Ice Time Podcast – David Wilson
Japan Forward – A letter from a fan in Tohoku helped inspire Miki Ando to her second world title in 2011
Japan Forward – Skating Podcast
Japan Forward – Exclusive: Legendary choreographer David Wilson calls for new leadership at Skate Canada
Japan Forward and Ice Time collaborate on figure skating news
Japan Forward – Nathan Chen remains on collision course with Yuzuru Hanyu
Japan Forward – Yuzuru Hanyu sets the path for his third Olympic gold medal
羽生結弦、五輪3連覇に向けて大きく前進する
翻訳者: ギャラガー美慧菜（ヴィエナ）
~~フィギュア史上最強の羽生結弦 ー 日本にとって誇り高い存在であり、彼の才能、そして彼が醸し出すその品格に見惚れた者は数え切れないほといるだろう~~
先月行われた全日本選手権で羽生は洗練されたハイレベルな演技を魅せ、五輪3連覇へとまた一歩近づいた。
2022年に開催される北京オリンピックの栄光へ向けて彼は今年もトレーニングを積み重ねる予定だ。
5度目の全日本優勝を試みた氷上のスーパースターは新フリープログラム（FP）、「天と地と」で観客を魅了した。2位フィニッシュとなった合計284.81点の宇野から35点もの差をつけ、319.36点で羽生は優勝を飾った。
長野ビッグハットでの羽生は最高のコンディションであり、観客を見事に惹きつけた。圧倒的な運動神経とその芸術性の調和が彼を最高峰のフィギュア選手にした鍵なのかもしれない。
3大会連続オリンピック金メダルを獲得した男性フィギュア選手はこれまででスウェーデン代表であったギリス・グラフストロームただ1人だけだ（1920年、1924年、1928年）。この偉業から92年もの月日が流れた今、新たなチャレンジャーに期待が高まっている。
2017-18、そして2018-19シーズンに怪我を負った後であった昨シーズンも羽生はGPファイナルと全日本選手権を除き、出場した全ての大会を制している（GPファイナルではアメリカ代表、ネイサン・チェンに続き2位、全日本選手権では宇野昌磨に続き2位フィニッシュ）。
羽生が優秀な選手であるからこそ彼のパフォーマンスへの期待が常に高く掲げ挙げられているといってもいいだろう。そんな彼は昨シーズンの自らの結果にがっかりしたという。
「昨シーズンの全日本とグランプリシリーズでは成長感がつかめず、試合での競争力を維持するための条件も整っていないように感じ始めました」と羽生は明かした。
年月が過ぎると共に一般的なフィギュア選手は体重が増え、ジャンプを飛ぶことが難しくなるが羽生はその例外だ。現在の彼の体格は10年前と比べてみると驚くほど変わっていない。
バートン氏、羽生の演技に肝を抜かれる
国際スケート連盟のジュニアグランプリ解説者であり、フィギュア界の第一人者でもあるテッド・バートンは羽生が非常に優れた選手であることを深く理解している。
「彼はおそらく史上最高の男性フィギュア選手です。だが人は歳をとり、衰えるにつれ様々なことが昔のようにできなくなります。一番観たいのは今から数年後の彼に昔のような演技を滑ってもらうことです。それができたらもう勝利ですね。それで獲得できるメダルが金、銀、銅、どれであっても」とバートンは語った。
今季の全日本で羽生は今までにないほど力強く、優美であった。
「2022年北京五輪は彼が勝てると思います。確実に優勝候補ですね」とバートンは話した。「ですが彼の他にもネイサン、そしてロシア代表のミハイル・コリヤダは羽生と大きく異なる選手ですね。彼が今シーズンに成し遂げたことに私は驚いています。一年後に彼はどれほど成長しているかが見どころですね。コリヤダは結弦と同じ系統の選手ではありませんが、実際に結弦と同じような選手はいないと思っています」
「結弦はどのような演技を見せてくれるか気になりますね。私たちには想像がつかないというところがまた素晴らしいことです」
復帰への道のり
羽生は昨シーズン韓国で開催された四大陸を制した後、全日本まで10ヶ月もの間大会などに出場しなかった。バートンはこの長期間の休みが羽生にとってはプラスだったのではないかと考えている。
「年上の選手たちにとってコロナの影響で得た休みは新しい元気や活力を取り込める期間となったのではないでしょうか」
「怪我からの回復はもちろん良いことですが、難しいプログラムなどに挑戦するにはまず丁寧な身体作りに時間をかけて集中することが大切ですね」とバートンは語った。
全日本を制覇した羽生は数ヶ月再会できていないカナダのコーチたちに敬意を表した。
「この状況で良い演技ができたのは本当に良かったなと思っています。そしてやはり、1人でやってきたとはいえ、ここまで支えてくださった方々がたくさんいらっしゃるのでその方々に感謝を申し上げたいです」と羽生は話した。
そして彼はコーチ不在での練習の難しさを明かしてくれた。
「やはり、これだけ長い期間1人でやるっていうのは相当迷いも悩みもすごく増えました。ただ1人でやっているとはいえ、どこかしらで、何かしらで繋がっているんだなっていうことを改めて1人で練習しているからこそ感じたので、今回も遠くから色んな力をもちろん文章とか言葉とかでアドバイスをいただいたり、そういった具体的なものばかりではなくて、すごく遠くから力を送ってくださった方々もたくさんいらっしゃると思うのでまずは、そこに感謝したいなという気持ちで一杯です」
これからの一年
羽生は今年の目標、そしてその想いを語った。
「今回1人で長い間トレーニングしてきて、ショートはもちろん課題はありましたし、はっきり言って完璧だったなとは言える演技ではないですけど、特に今日に関してはすごく自分自身も安心して、また、観ている方々も安心して観られるような自分本来の演技ができていると思ってます」
「またトレーニングしてきたやり方であったり、そういったことは間違い無かったなと思っています。今の体にあっているトレーニングの仕方だったり、成長の仕方ができていると思っているので、それをまたさらにブラッシアップして、またもっと難しいジャンプに挑みながら怪我もなく過ごしていけたら良いなと思います」
この世代のフィギュア選手は多くが限界まで頑張り、演技を披露しているがそれは同時に大きなリスクを伴うことでもあるとバートンは話した。
「様々な4回転を飛ぼうとすると危険は常につきまといますね。それは選手が若くても変わりありません。4回転は言うまでもなく、とても難しいジャンプの種類です」
12月に博報堂が発表したアスリートイメージ評価調査で羽生は日本国内のアスリートイメージ枠で1位を獲得した。また、最も「誠実」で「爽やかな」アスリートとしても選ばれている。
羽生の才能とその人柄は日本にとって誇り高い存在だ。
その偉大さは野球界のレジェンド、読売ジャイアンツの長嶋茂雄と比肩するものだ。
ベストセラー作家のロバート・ホワイティングは羽生の人気がピーク時の長嶋と同等であるか問われたとき、羽生の人気は他の選手とは比べ物にならないと話した。
「やはり近いです。ですが長嶋が活躍していた時代は現在ほど選べるスポーツ選手はいませんでした」
仲間から尊敬と厚い信頼を集めるスター
羽生は他の選手からも尊敬と信頼を集めるアスリートだ。これは熾烈な争いが繰り広げられるフィギュア界ではあまり聞かない話だ。
昨シーズン、全米選手権で銅メダルを獲得した樋渡知樹は羽生のフリー演技を観て、とても感動したという。
「動画を観ましたが、羽生選手の演技は素晴らしかったです！！！」と彼はコメントしている。
1980年以降に開催された全てのオリンピックを取材してきたベテランフィギュア記者、フィリップ・ハーシュは羽生の五輪3連覇を確信している。
「3年前、怪我の影響によりリンクで長期間演技をしていなかった結弦が2018年の五輪を制覇したことを考えると、2022年の金メダル候補に彼は外せませんね。彼は情熱的なアスリートであり、それと同時に自分の限界を越えるチャレンジャーです」とハーシュはコメントした。
バンクーバー五輪で4回転を含まないプログラムで金メダルを獲得したエヴァン・ライサチェクを例に挙げ、ハーシュはこの10年間でフィギュアを大きく変わったと話した。
「あの大会からフィギュアは確実に進化しています。特に2014年から羽生を中心としたスケーター達は4回転ルッツ、4回転フリップ、そして4回転ループを大きな要素として演技に加えてきたので」
また、今季までの長期の休みを通して、羽生は来年のオリンピックシーズンに向けて体調を整えることが出来たのではないか、とハーシュは考えている。
「羽生はその期間、体を休ませ、何年もの間に蓄積した大会からの疲労や怪我を治癒する時間を得られたのかもしれませんね」
2018年五輪から注目度が上がるチェン
現在21歳のアメリカ代表、ネイサン・チェンは平昌五輪の優勝候補だった中、痛ましいショートプログラム（SP）で5位フィニッシュとなったが、それからは負け知らずの3年間を送ってきている。彼と羽生の2人が最有力の優勝候補であるとハーシュは話した。
「羽生の最大のライバルはネイサンですね。2018年のオリンピック後、リーグの中でも彼ら2人が常に優勢でした。ネイサンによる演技中のミスは羽生を3連覇へと近づけます」
そして3連覇を成し遂げるために羽生に必要なシナリオをハーシュは具体的にあげた。
「もしネイサンが安定したSPとFPの演技をすれば、羽生はその上をいく演技に加え、技術点を多く獲得する滑りをしなければなりません。2015年のグランプリファイナルとNHK杯で優勝した時のようなシナリオですね」
最後にハーシュは簡潔に考えを述べた。
「3連覇を果たしたら、彼が史上最高の男性フィギュア選手ということが証明され、議論の余地も確実になくなります」。
Ice Time – Rika Kihira’s quad salchow represents an important step forward
NAGANO – Rika Kihira’s second straight victory at the Japan Championships came with a significant and important milestone. Her quadruple salchow in her free skate to “Baby, God Bless You” marked the first time a Japanese female had landed a quad in competition in 18 years (since Miki Ando’s quad salchow at the Junior Grand Prix Final in 2002).
There was a more than 15-year gap between Ando’s historic feat and Russia’s Alexandra Trusova becoming the second female to land a quad salchow in international competition when she did it at the world junior championships in March 2018.
Since then, Russian female skaters have been tearing off quads left and right and leaving everybody else in the dust. It is very apparent that until skaters from other countries can successfully execute the four-rotation jumps, the sport is going to be dominated by Russia.
The fact that Kihira was able to cleanly land the quad salchow on her first attempt this season represents progress. She is going to have to continue to up her game with at least another quad if she is going to vie for world and Olympic medals with the likes of Trusova, Alena Kostornaia and Anna Shcherbakova in the coming years.
“I am really happy about being able to successfully jump the quad salchow!” the 18-year-old stated after her victory. “I was calmer than I thought when I succeeded, and I was in the mindset that if I wasn’t able to land the quad salchow, I would most likely make mistakes on my other jumps, as that is how difficult this jump is. So when I was able to strongly land the jump, it allowed me to carry out my program as planned while remaining calm.”
Kihira was asked how she felt about being the second Japanese after Ando to hit the jump, but said the historical aspect of the accomplishment had not entered her mind.
“I wasn’t really thinking about it that way, so this is my first time finding out, but during this season I was practicing hard for the quad as I really want to work towards successfully landing the jump in the Beijing Olympic Games,” Kihira said. “Keeping that in mind, I am really happy that my hard work connected to that strong jump in the competition!”
With Kihira making her season debut here, she admitted that by her free skate, fatigue was setting in.
“My triple axels in my short program went pretty well, but after that I think I was getting drained, so during the competition my jumps started to become almost like under rotated,” Kihira commented. “But the fact that even with that condition, I was able to land my jumps gives me confidence. I’m really glad that I was successful in both my quads and axels in the event.”
Kihira confessed that she made a mistake with location during her free skate and did not remember much else after her quad salchow as a result.
“There was an incident during my performance when I accidentally started my step and spin sequences on the opposite side of the judges which made me a bit panicked,” Kihira noted. “While I was able to skate pretty smoothly in the second half of my program, the fact that I skated in the opposite direction sat at the corner of my head for the rest of my performance, so I don’t really remember the details of my skate. My nod (at the end of the program) was more about being glad that I was able to jump the quad salchow, but I also don’t remember too much about my other jumps so I have to re-watch the clips. I’m just really pleased about my score.”
Kihira acknowledged that training during the pandemic and in a different place has been difficult for her.
“At a time where we didn’t know if any competitions were going to actually take place, it was really difficult to maintain my motivation,” Kihira said. “Also, I had muscle aches every day training in a new environment and it got pretty worrisome when I wasn’t able to do any jumps at times. I really didn’t know what was the right thing to do at the time, so I’m glad that I was able to bring out my strengths during this competition.
Kihira made it clear she has more work to do to get where she wants to be.
“Recently I’ve been able to jump the quad salchows well, and I also felt like my boots fit well too, so I feel like I’ve been able to move forward,” Kihira remarked. “However, I still feel like my performance has a lot of places for improvement, like my jumps that would likely be deducted points and a lot of other mistakes I thought that I had which I will need to refine in order to achieve a higher score. So if the worlds take place, with refinement, I aim to exhibit both my short and free program performance in a manner that I can’t do any better in.”
Hanyu talks about new free skate
Yuzuru Hanyu’s fantastic free skate to “Heaven and Earth” has to be considered one of his greatest ever. He said that he was especially motivated to make it memorable.
“This free program has a special place in my heart, so as soon as I hear the song, I’ll start to feel a rush of emotions,” Hanyu commented. “Each of the moves for this program was created with a lot of care like any other program, but the jumps especially needed to be executed at a high level, considering the overall flow of the performance playing an important role in communicating the deeper meaning of the program. Although this was the first event, I believe I was able to convey and express what this program meant to me, with the seamless and consecutive integration of jumps.”
Hanyu identifies with Kenshin Uesugi, the feudal lord depicted as part of the NHK television series “Heaven and Earth” that aired back in 1969, and wanted to convey this during the program.
“There is a certain aesthetic regarding Kenshin Uesugi’s philosophical approach to war and conflict, especially with the tension that arose from regulations that eventually led him to his journey in becoming a Buddhist priest,” Hanyu stated. “The new ground that Uesugi broke with his spiritual transcendence is where I felt something in common with him, and is also what I kept in mind during my performance on the rink.”
Back at full strength, Hanyu is holding himself back a bit and trying not to overdo it on his jumps at this point.
“I would say that yesterday’s performance was a bit of a rough cut,” Hanyu commented about his short program to “Let Me Entertain You.” “There is a part of me that wants to fully exhibit my performance, but instead of being all hyped up about being able to successfully jump, I want to remain calm and smart about it, like rock music performed with enough leeway. As of yesterday, I don’t think I’ve fully reached that point yet, and there is room for improvement.”
Hongo gets special support in return
Rika Hongo, who took last season off, received a warm welcome here from her many fans, and one in particular who did something special for her. Hongo supporter Satoe asked illustrator Mika Matsuda (@nigaoe877) to create a drawing of Rika that was then screened onto banners that were distributed to fans in Nagano. These were held up during the short program and free skate inside Big Hat when Hongo performed.
“I started supporting Rika in 2014. After seeing her skates for the first time, I was fascinated by her dynamic and unique charm,” Satoe commented. “In my life so far, I was encouraged by her hard work many times during difficult times. I think it’s because of her skating that I am now. All-Japan in 2020 was special. She is the oldest female skater. I also thought this could be her last All-Japan. And because of the corona in this tournament, I couldn’t make a voice and couldn’t throw flowers at the rink, so I thought I’d use a banner to convey my feelings of support.
“I wanted to tell her that a lot of fans love your skates,” Satoe continued. “I wondered how I could send the maximum to her who came back after overcoming the hardships for the first time in two years. It’s not the power of me alone, but the power of many skate fans and Mika who support her. I would be happy if it could convey something to her heart.”
Matsuda, the gifted artist from Fukuoka who has become popular with her drawing of skaters on social media, also created an incredible Christmas card last month that depicted Japanese and foreign skaters, coaches, choreographers, writers and others. It was a huge hit online during the holiday season.
Rika Kihira lands quad salchow, repeats as Japan champion
NAGANO – Rika Kihira captured her second straight Japan Championship with a strong performance in the free skate on Sunday night at Big Hat arena. Holding a comfortable lead after the short program, the 18-year-old landed her first quadruple jump in competition on the way to victory.
Kihira’s winning score was 234.24 points, well ahead of second-place finisher Kaori Sakamoto, who had 222.17. Four-time national champion Satoko Miyahara rallied from sixth place after the short program to make the podium again, with a tally of 209.75, after missing out last year
Kihira, who has been training with coach Stephane Lambiel in Switzerland this year, skated to “Baby, God Bless You” and started off with a bang. She opened with a beautiful quad salchow, but under-rotated a triple axel with her next jump. Kihira came back to hit five triples and earned level fours on two of her spins.
“This time I wasn’t really motivated because there have not been many events,” Kihira stated. “But with the help of various people, the two teachers (Lambiel and Mie Hamada) also worked hard to teach me. I’m glad and wanted to express my gratitude to all the coaches and fans.”
Kihira credited her longtime coach Hamada for her technical help after returning to train in Japan in November.
“For the jumps I adopted the teachings of the two. Straighten the aerial posture,” Kihira noted. “As I was conscious of it, I was feeling better.”
Sakamoto, the 2018 champion, performed to “The Matrix” and put forth a solid effort, with an edge call on a triple lutz being the only clear issue. She received level fours on all of her spins and step sequence.
“I was glad that I was able to get revenge for last year (when she was sixth),” commented Sakamoto, who punched her fists in the air at the end of her program. “I knew I had done it (when she finished).”
Miyahara, who was fourth at the Pyeongchang Olympics, showed real poise in her skate to “Tosca.” She hit six clean triples, while receiving a quarter call on a seventh (a triple toe loop), and under-rotated a double loop on the back end of a three-combo jump. The 22-year-old excelled on her spins and step sequence, scoring level fours on all of them.
“I made some mistakes, but I was able to do it,” Miyahara said. “The mental (improvement) that made me uneasy, gave me a small response.”
Japan junior champion Rino Matsuike (204.74) came in fourth, displaying great potential in her performance to “Perhaps Love,” while Mai Mihara (203.65) was fifth.
Wakaba Higuchi, who was second last year behind Kihira, finished seventh on 195.04. She was unable to recover after coming in 13th in the short program.
Misato Komatsubara and Tim Koleto won the ice dance with a total score of 175.23. Kana Muramoto and Daisuke Takahashi took second at 151.86.
Following the end of the competition, the JSF met behind closed doors to determine the team members for this season’s world championships, scheduled for late March in Sweden, and announced the following skaters had been selected:
Men
Yuzuru Hanyu, Shoma Uno, Yuma Kagiyama
Women
Rika Kihira, Kaori Sakamoto, Satoko Miyahara
Pairs
Riku Miura/Ryuichi Kihara
Ice Dance
Misato Komatsubara/Tim Koleto
