Sota Yamamoto

[surimi]

Correction on the bio, according to some, his profile in Japanese says 'music, movies, hot baths and walking'. And unless google translate did a lousy job on the article linked below, he apparently originally listed 'eating/meals' as his hobby. Very nice hobbies, you rock, Sota!

Both articles are in Japanese only.
- https://www.walkerplus.com/trend/matome/article/206516/
- https://www.walkerplus.com/trend/matome/article/206514/

The article seems to suggest people are predicting 4Lo as Sota's next quad. Disagree with that recommendation. I am lousy at jump science so I cannot assess the difference in difficulty, but Sota's best jump is by far the 3 flip, at least in competitions. Clean as a whistle in the protocols, great marks, always. I think if he goes for a new quad in the future, it should be 4F just based on his success with the triple.

Sota's only competition this month is Finlandia Trophy. Next month, he'll be attending both West Japan sectionals and NHK Trophy. A report I read on a blog also mentions he attended Chuubu regionals as a spectator to cheer on his training mates. (makes sense, the competition took place at his base rink)

 

[surimi]

If anyone gets a hold of the 'Figure Skating Life' magazine - https://twitter.com/fskating_Life/status/1179231859340914689 - (Tsurara?), please do share the gist of what's in Sota's interview with us foreigners.
Sota also has an interview in Quadruple- Japan Figure Skating Fan Book: https://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/product/4635924912/

Also, on October 20 Howa Sportsland is hosting an event, it looks to be something like open house day. They're inviting the public to attend, and Sota, Tatsuya, and the Yokoi sisters will be participating. I am not sure there's anyone here who can come, but sharing just in case.

Also, I would be happy for Sota if he got either Kolyada's vacant spot at SC, or Ponsart's vacant spot at SA... but let's face it, it doesn't look very likely unfortunately, as there are already two Japanese boys at either event, and Sota scored above 240 at both his last intl events, defeating the reigning World bronze medalist last month... I'd be happy if he was picked, but I won't be surprised if he's seen as too much of a threat.

 

[rRainbow]

Both articles are in Japanese only.
- https://www.walkerplus.com/trend/matome/article/206516/
- https://www.walkerplus.com/trend/matome/article/206514/

The above Tokai Walker magazine Sota interview on May, 2019 is mostly the same as the one shared on page 27 of this thread, but the above article has more information.

**skipping the part which is almost the same as before**
- Then, you have 4T and 4S for the time being.
S: Yes, for now.
- How about in the future?
S: Although people are telling me that my next jump should be 4loop, I tried it before a long time ago but I could not rotate enough, and I didn’t have a feel for it. For now I have 4S in the competition program and after I get success with it I will try 4Lo.
- Some skaters push up the technical difficulty to the highest limit or develop the layout to ensure perfection. Do you learn from other skaters’ layouts and performances?
S: Nathan Chen senshu at 4CC got over 100 points with 3+3 in short. He earned such high score because he was excellent at every element. Of course jump is the element to get highest scores, but it comes with risks. After all, I feel that great skating skills and expressive artistry make performance fantastic, so I would like to pay attention to these… No! But everything is important.

I want to be a skater who fascinates the audience with my skating.

- What is the direction of the skating you are pursuing?
S: I want to be a skater who showcases skating skills. I think I am, if anything, that kind of skater. I am aiming for a great skate that captivates the audience by gliding across the ice, but I am not very good at skating.
- No, no, what would happen if we say Yamamoto senshu is not good at skating? [laughs]
S: Yes, it’s true! I don’t think I’m good at skating at all, and I am not quite expressive yet. I went to Detroit for choreography the other day, and there were many ice dancers at the rink I visited for practice. I was surrounded by ice dancers and I was the only one single skater and I learned a lot there. I was blown away by their skills such as skating, edge works, and expressions. It made me realized that I still have a long way to go.

- To be continued..
I'll be back tomorrow with the rest.

 

[rRainbow]

Continued from previous post.

- In ice dance, skaters use different blades. As a matter of fact, the two are not comparable… [laughs]. By the way, who is your choreographer in Detroit?
S: Mr. Camerlengo. The short is “East of Eden,” and the free is “In This Shirt.”
- Michelle Kwan was the first one skated to “East of Eden,” and there have been many masterpieces using this music such as Tatsuki Matsuda’s program. What kind of program do you expect it to be?
S: I’ve just been choreographed, and haven’t had enough time to skate well. I am trying to figure out where the highpoints are, where to emphasize and how to express. I’m going to think carefully. I haven’t visualized a plan yet. My sensei said “You start out the program with skating, showcasing your elegance and get powerful with the steps in the second half when the music builds up.” It’s hard for me to put up a powerful performance because I am sort of slim.[laughs] I’m afraid I’m not good at it after all. I am going to try hard.

**skipping the talks about how he chose the music and his move from Osaka to Nagoya**

- How is your foot now? You still have bolts inside?
S: Yes they still are. The bolts are headless, but it is hard to remove three of them by shaving the bone… These bolts don’t need to be removed so I’m going to keep them.
- So they are now part of your body? They don’t have a bad effect on you?
S: I still feel something is off, but as I keep practicing little by little the area which I feel safe began to broaden, and now I can jump quads. The doctor said “By examining the diagnostic image, your bone has mended well. The remaining issue is how I feel about it. Before, I used to think about my foot all day long, but now it is mostly out of my mind.
- You can put more weight on it than before, and do harder things with it?
S: Yes, I can do much more now.
- But you cannot push yourself as hard as Hanyu-senshu and Uno-senshu.
S: [laughs] No, I cannot. So far I cannot work as hard as they do. Of course they are on a different level, though. I cannot train like them all of a sudden, but gradually I would like to try things I feel I can.

* END of 1st part. I'll post the translation of the second part tomorrow.

 

[surimi]

Thank you so much, Rainbow!
IMO Sota already is powerful when his music carries him, and he's more expressive than a number of skaters so he shouldn't doubt his skills so much. Sure, his face doesn't have the same type of overt expressivity as, say, Gumennik in his last pose from his POTO FS, but if Sota did that with that regal face of his, I think the audience would start evecuating the rink (my mom's observation but a fitting one IMO) because he can be that dark and intimidating, despite him being slender. Sota's Jekyll and Hyde was a program to remember, sent shivers down my spine in places because of the raw emotion. But that's one thing guys, we as fans will probably only see on the ice.

Sota is probably already on his way to Finland as we speak now, so wishing him a safe journey and that jetlag doesn't bother him too much. Altitude won't be a problem this time.

ETA: the media are reporting he'll go for 2 quad salchows and wants to podium at Finlandia... whatever, just stay alive and healthy Sota, okay?
https://www.chunichi.co.jp/chuspo/article/figure/news/CK2019100802100021.html
^ does anyone else feel he resembles Denis Ten a bit in that photo?

 

[rRainbow]

The second part of Tokai Walker interview:

**skipping the talk about Olympics and GPS which is the same story as before**

- Let’s change the topic. Please tell us about your off-ice student life.
S: I rarely wear clothes like this one now. I’m usually in sportswear. On rare occasions when I’m wearing regular clothes people tell me “Why are you wearing such clothes? [laughs] I have practice and P.E. class so mostly I’m in sweatsuit. I’m now a second-year college student and coping with the school better, I mean, I’m not worried any more. There are some junior club members now and I’m enjoying college.
- Do you hang out with younger guys or friends on your day off?
S: No [laughs]. I have some days off but most of the time I rest at home rather than going out.
- Do you have any hobbies?
S: As a matter of fact, I always have trouble answering that question. I cannot think of anything. On the Federation’s supported skater bio page hobbies are listed. Other skaters have nice hobbies such as shopping and bowling, but this year I submitted “meals” [laughs].
- That is an essential part of our daily lives…isn’t it? [laughs]
S: Yes it is a part of my daily life [laughs]. Also, long hot bath, I guess? I can only come up with these.
- I heard that you used to play video games while you were injured.
S: I don’t play games very often these days. I only watch movies when I have a day off, but now I cannot find time to do that….
- So you lead a typical school life of an athlete.
S: My idea of college life was having fun all the time, though [laughs]. With the club activities I don’t have time to play with my friends at all.
- Do you ego search online?
S: I used to do that when I was in middle school and online articles about me started to come out as I was getting results, but recently I rarely do. Back then I was happy,“Hooray! I’m in the article.” [laugh]
- Then, do you think you’ve grown into a mature skater?
S: I’m sometimes told that I seem mature for my age, but there are times when people tell me that I’m still a bit immature. I’m also told that I look grown up but once they see me in person they find out I’m just a kid. I cannot tell myself.

**Interview After Gensan Cup**

S: I always get worn out in the first half, and I realized that weakness again during my performance. I popped my jumps such as the axel and I really have to rotate all my jumps fully. Now that I can bring such layouts to competitions (4T at Japan Nationals and two quads this time), I found it so hard to execute the content well. But my content is lower than others, and considering the current skating field I cannot afford making mistakes with it. In the free the music builds up in the second half and I need to heighten my expressions, but so far I am not there yet. I realized I need to build stamina so that I can land jumps and follow through step sequences without running out of energy. I found many problems to tackle, such as losing levels in steps, and I would like to make improvements to complete the programs in preparation for the next Challenger Series and GPS.

*END* Some parts are almost the same as Tokai Walker tweet, but this interview is in more detail and offers more information.

 

[KiraraChin]

I'll be busy over the next few days, so just wanted to say good luck to Sota at Finlandia Trophy!

 

[surimi]

Thank you so much for the translation, Rainbow!

Good luck to Sota at Finlandia! I won't be around much but let's keep his fanfest alive! He's worked so much for this, I hope he's rewarded for his hard work. :clapper:

ETA, Sota in Finland: https://twitter.com/takeyo55098794/status/1181771641954566144 He looks so happy, doesn't he? ^ ^
The practice hall looks different from what I remember, the safety net is gone (I guess that's why unofficial practices aren't listed!), and I thought the seats weren't all the way down, but I guess I remember wrong.

 

[JustRozy]

Congratulations to Sota on his recent silver medal and his fantastic improvements!

I rejoice seeing him recover and develop his own classically elegant and expressive skating! He is so hard on himself, yet he has persevered through very serious difficulties. I wish so much for him to be able to skate into his full potential, to his own satisfaction. His skating is truly captivating.

 

[JustRozy]

Thank you so much, Rainbow!
IMO Sota already is powerful when his music carries him, and he's more expressive than a number of skaters so he shouldn't doubt his skills so much. Sure, his face doesn't have the same type of overt expressivity as, say, Gumennik in his last pose from his POTO FS, but if Sota did that with that regal face of his, I think the audience would start evecuating the rink (my mom's observation but a fitting one IMO) because he can be that dark and intimidating, despite him being slender. Sota's Jekyll and Hyde was a program to remember, sent shivers down my spine in places because of the raw emotion. But that's one thing guys, we as fans will probably only see on the ice.

Sota is probably already on his way to Finland as we speak now, so wishing him a safe journey and that jetlag doesn't bother him too much. Altitude won't be a problem this time.

ETA: the media are reporting he'll go for 2 quad salchows and wants to podium at Finlandia... whatever, just stay alive and healthy Sota, okay?
https://www.chunichi.co.jp/chuspo/article/figure/news/CK2019100802100021.html
^ does anyone else feel he resembles Denis Ten a bit in that photo?

He does! That same straight-on transparency and steady friendliness! I'm not expressing it well but it's there, and a rare quality.

 

[rRainbow]

Congratulations to Sota on placing 1st in SP with his SB. Total 92,81 (TES 51,89, PCS 40,92)
Result of Short http://www.figureskatingresults.fi/results/1920/CSFIN2019/SEG003.HTM

Such a beautiful skate!

 

[surimi]

I am happy for Sota, good luck tomorrow! He left his heart on the ice, he was skating so soulfully. He even got some standing ovations, and I loved his face in the footage from KnC in reaction to his score. He was so startled to be above Shoma, haha! You have to be happy for him, he's waited for his longed-for results for so long. Well deserved. Onward to tomorrow! As usual, the main thing is that he's healthy and content.

 

[Interspectator]

Wow, Sota's first after the SP. And with such a soulful performance! Lovely, so happy to see him skate like this.

 

[JustRozy]

Beautiful to see, so happy for him!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7swvFdIhbg

 

[Jaana]

Wonderful, wonderful sp-performance!!! He skated and interpreted the music really well. His PCS will rise as the season goes on...

 

[pianistliz]

Dropping in to say good luck to Sota today! I saw him skate for the first time yesterday and loved it. I had to Google him right afterwards b/c I wondered why I didn't know about him before. After reading up on him a little, I was extra happy for him!

 

[JustRozy]

All congratulations to Sota for winning Silver! I don't know what happened with the falls. Even in the midst of them, to me Sota's skating has a clean elegance of line, strength, precision, grace and courage that is rarely seen. I hope to see him go from strength to strength as the season progresses! His skating is a complex joy to watch and treasure.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzWLd973ZoM

 

[surimi]

Thank you to everyone who keeps this thread alive and says nice and supportive things of Sota!
I am happy to see him podium. He was disappointed with his performance, but bad skates happen to good people at times as they say. It's okay.
We like you anyway, Sota, you're still kakko ii (I hope that means cool). Too bad I was unable to say that to him in person.
I wonder what he'll name as the reason he messed up. Maybe he was tired, a bit ill (he was blowing his nose very often), over-motivated, or maybe just his timing was off at the worst possible moment. I wonder. But he fought and did well, and if he's healthy, that's all that matters to me.

 

[TallyT]

He had a rough skate, it happens to them all, he'll come back kuyashii and fighting...

 

[surimi]

Ugh, I just deleted my today's post by mistake. I know full well why I hate using internet in my cell phone, with its awful navigation, but cannot help it this time.
Repeating the last line of my previous post. Sota did well and fought, and if he's healthy, that's all that matters to me.