Uno Shoma: "I feel my second life as a figure skater has finally begun"

The fall of 2019 was a turning point for two-time Olympic figure skating medallist Uno Shoma of Japan.

Uno had left long-time coach Yamada Machiko and Higuchi Mihoko earlier in the year, and two seasons after winning silver at the PyeongChang 2018 Games, nothing seemed to be working.

He sat alone in the kiss and cry after a tough free skate at the Internationaux de France, the first of his two Grand Prix assignments. He’d fallen three times and had two other major issues in his program set to music that seemed all too appropriate: a cover of Robyn’s ‘Dancing on My Own.’

Uno wasn’t sure what lay ahead for him in figure skating – or even how much longer his career could continue. He felt that if his time in the sport was coming to a close, he could at least end it on a happy note working with Stephane Lambiel, the two-time world champion turned coach with whom he had spent some training time.

“The main reason I wanted to join Stephane’s team was that I felt my career as a figure skater wouldn’t be much longer and wanted to just enjoy it,” he told Olympics.com during an exclusive interview at the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022. “I thought I could end my figure skating life with joy if I skated under Stephane.”

But the partnership – announced shortly after that disappointing competition – quickly erased any thoughts of an end to Uno’s career.

“I started to feel I want to produce better results and become a better skater to make Stephane happy,” said Uno. “Even though I don’t really understand English, I can feel with my heart that he wants me to aim higher. So that really changed my goal.”

And aim higher he certainly did, as Uno soared to his fourth-straight Japanese title in December 2019.

He was chosen to compete at the 2020 World Championships in Montreal, and it appeared as though he would be a contender for the podium until the event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A year later, he finished fourth at the worlds behind American Nathan Chen and compatriots Kagiyama Yuma and Hanyu Yuzuru, the two-time Olympic gold medallist.

“Yuma and Yuzuru are two of the most influential skaters in my skating career, especially Yuma has had the most impact on me in this season and motivated me to skate hard again,” Uno said.

That motivation, perhaps, is responsible for what he describes as a season of rebirth.
“In this season, I feel my second life as a figure skater has finally begun,” said Uno. “I felt I was stuck for a long time and a lot of things happened. But this is the new beginning for me.”

His skating in Beijing reflected that as he climbed back onto the Olympic podium, taking bronze behind Chen and Kagiyama.

Though he’s not sure how long this second life with Lambiel will carry him, he’s determined to see it through.

“I’m still planning to continue skating for a long time,” said Uno. “I don’t know how much longer I can compete. But as long as I’m capable, I want to show my best skating.”

Those plans include next month’s world championships where he says he’ll put lessons learned in the past four years – and in Beijing – to use.

“A lot happened in the past four years. But in this Beijing Olympics, I can feel I want to grow as a skater again,” he said. “The World Championships will be in about a month. So, I want to try everything I have learned during this Olympics and improve myself.”

That’s something he’s shown he’s more than capable of, just like another goal of his.

“I am hoping to be a skater who can lead Japan’s figure skating and Team Japan in my own way,” he said.”