Adam Siao Him Fa's reactions :
"I went through a lot of ups and downs this week, and a lot of emotions. I no longer expected a medal after the short program. I just wanted to skate my free program without mistakes. The wait after my performance was quite long, I was hungry (laughs). It was nice to watch the competition, I usually don't do it when I skate in the last group (laughs).
I'm glad I was able to get my revenge on the short program. I wanted to finish this season on a high note. It's rather a success! It took me some time to get over the frustration of the short program. It wasn't easy, but I used it throughout the program to attack my jumps and go for the performance. I had to give not 100% but 300%. I did my elements one by one, and I was launched like a machine. That's what I do in training. I know what I'm capable of and I also know I can do more. Tonight, I couldn't give all that I could on the artistic side, on the choreography, the interpretation, the emotions. I was very focused on my jumps.
During the short program, I think I was too fearful, I stayed on the defensive instead of fighting to get my jumps. I was disappointed and angry. It will serve as experience. It's not a regret, but rather a lesson. A lesson that hurt, for sure. In an athlete's career, it happens to everyone. I take Nathan Chen at the 2018 Olympics as an example (NB: Chen was 17th in the short program, then moved up to fifth place by taking first place in the free program). I was very inspired by that. He managed to bounce back.
This time, I brought my guitar (NB: unlike the European Championships where Adam bought one in Lithuania to replace the guitar he left in France). It allowed me to think about something else after the short program.
The two days of training between the short and free programs went well, in the sense that I certainly didn't have good sensations but I was doing my jumps so it showed me that I could do it. I had to stop thinking and stop questioning my technique.
I decided to do the backflip during the program, when I had finished my spin. I had done my job on this program, so I could have a little fun, for me, for the public, for everyone. I had nothing to lose, at the moment, I wasn't aiming for a medal.
The atmosphere was really great. The audience was top-notch, all week long, whether at the competition or the practices, they supported me. I thank them very much.
Today was really a fight between me and myself."
Someone responded, "We feel sorry for the second you then!"
Adam: "I feel sorry for him too" (laughs)
Rodolphe Maréchal, his coach:
"After the big disappointment of the short program, we had to reengage him to give him objectives and restore his confidence. We told him that nothing was over, that the competition ended with a free program, not with a short program, and that he was still capable of making an impression. We didn't talk about ranking because we were far off with that 19th place, but the goal was to finish this competition with panache, to give everything, to not give up, to take all the points that were there to take, and to enjoy himself. I'm super proud of what he did because it wasn't easy after such a disappointment to come back as a warrior and give 150%.
The morning of the free program, he made two mistakes in the program. It bothered us because all the jumps were successful outside of the program but when the music started, there were errors. The kind of errors he hasn't made for months, like falling on a quadruple Lutz at a quarter. I knew that if the quadruple Lutz was successful, as it magnificently was today, the rest would follow.
Before going onto the ice, I felt that he was good. His way of being, reacting, smiling... The stress was gone. He had the desire to perform and to fight against himself and, above all, the desire to skate as Adam, to show what he was capable of. He was relaxed and focused at the same time. When he went onto the ice, he was perfectly positioned over his axis, and I felt that it was going to go well.
We know he's capable of this kind of performance, he's proven it and he shows it in training all the time. But it's not quite the same to achieve this performance after what happened in the short program.
During the program, I felt that he was carried by his music, his theme, and the audience. We had felt in training that the audience supported him. He made some errors but when he relaunched his jumps correctly, the audience expressed a lot of joy and encouragement. We told him that with a perfect performance, he would have a standing ovation because the audience was behind him."
Benoît Richaud, his choreographer :
"It was a great moment in sports and figure skating. I told him to attack, like in a boxing match. I told him that the goal wasn't necessarily this competition but his career and progression. And himself. We see that when he attacks, it becomes transcendent. We had two days of intense discussions. I was a bit hard on him, too. Not mean, but hard. I told him there were things to do, things to change, things to stop. It was a complex season where he really went from the Adam newcomer to the Adam leader. The Grand Prix final was hard. As for the European Championships, it was a correct performance but not fantastic. Ultimately, I had not yet seen the real Adam in competition. There had been some pretty good performances, but tonight, it was up to what I see most of the time in training. The goal is really to consistently bring that to competition. For me, the very great champions have just that thing. They manage to bring that performance and give that magical aspect to the sport."
Solène Mathieu - Skate Info Glace
Écrire commentaire