Sota Yamamoto

[rRainbow]

山本草太　復活期す今季 | スポニチ　Sponichi Annex

スポーツニュース、芸能ニュースはお任せ！スポーツニッポン新聞社の公式サイトです。

www.sponichi.co.jp

Resurgence in the 21-22 Season

　He’s back in the sunny place. After winning the Chubu Regional Championships, he entered the Japan Open. At the Japan Open, he started with a quad salchow and a quad toe-loop in his new free program, "Io Ci Saro." Despite a fall on the triple axel, he was applauded with a standing ovation.

　"After the end of last season I had fallen to the bottom. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to make it in the future, but after reevaluating my environment and myself, I think I got over that anxiety. It's only the first half of the season, but there are so many things I've grasped. I will not give up on my dream, and I hope to show everyone once again that I will be competing at the top level during the Olympic season.

　In the middle of last season, he no longer had a training base and has been training alone. In July of this year, he finally found a new base. Since he joined the Grand Prix Tokai Club under the guidance of coaches, Michiko Yamada and Mihoko Higuchi, who trained Mao Asada and others, he has already started to see positive results.

Major Setback: Injuries and Repeated Surgeries

　The 21-year-old is aiming for the Olympics, having established himself at the top level. However, the road to this point has not been smooth. His first major setback came five years ago.

　In the 2015-16 season he won the Japan Junior National Championships, placed 6th at the Japan National Championships, which included the senior skaters, and won the gold medal at the Youth Olympics held in February 2016, quickly gaining attention as a contender for the PyeongChang Olympics national team. With the World Junior Championships coming up in March of the same year, his days were filled with intense training. On the day he was to leave for Hungary, the host country, tragedy struck.

　"I had my suitcase in the car and was planning to go to the airport after practice. About a week before, I had been feeling some discomfort inside of my right ankle, and it hurt a lot. But I had a strong desire that "I want to make this season my last as a junior" and "I want to win the Junior Worlds. I had been practicing so hard, and I was so tired that when I fell on the triple axel, it was the last blow. I heard a “crack” in my ankle. I couldn't stand up, I started to feel foggy, and I couldn't take off my shoes because of the pain. I went to the hospital right away and was told that I had a fracture. It was my first serious injury, and it was really painful.”

- to be cont'd -

 

[rRainbow]

Part 2

　The bone in his ankle was split vertically and he had no choice but to have surgery. Two bolts were inserted sideways and diagonally to keep it together. He underwent rigorous rehabilitation during and after his hospitalization, and returned to the ice in May. He was told that his recovery was good, and he was encouraged to get back on the ice, but in July, when he landed a jump on the ice, he hurt the same spot. A diagnostic examination revealed that the bone had separated again.

　“I was trying to heal somehow without surgery, so I tried all kinds of treatments and rehabilitation... I even tried to get on the ice one more time. But it hurt too much to walk.... I decided that I couldn't do it after all, so I had a surgery in September to insert a third bolt. But I was still determined to finish the season."

　He had been exempted from the first Chubu Regional Championships of the season, but if he didn't compete in the West Japan Championships at the end of October, he would be out of the running for the Japan National Championships. After his second surgery, he was supposed to go through several months of rehabilitation before returning to competition, but in his haste, he stepped on the ice again just a few weeks later and the pain came back immediately.

　"I had to go in for a third surgery, but they were talking about bringing the bone from somewhere else and putting it in, because there was no more room for the bolt. That's when I decided I had to take a break. The rehab after that was extremely painful. Even though I did grueling rehabilitation every day, the pain didn't go away. The time when I wasn't moving forward was painful, and I thought, 'I'll never be able to come back,' or 'I'll never be able to do a quad like before.' That's when I started to wonder if it would be better to quit and get a job. I was talking to my family and telling them about finding a job."

- to be cont'd -

 

[rRainbow]

Part 3

Reborn From “One Rotation Jump” With the Support of Friends

　His heart was completely broken, and he had to live his life away from skating. At the same time, he started to go to Aichi Mizuho High School every day. As skating had been the center of his life since he started competing at the age of six, and he had often had to miss school for practices and competitions since he was in elementary school, so it was new and fresh for him to suddenly be an ordinary student.

　"Everyone treated me as just an ordinary Sota Yamamoto, not as the skater Sota Yamamoto. They didn't really know about my injuries and at times would say things that were tough for me, but I still enjoy my school life. I also went on a school trip in high school for the first time. Around that time, my skating teammates started to ask me, 'Why don't you skate soon,' and 'How's your foot?' It was around May of my third year in high school. With everyone's encouragement, I was able to get back on the ice."

　The first competition of the 2017-18 season was to be the Chubu Regional Championships, which started in September. As he had been carefully preparing, battling with the fear of injury recurrence, he decided to make all of his jumps in the short program and free skate with single rotation.

　"I used to do triple and quadruple jumps before I got injured, but now I have to compete with only single jumps. I felt embarrassed and hesitant to compete, but my teammates and people around me told me to start again from there. I really owe it all to everyone. If it weren't for my teammates, I would have retired.”

　He scored 33.05 points in the short program and 76.01 points in the free program, for a total of 109.06 points. At the West Japan Championships in November, he placed 5th, and at the Japanese National Championships the following month, he placed 9th with a score of over 200 points.

　Although he fell far short of his former goal of participating in the PyeongChang Olympics, he was able to get a feel for how he could make a full comeback. Four years later, the Beijing Olympics were coming up. In order to achieve his new goal, Yamamoto had to make a big decision. However, there was another ordeal waiting for him.

- to be cont'd to the 2nd page of the article -

 

[rRainbow]

Part 4 (2nd part of the article)

山本草太　新コーチと世界へ | スポニチ　Sponichi Annex

スポーツニュース、芸能ニュースはお任せ！スポーツニッポン新聞社の公式サイトです。

www.sponichi.co.jp

Retirement Was on the Horizon for the 20-21 Season

　After overcoming three surgeries, Sota Yamamoto returned to the stage. In pursuit of further growth, he made a big decision. After the Japan National Championships in the 2019-20 season, he left Nagoya, where he had lived since his junior high school days, and moved to his hometown in Kansai to train. He took a leave of absence from Chukyo University, which he had been attending. "I had to make a big change in something. I wanted to pursue skating, so I came to that conclusion." He decided to do what he thought was best, aiming for a higher level. However, what awaited him was a series of hardships.

　"I moved back to Kansai for the season, but even after I returned, I had to transfer my training base twice.... My life had completely changed, and it was also emotionally difficult. I couldn't get any results, and it was a very difficult season for me.”

　Although he won the Chubu Regionals and West Japan Championships, he made a series of mistakes and placed 8th in the NHK Cup GP series, and 9th in the Japan National Championships in December. He had already returned to Chukyo University to start training by himself, but the National Sports Festival (Kokutai) at the end of January came at the worst possible time.

　In SP, he didn't get any points in his opening flip and axel jumps, and also fell on his triple lutz in the second half. His score was 43.38 points, only half of his score from the Nationals, where he scored 82.60 points, and he unexpectedly started 18th.

　He said, "I couldn't get a good result in the Nationals, so I left the team completely and went to the Kokutai alone. I spent a lot of time on my own, wondering which team to choose, what my skating life would be like. It was so difficult mentally that I didn't want to compete anymore. Even though I had made all the mistakes in SP, I didn't have the mentality of an athlete to the point where I thought, 'Oh well, whatever'."

Even though he came back to finish 8th overall with a 2nd place in the next day's free skate, he still hadn't sorted out his feelings.

　"I hadn't thought about quitting since I got injured. At that time, I thought about retiring because I couldn't compete anymore. This time, however, my body was still fine, so I was also feeling, "I don't want to retire or anything like that.' It was a constant struggle to figure out how to get through it."

Encounter with Coach Higuchi of GP Tokai Club

　Deeply troubled, he continued to practice on his own after February. He spent time searching for a coaching team. Six months passed in the blink of an eye. After much worrying, he finally decided to join the Grand Prix Tokai Club, which he had been interested in for a long time.

- to be cont'd -

 

[KiraraChin]

Just passing by to wish Sota good luck at Skate Canada!

 

[surimi]

Thank you so much, Rainbow! There's new information there I didn't know yet.
This part is so painful and a bit scary to read:

　"I had to go in for a third surgery, but they were talking about bringing the bone from somewhere else and putting it in, because there was no more room for the bolt. That's when I decided I had to take a break. The rehab after that was extremely painful. Even though I did grueling rehabilitation every day, the pain didn't go away. The time when I wasn't moving forward was painful, and I thought, 'I'll never be able to come back,' or 'I'll never be able to do a quad like before.' That's when I started to wonder if it would be better to quit and get a job.

I am so happy Sota decided not to quit. And I didn't know it was bad enough last year for him to seriously consider retiring again. He seems happy now, and I hope he remains that way.
I will be so worried tonight, I don't know how I'll manage to sleep. If only Sota can make the top 8 and get points, I would be happy then
Good luck, Sota!

 

[rRainbow]

Last Part:

　"I trained at Chukyo University, so I could watch Mihoko sensei's lessons and other skaters' performances from the outside, but I didn't know what kind of advice she would give me, or how she would prepare me for competitions. In the skating world, there's no such thing as a trial run, so you don't know about the training methods and environment until you join. Of course, I had been thinking about it as a possible (base), but I had been thinking by myself, and I couldn't figure out what to do. I consulted with my friends and family, and in the end my mother said, ‘How about the Grand Prix Tokai?’ So I just went with it.”

　Finally, a new base was found. At this point, it was already July, and "THE ICE" (July 31-August 1), in which he was scheduled to perform, was approaching. With limited time, he asked coach Mihoko Higuchi for a new program and choreography, but she replied, "I don't think you have time to practice.” But he still kept asking. Coach Higuchi then said, "Okay, I’ll do only the SP. The free skate is longer and it takes time to get used to it." But he didn't agree, saying, "I want to compete with Mihoko sensei's choreography in both SP and FS this season.” Coach Higuchi smiled at his strong words, and gave him the go-ahead, saying, "As long as you have that strong determination, you'll do just fine."

The Season to Win, Now to the World!

　 After the first greeting, the new program was roughly prepared in just one day. The SP was decided to be "Yesterday" by the Beatles. The song is said to have been written by Paul McCartney in memory of his mother who passed away suddenly. Coach Higuchi had prepared this song for Yamamoto, who had been through so much.

　 Yamamoto himself was not familiar with the song, but the thought of the new coach in selecting it was deeply felt in his heart. "Before we started the choreography, she told me the meaning of the song. She mentioned my injuries and the fact that I had moved back to Kansai last year, but it had been difficult for me to fit in. She said, 'My image of a skater who is in a lot of pain is that of Sota-kun. I brought it to you because it fits the background and lyrics of Yesterdays.' From there, we were able to choreograph it by putting the emotions of me and sensei into it."

　For the FS, they decided on "Io Ci Saro (I'll always be there)" by Andrea Bocelli, a blind Italian tenor, and Lang Lang, a pianist from China. Yamamoto himself listed about five suggestions, and this was the one that matched the image he and coach Higuchi had in mind. "I thought it was the best song among the choices. I was going to leave everything to the coach, but I was happy when she said, 'This is the one'," he said.

　It's been only about three months since he started skating with coach Higuchi, but he's having a great time. "I'm really happy," he said, "because she gives me a lot of support that I need as an athlete, not only in choreography, but also in jumps, technique, spins, steps, and mentally. With his quad jumps back, he's now ready for the GP series of Skate Canada (opening on the 29th).

　"I think I'm not good enough yet, but considering that I had serious injuries and was out of the reach of anything during the PyeongChang Olympics season.... I think it's a miracle that I'm able to compete at the top again like this, and that I'm able to jump quadruple. Being able to fight at this level gives me a source of strength and confidence. I think this season is crucial from here, Skate Canada, the Japan Nationals. And beyond that... I'll be happy if I can keep fighting until the end.”

　Sota Yamamoto, who has regained his smile, will express his joy and all the pain he has been through on the ice.

- the end -

 

[surimi]

I think the last paragraph is really good philosophy. Both Sota and we, his fans, are lucky that he twice decided to keep competing, and we should treasure each moment, even if it's a competition that makes Sota nervous.

So - one last herbal tea for me, and then it's off to bed (if I can fall asleep). Good luck to Sota!

 

[rRainbow]

山本草太、カナダでの調整苦しみＳＰ78・78点７位も「自然と笑顔に」（日刊スポーツ） - Yahoo!ニュース

＜フィギュアスケート：GPスケートカナダ＞◇29日（日本時間30日）◇バンクーバー◇男子ショートプログラム（SP）

news.yahoo.co.jp

Sota Yamamoto (Chukyo Univ.), who was making his first appearance in a GP series competition overseas, placed 7th with 78.78 points.

Dressed in a chic black costume, he skated to "Yesterday" calmly. He opened with a successful quadruple toe loop, but he popped his triple axel (3-1/2 rotations) into a 2-1/2 rotation jump. He did a flip-toe loop combination jump in the second half and smiled after the performance.

He struggled with his preparation after arriving in Canada. "When I came to Canada I lost my calm, and I had a hard time getting my boots adjusted. Until this morning, I changed my layout from salchow to toe loop, and after the official practice, my sensei took my boots to a place where they got adjusted," he recalled. As he changed the jump layout, his axel, which he was worried about, was affected.

It had been two years since he had competed overseas. He was so excited to hear the cheers of “So-chan!” "It was a short program with a lot of support and a lot of anxiety, but I was able to skate it feeling good until the end. It's been a long time since I've heard cheers. I was disappointed with my performance, but when I heard the cheers, I naturally smiled,” he said.

 

[surimi]

Thanks for the translation!
Fingers crossed that Sota can remain in top 8 even after the FS. It's going to be tough, but unlike the mega stars that he managed to beat in the SP, he won't be propped up on levels and PCS. Just look at Keiji winning over him on PCS and lv4 for everything, and making it into the better group. How Sota can lose to Keiji on spins and skating skills of all things, is beyond me. I hope this is a wakeup call for his coaches. It can't be that he lost his ability due to injury as he had lv4 steps in 2017, right after his injury. And suddenly he can't do lv4 steps while much taller and clunkier guys, and juniors, get them easily? Ridiculous. And they've been hammering his donut spin since forever, I have no idea why. I want the coaches and Sota to adjust this nonsense so he stops losing levels to skaters who are less gifted in the spin department.

Overall, despite the issue with the 2A, I think Sota did a good job. It was his first international competition after the pandemic, he's fighting to retain a position in the world standings and get into the JSF good graces, and he must be crazy nervous. Unlike the other guys who almost all attempted two quads in the SP, Sota only went for one. I hope he can get back to the level of Finlandia and US Classic eventually, where he performed quad plus quad combo.

Good luck in the free despite the big names behind Sota! I am keeping all fingers and toes crossed that he can place in top 8.

 

[surimi]

Hooray, he did it! ^ ^ Not a perfect skate for Sota, the quads didn't work yesterday, and he got q for his axels, but he placed 7th overall. He'll get some WS points for this GP. I am relieved The second half of his program was lovely to watch.
Considering his disastrous last season and this being his first overseas senior GP, and he's surrounded by experienced and well-known skaters, I think Sota did very well. I hope he now has a good rest before his next competition

He has also been invited to the gala. I wonder what program he's picked? I don't think he has a new one. So, will it be Anthem, Dark Eyes, or You're Beautiful? I think he's already used Anthem a lot and it's similar in style to his FS. I am rooting for Dark Eyes, but since he's in Canada, he may opt for a song in English. We'll see soon enough.

 

[rRainbow]

Sota's Skate Canada videos by CBC Sports: Commentators: Ted Barton / Kevin Reynolds / Elladj Balde
SP: https://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm39553314
FS: https://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm39562346

Sota's interview after FS:
--After the performance
"As the last skater of the group, I was careful about how to use the 6 minutes warmup. I think I was able to go into FS with my spirits up. I couldn’t fine tune my first two jumps well enough. It's not just that it was bad this time, but it was a competition that will help me next time.”

--You recovered in the second half.
"After the 4T, I immediately switched my mind, because I didn't want to fall apart like this. The quality of my (next) triple axel was not good, but I was able to recover gradually from there. As I did the steps in the middle, my smile came naturally. The venue had a great atmosphere.”

--It was your first time in a GP series overseas.
"It's been a long time since I've had the chance to meet and greet many international skaters, both my generation and older ones. I had a lot of fun competing and practicing with them, and I felt very nostalgic and had a lot of fun."

 

[KiraraChin]

Finally got a chance to catch up with everything!
First of all, thank you @rRainbow for all the translations It's been a insane journey for Sota, I felt a rollercoaster of emotions just reading about it. Kudos to him for making it so far, and also it's heartwarming to know he got so much support from his fellow skaters throughout the whole process.

All things considered - new coaching team, boot issues, first international competition in a long time - I thought that Sota did great at Skate Canada. Hopefully now he'll feel confident and make it to the podium at Warsaw Cup!

 

[surimi]

I'm glad you liked Sota's programs and story, Kirara! ^ ^ And thanks to @rRainbow for the translations, as usual!

I think I am going to rewatch his Skate Canada FS and gala often. I love his FS, and his team added new innovative choreo touches. And the commentary was also helpful. It really does look like Sota's legs are wrapped a little bit too loosely in jumps, which can be bringing about falls and UR on quads and 3A, like Ted says. But, he didn't get a ! for his lutz, and that is very good.
Even our national commentator, who usually doesn't praise too much if you don't have big jumps, called Sota nice and elegant.
Some guy even made a video analyzing his FS? https://youtu.be/nrXoxL5UbRw (my Japanese is not good enough, but looks like it)

Sota's gala was You're Beautiful, as I expected, and I was happy to see him get big ovation for it. His presentation is now more mature than the last time he performed it. But, the 'ouch-my-eye' spin is gone, isn't it? Noo, it had such entertainment value (not in a bad way, rather in a cute way)!

Aww, the cute dragon backpack that Mihoko sensei keeps carrying for Sota ^ ^ He's had it since last Autumn. I hope it brings him luck.

Overall, while it's true that Sota's 3A and quads could have gone better, this competition left me very satisfied, and I hope so is he.

 

[rRainbow]

Sota's gala at SC, "You're Beautiful": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfzefHsODOc
I'm glad the organizer invited him to gala.

 

[surimi]

Okay, no harm in coming here to think aloud a bit, I hope? ... Yuzuru's WD from NHK has me thinking if there is a substitute, because there's still enough time for the organizers to pick a Japanese competitor. If so, Sota's chances of being picked are very high, as are Koshiro's. But I gotta admit, I am so torn. Do I want Sota to get that NHK spot or not? On a purely selfish level, I want to go to Warsaw if possible, and cheer for Sota. But there are Sota's chances at WS points and SB to consider. Does he have a bigger chance at NHK, or in Warsaw? NHK is a meat grinder, with Shoma, Vincent, Jun Hwan, Matteo, Ignatov, Miura and again Samarin. And Sota hasn't been higher than 6th at NHK yet. However, there are more competitors in Warsaw, and again some strong names are there, like Shoma and Vincent, Yablokov and Grassl. What to wish for...

 

[KiraraChin]

Breaking news: Sota was assigned to NHK!

https://twitter.com/sn_figure/status/1456553954171490304

Now let's see if he WDs from Warsaw Cup or not...

 

[surimi]

Breaking news: Sota was assigned to NHK!

https://twitter.com/sn_figure/status/1456553954171490304

Now let's see if he WDs from Warsaw Cup or not...

Just seen it. I think he'll WD from Warsaw now. I doubt he'll be ready to compete so soon, with quads and all... I am happy for him, but on the other hand, he'll need to be super clean to get WS points as it's a hard field and he'd have more medal chances in Warsaw. He doesn't have a good history of competing at NHK, nerves usually get to him. But, that might change with his new coaches. Who knows.
I am torn between jubilation at Sota finally getting his two GP assignments and hopefully getting more points, anxiety over the hard field, and weeping over me losing last minute a second opportunity to see Sota live. -> + +

 

[KiraraChin]

I completely understand the mixed feelings! If he WD from Warsaw Cup (which seems likely), he'll be in the same situation as Kazuki: two extremely tough GP assignments and no autumn challenger. But who knows? There might be opportunities for him to do an European challenger in the Spring, and even 4CC is in Europe this year!

 

[surimi]

The spring events are not Challengers though, so less points to be gained there. But it would be cool if he got to go to one, that's for sure.
I have to say the field in Warsaw Cup is not all that much easier than a GP - three decently-known Russians, Grassl, Zhou, Gogolev, Koshiro... Austria with its three Russians plus Malinin looks a bit easier. Anyway, who am I to complain. I am just glad there is a sliver of an opportunity for me to see Sota skate, eventhough he might still WD due to post-NHK fatigue. I would not be admitted in Austria now, so in this respect, I am glad Sota got Poland. May his back and feet be healthy.