Sota Yamamoto | Page 62 | Golden Skate

Sota Yamamoto

Thanks everyone, for the reports, and congrats to Sota and Aichi for the victory! :clap:

I can imagine Sota is feeling very kuyashii right now. While I don't agree that the 4CC field was easier than Warsaw Cup (Sota's winning score at Warsaw Cup would have been 4th place at 4CC), it was definitely a chance to grab those precious championship points and build his rep internationally.

But then, coaching changes often take a while to completely bear fruit - Brian Orser says a season and a half - and Sota is young, and things will reset a bit after the Olympic season. The most important thing is that he now found a coaching team that works for him, so he can build on this for the next Olympic cycle :pray:
 
KiraraChin said:
Thanks everyone, for the reports, and congrats to Sota and Aichi for the victory! :clap:

I can imagine Sota is feeling very kuyashii right now. While I don't agree that the 4CC field was easier than Warsaw Cup (Sota's winning score at Warsaw Cup would have been 4th place at 4CC), it was definitely a chance to grab those precious championship points and build his rep internationally.

But then, coaching changes often take a while to completely bear fruit - Brian Orser says a season and a half - and Sota is young, and things will reset a bit after the Olympic season. The most important thing is that he now found a coaching team that works for him, so he can build on this for the next Olympic cycle :pray:
Click to expand...

Thanks for your thoughts :] And whoops, wrong wording on my side, I meant the rest of the field in 4CC of course, not the medalists. I know very well that Kazuki is beyond Sota's reach at the moment, as is JunHwan, and, when he hits all his quads, also Miura (though his artistry and spins are nowhere near Sota's). I was thinking of 4th place and beyond when writing my post, because the level divide was quite deep. :)
 
No worries! It's always going to be one of those 'what if' things and also it's difficult to compare competitions because of different tech panels, etc

Personally, I think Sota did enough to get at least one GP next season, if not two :pray: But of course it would be even better if he were to be sent to a spring challenger!
 
I spotted Sota on Mitsuki's tweet about Kokutai:


The second pic is so lovely! I can imagine the scene...

Random dude who competed for Osaka with Mitsuki: Hey, Mitsuki, let's take a picture!
Mitsuki: Who are you? I only know Sota Yamamoto 😌

ETA: Found these cute pics as well


(retweeted by Kazuki hehe). That mascot is super cute!
 
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Translation of above tweet by Fuji TV Skating:

He has changed his environment this season and has seen his 👊🏻growth. "I'm looking forward to seeing how I can grow. I have to work hard for it😤."
The 4CC, where he saw his peers excel, was also an inspiration🔥.
"To be honest, I'm really kuyashii. I want to do my best so that I can be competitive by the next time around💪."

環境を変えた今季👊🏻成長に手応えも「まだまだこれから。自分がどう成長できるか楽しみ。そのために頑張らないと😤」
同世代の活躍があった四大陸も刺激に🔥
「正直な気持ちはすごく悔しい。次あたる頃には勝てるように頑張りたい💪」
 
From Kokutai Channel: https://japangamestv.japan-sports.or.jp/interview/interview-791

◇"I want to get stronger," said Yamamoto, looking forward to the future.

He won by a huge margin over the second place finisher, Moriguchi. Yamamoto, who had a disappointing result at the last national meet, was happy to have made up for last year's failure, saying, "I have grown a lot in a year." With the huge difference of 16.31 points gained in SP, it appeared that he would win easily. However, he said, "When it comes to the free skate, I can't give a clean performance. I didn't have enough determination and aggressiveness," he said, reflecting on his performance.

As he wrapped his boots too tightly with tape before the competition, "I couldn't go as fast as I wanted, so I had to perform in a more restrained way," which forced him to lower the difficulty of his jumps. Even so, he successfully executed three combination jumps, contributing to Aichi's victory. In order to reach the top level in Japan, "I'm stable in SP, now I have to improve in FS. I need to improve more and more. And I want to be stronger," he said, looking forward to the future.
 
rRainbow said:
From Kokutai Channel: https://japangamestv.japan-sports.or.jp/interview/interview-791

◇"I want to get stronger," said Yamamoto, looking forward to the future.

He won by a huge margin over the second place finisher, Moriguchi. Yamamoto, who had a disappointing result at the last national meet, was happy to have made up for last year's failure, saying, "I have grown a lot in a year." With the huge difference of 16.31 points gained in SP, it appeared that he would win easily. However, he said, "When it comes to the free skate, I can't give a clean performance. I didn't have enough determination and aggressiveness," he said, reflecting on his performance.

As he wrapped his boots too tightly with tape before the competition, "I couldn't go as fast as I wanted, so I had to perform in a more restrained way," which forced him to lower the difficulty of his jumps. Even so, he successfully executed three combination jumps, contributing to Aichi's victory. In order to reach the top level in Japan, "I'm stable in SP, now I have to improve in FS. I need to improve more and more. And I want to be stronger," he said, looking forward to the future.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the translations!
It is puzzling for me to read Sota bemoan having no 'determination and aggressiveness', as wasn't that what he said was wrong with his Nationals performance? I am surprised that he did it again, then 🤔
 
surimi said:
It is puzzling for me to read Sota bemoan having no 'determination and aggressiveness', as wasn't that what he said was wrong with his Nationals performance? I am surprised that he did it again, then 🤔
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He analyzed his FS performance and felt that he couldn't give a clean performance because he didn't have enough boldness or aggressiveness. He explained in more detail in the next paragraph that because his boots were wrapped too tightly with tape, he couldn't skate as fast as he wanted and he had to lower the difficulty level of his jumps.
 
rRainbow said:
He analyzed his FS performance and felt that he couldn't give a clean performance because he didn't have enough boldness or aggressiveness. He explained in more detail in the next paragraph that because his boots were wrapped too tightly with tape, he couldn't skate as fast as he wanted and he had to lower the difficulty level of his jumps.
Click to expand...

Yet, how does his boot tape issue relate to boldness and competitive drive? Maybe it's just that I don't understand the nuances of Sota's original reply, but I interpret his 'boldness and aggressiveness' reason as being a mental one, something like lacking the killer instinct that the top skaters have in competition, and not one caused by adapting to his tight boots by lowering his difficulty?

Anyhow, I would venture a guess that Sota will be sent to Coupe du Printemps this year to make up for the opportunity he lost in 2020. Let's see if I am right. 🤞 I hope for JSF to give one more chance to Sota and Koshiro to get points, and to Keiji as well if he wants it.
 
surimi said:
I doubt his fans from Japan are able to go, either, on such a short notice.
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Yeah, I doubt very much there will be much audience, anyway. There aren’t any big names to draw a crowd.

I may check out the event for a day or so, mostly because I am curious about the new location. It’s an hour’s drive from where I live, which for me is much more convenient than The Hague.
 
Well, like I've written elsewhere, I have given up on attending Challenge Cup. Sounds like I'd have to use 6 different means of transport in one day to get there (taxi to airport, plane, 3 trains from Amsterdam to Tilburg, and a bus to a hotel), which increases the risk of accidentally getting covid (yikes, it seems to be everywhere these days). I'd need to get tested before departure, and if I happened to be positive, I'd be in big trouble. :( Had it been just the complicated journey, or just the testing, I could have made it. But not when it's both. -_- I'll just keep my fingers crossed for Sota in front of my computer screen, and I'll hope he won't catch it anywhere during his long journey and the competition. That said, I am glad we're now more or less back to the competition schedule from before the pandemic, I really am.

Leaving this 7-second video here - https://twitter.com/NHKTrophyFigure/status/1195889993580892161 Sota bursting into giggles while trying to maintain a straight face for NHK 2021 TV countdown ^ ^ This boy is priceless! :biggrin:
 
Sota will be skating tomorrow as the last skater in the first group, at about 6 PM CET: https://knsbfigureskatingresults.nl/2021-2022/20220224/SEG003.HTM Malinin skates in the same group. o_o I hope Sota has been 'practicing to win' like three years ago, and won't be rattled by Malinin and his quads. I am hoping for a silver for him.
Good luck, Sota! 🍀 Always a treat to see you skate.
Also, I hope he does well as I've gave up attending a Japanese movie festival in my city to see Men SP and LP. I know I wouldn't be able to concentrate on a movie when I know Sota is competing. ;)

Nothing else to share as Sota is merrily continuing to hide (the art of which he's brought to perfection already, I'm thinking), and doesn't post any Tilburg photos or anything on social media. Oh yeah, apart from a new cell phone case photo yesterday 🤷‍♀️
 
Well done, Sota! He looked a bit nervous today, but he skated clean and did well.
Here's his SP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dP0cJ8Rvy3w&t=1s
Sota's protocol:
Judges 1 and 7 are on the Malinin bandwagon, giving him higher PCS, and giving Sota low GOE compared to the other judges. -1 for Sota's last spin while others gave out +2 and +3... Good thing this bias was corrected by judges 3-6 who gave Sota better scores. I think Sota's reputation as unstable, and the Malinin hype, are hurting Sota's scores at the moment. I hope he can hold it together in the free! 🤞
 
Good luck, Sota! Don't get too rattled by Malinin, and try to improve on that 250-point score from the previous Challenge cup, even if by just 1 point. You deserve to be in the 250+ point club. Hoping for a silver here... :pray: 🍀
 
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