally...But since he can include only 1 quad in a program, our team was ready to take this competition as one of, say, precious try-and-error opportunities. So, this time we aimed for the second place and he did. Another solid step up for him and I am glad for that."
"To my eyes he has showed a remarkable improvement as the season progressed so far, thanks to his devotion to skating and lots of hard work. He tried to push himself to the limit, so much more than I anticipated or expected. What I did was simply to follow him from behind, while paying attention to his physical conditions. This was something he had never done before; I never saw such Daisuke before. His attitude toward skating has risen to another level at this point in his career. He used his frustrations and dissapointments from last season [=finishing 5th in Moscow Worlds, skating thru with the broken boots upon the opening quad in his Free skate] as his motivation. He proved once again that he can regroup himself and recover/rebound well next season when he has rather bad season before. He always is that kind of skater throughout his career."
"We have witnessed Dai's such hard work going into this year's Worlds. I sincerely hoped he would be rewarded with some good results in Nice for his efforts. Final placements, however, are not always what matters the most. In this regard, what I wished for him was he will have a good performance which he can get satisfied with. And he did. But he made some costly mistakes to lose to Patrick in the end. Both are good for him. I believe so. For Daisuke and me, this probably should be an indication: to go further and further, until we can go to the furthest! (laugh) He checked the video and watched his free skate after the competition. He, too, admitted he didnot skate his best yet. I feel the same. While it was unfortunate for him about his boots condition, it's true that he needs to demonstrate his skating to the same degree as Patrick's regardless of conditions of his skating boots."
"Looking at other boys, I would say Men's descipline in particular has been great this year! Kevin Van Der Perren, Brian Joubert, Jeremy Abbott...I am glad to see these veteran skaters did really great. I look forward to their another improvements and achievements in the new season against their age. Not only skaters. Taking a look to other sports, we have a veteran such as Kosuke Kitajima who has leaded world's swinning scene for so long. These top atheletes give us courage to go on and to go further. Young athelets, too. Look at Yuzuru Hanyu, what a tremendous accomplishment he has made at this Worlds! Yuzuru is such a matured boy for and also a great athlete for his age, remembering my boy Daisuke at Yuzuru's age. (laugh) Daisuke surely needs to work hard in order not to lose to these youngsters."
(cont'd)
-------------------------
Source: Cutting Edge 2012 Plus, Men's figure skating Team Japan fan book
Published: 27 July, 2012
Re: Coach's intervew; Utako Nagamitsu talks about Daisuke Takahashi
-------------------------
<1>
"Going into the Worlds in Nice I was worried about his skating boots, to tell the truth. The boots he prepared for the Worlds did not skate as good/smooth as the ones he previously had put on. I was not sure if he would be all right with those boots; how they would affect his skating itself and quads. Last season and the season before that, he could not land any quads unless the conditions; both physical and mental, as well as his boots conditions, were in his absolute best, you know."
"Men's free skate was the one such exciting competition we haven't had for a while! And Daisuke did land the quad with that not-the-best-conditioned boots in the middle of such nerve-wrecking situation. Good for him, and how lucky he was for he did not give up skating, I would say! (laugh) He could experience such an exciting and great battle with these world's top skaters, because he did not give up competitive skating. He is one of the most fortunate men in the world, isn't he?"
"He starts landing quads regardless of boots condition, finally...But since he can include only 1 quad in a program, our team was ready to take this competition as one of, say, precious try-and-error opportunities. So, this time we aimed for the second place and he did. Another solid step up for him and I am glad for that."
"To my eyes he has showed a remarkable improvement as the season progressed so far, thanks to his devotion to skating and lots of hard work. He tried to push himself to the limit, so much more than I anticipated or expected. What I did was simply to follow him from behind, while paying attention to his physical conditions. This was something he had never done before; I never saw such Daisuke before. His attitude toward skating has risen to another level at this point in his career. He used his frustrations and dissapointments from last season [=finishing 5th in Moscow Worlds, skating thru with the broken boots upon the opening quad in his Free skate] as his motivation. He proved once again that he can regroup himself and recover/rebound well next season when he has rather bad season before. He always is that kind of skater throughout his career."
"We have witnessed Dai's such hard work going into this year's Worlds. I sincerely hoped he would be rewarded with some good results in Nice for his efforts. Final placements, however, are not always what matters the most. In this regard, what I wished for him was he will have a good performance which he can get satisfied with. And he did. But he made some costly mistakes to lose to Patrick in the end. Both are good for him. I believe so. For Daisuke and me, this probably should be an indication: to go further and further, until we can go to the furthest! (laugh) He checked the video and watched his free skate after the competition. He, too, admitted he didnot skate his best yet. I feel the same. While it was unfortunate for him about his boots condition, it's true that he needs to demonstrate his skating to the same degree as Patrick's regardless of conditions of his skating boots."
"Looking at other boys, I would say Men's descipline in particular has been great this year! Kevin Van Der Perren, Brian Joubert, Jeremy Abbott...I am glad to see these veteran skaters did really great. I look forward to their another improvements and achievements in the new season against their age. Not only skaters. Taking a look to other sports, we have a veteran such as Kosuke Kitajima who has leaded world's swinning scene for so long. These top atheletes give us courage to go on and to go further. Young athelets, too. Look at Yuzuru Hanyu, what a tremendous accomplishment he has made at this Worlds! Yuzuru is such a matured boy for and also a great athlete for his age, remembering my boy Daisuke at Yuzuru's age. (laugh) Daisuke surely needs to work hard in order not to lose to these youngsters."
(cont'd)
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to the group 'Swan' number. And we 
you, Let's talk!
