Akiko Suzuki || The Ice 2017 (a scan from moment on ice [vol.02] magazine)

Satoko Miyahara || The Ice 2017 (a scan from Figure Skating Team Japan Memorial 2017 magazine)

Satoko’s Interview at The Ice 2017

Source.

– Thoughts on performing at The Ice

I was very relaxed and had fun while skating, and I’m so happy to be able to skate healthily at such a big ice show like this. I feel so grateful to be part of The Ice, and in order to become an even better skater, I would like to work hard this season using The Ice as the start.

– Memories with Mao Asada, and inspiration from her

I met her for the first time when I was a junior, and she was so nice, and she came and talked to me every time we met. I thought, “I want to become a senpai like her”, and that is my fondest memory. She is an incredible skater who has pulled Japan forward for a long time, and using that strength as my inspiration, I would like to incorporate that into my skating.

– Regarding the new short program, SAYURI

It’s been two weeks since I started practicing it, and I’m still far from precisely landing a triple triple combination, so I’m practicing with single triples right now. I’ve been able to skate it without making mistakes, but it still has a long way to go. I would like to continue developing it into a good program. During the step sequence, there are very sharp movements which I’ve never done before, so that part is most worth watching. Now that the time has come to practice new programs, I’m very excited.

– Both the SP and FS surrounding the theme of Japan

Both of the pieces were suggested by my choreographers (Lori Nichol and Tom Dickson), and at first, I thought maybe they would clash a bit, but the feel of the music of the two are very different, and after learning the choreography, I think both turned out really good, so I decided upon doing both of them.

– About this season’s jump layout

I’m still not able to move as much after recovering from the injury, and it’ll take time to completely heal, so rather than experimenting with new jumps, I’m thinking of doing jumps in order to be able to land them 100%.

– Thoughts on taking a break from university

Since last season, I had decided to take a break from school during the Olympic season. Last season, I practiced while going to school, but especially because of the injury this year, I thought it would be better to focus on one thing, skating and training, so I took a break from university.

– Preparation for the beginning of the season

My body is still not completely back in shape, so I can’t help but be nervous, but I want to get used to skating again one step at a time, and I would like to work hard get used to the big stage again. Most of my jumps came back during the training camp in Canada, and I can do them well separately, but there are some difficulties of landing them in the program, and I am feeling nervous of performing on the real stage alone. But just like any other season, I would like to focus on the things I can do in the moment in this season’s competitions.