Kazuki Tomono

[Giu]

Kazuki!!!!!!
He made me cry!!!!:
I'm super super happy that he was finally able to deliver and to show how much he worths!!!!! :luv17: Moments like this make me so proud to be his fan!

Now, assuming that Shun and Yuma will stay in junior this year, I wish the fed will send Kazuki to 4CC He deserves that!

ahhhhh, not to ruin the party, but he was so close to beat Keiji today... Next time!!!

 

[KiraraChin]

I'm just so, so happy for Kazuki today. After finishing 11th in the short, he was 4th in the free, 6th overall!
https://twitter.com/FCSp4GOE100/status/1208726655394447361/photo/1

He still left a bunch of points on the table: https://twitter.com/mromron_58/status/1208726054082236419/photo/1
Some botched spins, double jumps, and a call on his lutz.

But, overall, such a great performance! It was his highest TES since Milan 2018 :hap93:

I really hope this will be a turning point for him. He should be very, very proud what he achieved today!

 

[AQFS]

Our boy really made me cry today :sad46:

Really happy to see him finally able to pull such a performance which is his best since worlds 2018. Although this may be the end of the season for him I am happy he could end it on a high note and hopefully, this helps him with his confidence.

Looking forward to him getting better and stronger next season

 

[Ichatdelune]

On the off-chance that Yuzuru may withdraw from 4CC, I'm keeping a tiny fire of hope that Kazuki gets to compete one more time (with me watching live), if not then Kazuki has to keep his wonderful SP and skate it clean next season :sad4:

 

[Giu]

I'm quite disappointed that he wasn't selected for 4CC since among the Ladies they're still giving Kaori the chance to go instead of Tomoe Kawabata :curse: Why didn't they applied the same selection method?

Still, like Ichatdelune said, there's the chance that Yuzuru may withdraw from 4cc and I believe that this is very likely to happen since he needs to rest for Worlds.

@Ichatdelune I wish you to see him live at 4CC

 

[KiraraChin]

His season is not over! He's first alternate for both 4CC and Worlds: https://twitter.com/0409_Obi/status/1208749866760859650
As an alternate, he will need to remain in competitive shape, so he will most likely be doing a late winter/spring challenger.

This is in addition to domestic events, such as Intercollegiate in January and most likely Kokutai in February.

So he will continue competing this season, just not in the big international competitions. Perhaps this is better for him to build his confidence and hone his skills without pressure.

What we saw from Kazuki today is just the tip of the iceberg. Had he gone completely clean, his TES would be around 100. His PCS are starting to rise too, and we know that with some consistency, they will rise even further because he is an amazing performer. So his scores still have plenty of room to grow! He just needs a bit more time to polish everything

 

[Ichatdelune]

To be fair, with ladies Sakamoto Kaori won last season's nationals while Kawabata Tomoe was in 3rd (I think) in junior nationals, but with the men Kazuki was 4th last nationals while Kagiyama Yuma won junior nationals. Also, apparently Kagiyama Yuma has the senior TES for 4CC while Kawabata Tomoe doesn't, so that must've factored in. But yeah, it stings...

I quite adore Yuzuru, but I honestly want him to withdraw. It's not for Kazuki, it's for Yuzuru's ankles. The way I see it, Yuzuru gets to rest his ankles (which he desperately needs to do), Kazuki gets to compete one last time in a major competition and prove himself, it's good for both of them. And the Poohvalanche is scary, I don't want to be hit by a giant Pooh while watching

 

[khtmyzr]

I’m so proud of Kazuki!
But disappointed about 4CC... I thought for sure he would get the spot being the 4th place among seniors Like many, I’m wondering how come they skipped Tomoe for the ladies but not do the same thing for the men’s. It’s not like Kazuki performed badly when he last went to worlds... He was fifth! T^T

 

[Lunalovesskating]

To be fair, with ladies Sakamoto Kaori won last season's nationals while Kawabata Tomoe was in 3rd (I think) in junior nationals, but with the men Kazuki was 4th last nationals while Kagiyama Yuma won junior nationals. Also, apparently Kagiyama Yuma has the senior TES for 4CC while Kawabata Tomoe doesn't, so that must've factored in. But yeah, it stings...

I quite adore Yuzuru, but I honestly want him to withdraw. It's not for Kazuki, it's for Yuzuru's ankles. The way I see it, Yuzuru gets to rest his ankles (which he desperately needs to do), Kazuki gets to compete one last time in a major competition and prove himself, it's good for both of them. And the Poohvalanche is scary, I don't want to be hit by a giant Pooh while watching

Yuzuru just said in an interview that he wants to compete at 4CC

 

[Ichatdelune]

Yuzuru just said in an interview that he wants to compete at 4CC

(deep sigh) Of course he does, he doesn't have a gold 4CC medal yet, and when Yuzuru is in kuyashii mode he forgets all about things like ankles and health I adore the man and his competitive energy but he can be shortsighted by that competitiveness...

Anyway, at 4CC or not I want a clean The Hardest Button to Button, in this season or the next. The program is too good for him to never do it justice

 

[Giu]

Yuzuru just said in an interview that he wants to compete at 4CC

mmm I still think that there's hope for Kazuki, I believe Yuzuru is saying that because he is a fighter and now he is disappointed by his last two competitions, but I'm sure that he will analyse his situation with his team and realize that it's better for him to concentrate to win Worlds. I looove Yuzuru but I love also Kazuki and he deserves his spot. I have the funny feeling that is going to happen something like two years ago in Milan, Yuzuru will withdraw and Kazuki will give everything he has!!!

As for Tomoe ok she doesn't have the minimum TES and so they're sending Kaori, still I don't quite get the selection among men... At this point they should send Yuma to senior Worlds, after all he earned his spot placing before Keiji...

 

[KiraraChin]

I don't know if you guys saw my post re: Yuma in the Japanese Men thread a while ago. For me, from the way he was scored at junior nats and now at senior Nats (incl having the same PCS as Kazuki, WTH), it's clear that he is a fed favourite. So I'm not surprised they decided to send him to 4CC and not Kazuki, while sending Kaori in Ladies.

I'm really not too upset about Kazuki missing 4CC and Worlds this season, because I know he'll come back much stronger next season. When that happens, Yuma and the others will need to watch out

 

[AQFS]

I think the Fed does want to push Yuma to go senior and already had him compete in senior already early in the season to get the minimum requirement (don't think Tomoe did though). So I am not surprised that when the chance is here, they did send him to 4CC.

But this doesn't take away from what he accomplished with his FP today. Because we know he is always overlooked, I was so afraid if he failed to show results in this Nationals, they were going to totally abandon him but he showcased his potential again today and hopefully, that would help him get some support next season

 

[synesthesia]

Congrats Kazuki!


What a charismatic and at the same time technically sound performance from Kazuki! His free skate was hands down one of the clear highlights of the entire competition for me. Those beautifully landed 4S and 4T are a reason to celebrate and I hope this will be a major confidence booster for him. I'm looking forward to where he goes from here.

 

[KiraraChin]

Because we know he is always overlooked, I was so afraid if he failed to show results in this Nationals, they were going to totally abandon him but he showcased his potential again today and hopefully, that would help him get some support next season

Yes, and I'm pretty sure he was thinking of this as well, and that's why he got so emotional. They could have completely abandoned him and worse, cut his funding. But that free put him on the map again and, as the first alternate for both 4CC and WC, I hope he can at least keep the same level of funding

There were some really sweet updates from Misha on social media! :luv17:
https://www.instagram.com/p/B6YRK7ZJJYz/
https://twitter.com/takeyo55098794/status/1208842714004905984

Kazuki himself posted a couple of instastories - with ramen!
https://twitter.com/KiraraChin/status/1208891738213015559
He also changed his profile picture on Twitter: https://twitter.com/naniwatomono

ETA: As he didn't medal and he's not part of the main team, he wasn't invited to Medallists on Ice (Japanese nationals gala). Their loss, really! :sarcasm:

 

[Lunalovesskating]

Do you think that Kazuki will go to a senior B competition? I want to see him compete at least once more this season.

 

[surimi]

Congrats to Kazuki! I haven't seen him yet, or my other fave Keiji, but I have to do so soon :luv17: The reports here are promising.
I think I've seen mentioned he's in A funding?
Yes, that would be great if he could do a Challenger. I feel they might want to send Mitsuki and Koshiro, but hope dies last, and I'll keep my fingers crossed for Sota and Kazuki in Europe again. Especially since I haven't seen Kazuki in person yet.

 

[Giu]

As he didn't medal and he's not part of the main team, he wasn't invited to Medallists on Ice (Japanese nationals gala). Their loss, really! :sarcasm:

Right. Their loss.:scowl:

Do you think that Kazuki will go to a senior B competition? I want to see him compete at least once more this season.

Congrats to Kazuki! I haven't seen him yet, or my other fave Keiji, but I have to do so soon :luv17: The reports here are promising.
I think I've seen mentioned he's in A funding?
Yes, that would be great if he could do a Challenger. I feel they might want to send Mitsuki and Koshiro, but hope dies last, and I'll keep my fingers crossed for Sota and Kazuki in Europe again. Especially since I haven't seen Kazuki in person yet.

I hope they'll send him to a challenger at least, maybe in Europe, not that I'm planning to go to see other figure skating competitions live again this year, I've already spent too much money for Lombardia and GPF but I might do something crazy and buy a ticket if he comes near Plus I think he needs to compete and increase his scores to have two GP spots next year; do challengers count right?

 

[KiraraChin]

Do you think that Kazuki will go to a senior B competition? I want to see him compete at least once more this season.

I hope they'll send him to a challenger at least, maybe in Europe, not that I'm planning to go to see other figure skating competitions live again this year, I've already spent too much money for Lombardia and GPF but I might do something crazy and buy a ticket if he comes near Plus I think he needs to compete and increase his scores to have two GP spots next year; do challengers count right?

Yes, I'm pretty sure they'll send him to a late winter/spring challenger, most likely in Europe, like Bavaria Open, Challenge Cup or Coup de Printemps. Unfortunately, whatever scores he gets won't count towards his ISU SB but *I think* they might count points towards his world standings (please someone correct me if I'm wrong). Currently he's 19th in WS which means he would have at least one GP spot guaranteed if the season finished now. Let's see

I think I've seen mentioned he's in A funding?

Yes, he's currently in A level funding for the 19-20 season. Since he didn't medal and isn't part of the main team, I'm fairly sure they won't promote him to special strengthening category, but I hope that as first senior alternate, he will get to at least remain in category A.


There were some really cool social media updates today!

First of all, Misha published a very cool post explaining the thought process behind the creation of the Moulin Rouge programme, and how the crowd reacted after Kazuki's performance at JNats: https://www.instagram.com/p/B6aQHVqJIRd/ Really, really nice read!

Then Kazuki himself posted on Instagram, talking about his 'beloved jiro' (that fatty ramen Tsurara mentioned before) From what I could understand, he thanks everyone for the support and says he wants to become stronger: https://www.instagram.com/p/B6aNaUwDc1l/
He also posted a very cool pic as an instastory: https://twitter.com/KiraraChin/status/1209047916511465472 (second pic)

He also appeared in other skaters' social media!
This tweet from Mitsuki: https://twitter.com/mitsuki130204/status/1208935152346259457
Yuhana Yokoi's IG story: https://www.instagram.com/p/B6asSPmJIEN/ (cool jacket!)

 

[KiraraChin]

Hi everyone, did you see Misha's latest IG stories? I uploaded them here: https://imgur.com/a/aGzu2XB
It seems they were in some sort of public rink and giving autographs?

I also found this interview from Atom Doshisha (in Japanese): http://doshisha-atom.net/headline/result.php?linkno=5&no=3991
Tsurara, if I understood correctly, he's planning on going back to training the 4lo now?