SHOMA UNO PRESS CONFERENCE โ 5-14-24--PART 1
There is no change in my decision to continue on the path of skating. I have decided to retire from active figure skating. I am truly grateful to everyone who has supported me up until now, and I will continue on my path as professional skater, so I would be happy if you continue to support me. Thank you everyone.
I will continue to skate with all my might for the next stage. Now that I have announced my retirement, my honest feelings are that when I entered this venue, I was so happy to see so many people who have always looked after me smiling. Also, seeing so many people gather at this retirement press conference makes me feel like my path as a figure skater, having worked hard until this day, is truly being realized, and it also makes me realize how much support I have received from so many people.
Q. What was the reaction after you announced your retirement? Iโm not very active on social media, but I am truly grateful to receive so many messages. Rather than feeling sad about my retirement, I feel very positive, and I will continue skating for a long time to come, so I donโt feel sad at all. Of course, Iโm very happy to hear from those who are sad, but this announcement is also intended to convey my determination to give my all in skating again in the future, so I hope that you will continue to enjoy supporting me in the future.
Q. You said that you received a lot of messages from both your seniors and juniors, and that you felt loved by many people. Everyone is really warm-hearted. Just like today, I think there have been many times in the past when I have spoken to the media in my own words, however I pleased, and when I have not been considerate at all towards my seniors and juniors, or acted like a senior. Everyone is really nice and a great senior, but there are also a lot of juniors who are more accomplished than me, so Iโm really looking forward to the future of the figure skating world.
I think it was news that excited the world, but I donโt think it was that exciting (laughs). But I really think that just shows how many people are paying attention to figure skating and supporting me. Iโm very grateful to all the people Iโve met through figure skating, and I hope I can provide some support in the future.
Q. How do you feel looking back at your achievements so far? I never thought I would become an athlete like this, and I never thought I would become someone who can actually speak like this in front of people so I am really grateful to have come across figure skating, and Iโm amazed at everything...I never thought I would be able to achieve good results at the Olympic stage that I watched on TV. Until about three or four years ago, I never really thought I would be able to become an athlete who could win the World Championships again, so I feel that this encounter with figure skating has been a very moving experience for me.
Q. what is the reason for your success so far? I really feel that I have been blessed with the people around me and the people I have met. I donโt really have much to do on my own initiative, especially since Iโm an indoor person. Iโm happy when people say Iโm a very hard worker, but thatโs not really the case. The people around me really supported me so that I could do what I wanted and do it freely, and I think that the fact that I was able to give it my all led to this amazing result. Until recently, when I was still active, I would be looking for challenges and making comments about them, but now when I look back, I realize that I have really come a long way.
Professional skating matches my lifestyle perfectly. However, no matter what happens, itโs not often that I get to perform my own figure skating in such a tense and highly publicized setting, so Iโm grateful to everyone who supported me, and I want to give myself a big pat on the back for having devoted myself to figure skating every day up to this day.
Q. Iโm very grateful to hear your comments about fans saying they will be sad to no longer be able to see the competitive performances. Iโm really happy that there are people who are looking forward to this sport, figure skating, a sport that I have given my all to, but I donโt think that will change my intention to continue to devote my all to skating. The form may change completely, but I want to pursue the form of figure skating that I believe is best, so I would be happy if you would support me. I want to skate in a way that makes everyday practice fun and that I can dance from the heart. I thought that since I would be away from competition, I would be able to pursue figure skating freely. Iโm free to do it or not, and whether I jump, spin, or whatever I do, I can choose for myself, so I think it matches my way of life really well, and Iโm really looking forward to it.
Q. Is this like going beyond the boundaries of the sport and going โfull throttleโ with Shoma Uno? Thatโs right. I think that since I decided to retire, and even after my last competition, Iโve been practicing more, not like I have to do this again, but like I want to try this, and Iโve been able to practice skating every day with a high degree of freedom, with that exciting feeling.
Q. How was the last season? I am truly grateful to my juniors for making me feel their passion, wanting to achieve results after competing through the year and deciding to become an athlete.
But it was really fun. I feel very grateful that there is a place where I can give my all, and I also think that throughout my final year, every competition I competed in was a performance that came from giving it my all. Of course, there may have been many successes and failures, but I believe that both were equally important and that both successes and failures were precious times for me.
Q. Regarding your consecutive second place finishes at the Cup of China, NHK, and the Final, while you wanted results, you also wanted to see yourself give your all as a figure skater. Right now, all I have left is a feeling of true satisfaction. This footage youโre showing now is a photo taken immediately after the World Championships, and they look so satisfied, like theyโve done their best, so of course there may be a part of them that thinks the result is the most important thing. However, even when the reslts arenโt great like this, just looking at this smile and this photo, they loo very happy, so I think it shows thereโs more to it than that.
Q. About the smile you showed at the last World Championships, I think it was these past three months, weโve been practicing all the time. I think the practice weโve done in preparation for these World Championships has led to that smile. In the past, when I wasnโt able to achieve the results Iโd practice in a competition, I would get frustrated and depressed, but after 21 years of figure skating, Iโve realized that the daily efforts Iโve put in have enabled me to become an athlete who can finish a competition with a smile on my face, and I think Iโve come one step closer to the skater I wanted to be when I was little.
)
As for Shoma saying that he wonders why younger skaters look up to him...I think the kind way in which he said everything helps answer his question. 
I would still like to check Shoma's words on my own at some point, though (perhaps after I stop watching all the Japanese news reports on him...
). 
I guess after reading Google Translate for 9 years, it's almost started to make sense to me. SCARY!!!! (I did find a couple typos tho and will go back and make corrections)
