Kagiyama Yuma flashes gold-medal credentials
On a forgettable day for compatriot Hanyu Yuzuru, the 18-year-old continued to raise eyebrows. And he's loving every minute of it.
Figure Skating
While Kagiyama Yuma was expected to do well at Beijing 2022 in his Olympic debut, who would have thought he would steal Hanyu Yuzuru's thunder.
After the men's short program on Tuesday (8 February), Kagiyama sat in second place with a personal best of 108.12 points, rewriting his old mark by more than seven points.
He was five points off the pace of Nathan Chen and within striking distance of a gold medal.
In stark contrast, Hanyu got off to a nightmarish start as he popped his opening quadruple Salchow after hitting a hole, ending up eighth - 18 points behind Chen.
Uno Shoma was in third, also with a personal best of 105.90.
Kagiyama had given Japan a huge lift in the team competition, helping his country to bronze - their first-ever medal in the event.
In the team free skate, he became the first man to execute the quadruple loop at the Games, drawing raves for his flawless performance.
But more than the medal or personal bests, what's stood out most about Kagiyama is the fact that the Youth Olympic champion is having an absolute blast in Beijing.
The 18-year-old hasn't been able to keep a smile off his face since arriving in China, and it's showing in his skating - relaxed, carefree and the Capital Indoor Stadium crowd has been loving it.
Kagiyama was visibly nervous at the Japanese nationals in December, when he was trying to qualify for his first Games. But now that he's through the door, he's been liberated.
"It’s my first Olympics and I thought I’d be nervous but I had fun from start to finish", the 2020 Youth Olympic Games champion said. "I had no issues on the jumps but I had a few hiccups with my steps.
"A lot is going through my mind. I’ve struggled with the short in the past and I never thought I could put together a performance like today’s. Everything I worked on in practice, I managed to do.
"The last few years, it wasn’t always rosy. At times I felt like I needed a break. But I am who I am because of that and it’s why I’m able to enjoy these Games. I feel like I made progress.
"For the first time ever, I think I smiled during the short program".
Beating Chen for gold will certainly not be easy but stranger things have happened - like Hanyu being the only one out of 29 to skate into a hole.
And Kagiyama's focus doesn't seem to be on Chen: it's about having fun.
"I don’t know if I can beat him. But my goal isn’t to beat another skater. I’m trying to beat myself. If I can be a better version of myself every time I’m on the ice, the result will be there.
"I'm enjoying this. It's a waste if I don't. Everything is new to me and I want to try to enjoy everything".
Uno rock solid
Kagiyama might be taking centre stage, but the PyeongChang 2018 silver medallist, hasn't disappointed.
Uno touched the ice landing on a quad toeloop-triple toeloop but held up otherwise, rewriting the personal best he set in the team short program on Friday.
Yet Uno had a sobering assessment of his gold-medal chances and like Kagiyama, isn't obsessed with topping the podium.
"I’m not as good as Nathan Chen right now", Uno said matter-of-factly.
"So for me to wish or think that I can overtake him would be like me wanting him to fail and I don't want to have that attitude. I don’t think finishing first ahead of him is very realistic.
"I don’t want to skate only for results. Even if I make mistakes, as long as it helps me grow in the long run I’m fine with it.
"If I had done what I’m doing now from a few seasons ago, I might be on the same plane as Nathan Chen. But I know it’s very hard to catch up to him in just one season".