After winning Skate America, Kevin Aymoz claimed a seventh national title in Briançon.
How did you experience your free skate?
Kevin: It was really hard. I could definitely feel the 1,300 meters of altitude, but I’m really happy. I wanted to try a quad Salchow today, but it wasn’t the day to chase an Olympic-level performance, so I’m pleased with what I delivered. I played a bit with the rules by choosing easier elements to go for GOEs. That’s what pays off. I opened the program with a combination: double Axel–triple toe loop to start things off. It is scary, actually.
You’ve been able to do that combination for a very long time though…
Kevin: Exactly. You think, “It’s just a double Axel,” but with full speed you have to be careful. It’s not the same energy as a triple. You have to control that little extra factor. Once it was done, I told myself the rest of the jumps would follow. But for the loop, I was in full panic mode.
You gave a huge smile to Françoise after the loop.
Kevin: When I landed it, yes, I was happy. Then I messed up a spin and did my short-program spin instead. It counts, but not at the level I wanted. But if someone had told me one day I’d be a seven-time French champion, I would never have believed it. These past two weeks, I was really scared, because with the pain in my foot I couldn’t work on the quads, and run-throughs at training were really hard. I was a bit sad, because I thought I wouldn’t be able to fight for the title even though I have the potential. I arrived telling myself: just do what you have to do, treat this like a dress rehearsal. I’m really proud of myself. I didn’t give up.
What was going through your head at the end of the program, when you start sprinting into the choreo sequence?
Kevin: A bit like an end-of-the-world movie, where you have to run because everything is blowing up. I’m thinking I’m going to die at the end, so it doesn’t matter, just run. It feels like an action film. I love that moment in the program; it’s cool.
Is that foot pain the reason we did not see a quad toe loop?
Kevin: The toe loop hurts because you slam into the ice on the pick, it’s brutal. With Françoise and Silvia, we said, “Let’s imagine this happens at the Olympics. What do we do? Stop and cry? No. Change strategy.” So we decided to work on the Salchow. It still hurts, but there’s no pick-impact, so I can manage the pain. I’m very proud, because I used to do the Salchow four years ago, then I stopped, and now I’m doing it again. Six competitions, five wins ! First time in my career. I’m on cloud nine. And it’s a team effort: my coaches in Florida and in France, my mental coach, my conditioning coach, my friends. I’m tyrannical with my family and my boyfriend, I put them through hell. I’ll try to calm down a bit. But I want to thank everyone around me, and the fans too.
Is a short program with two quads an objective?
Kevin: I’d love that. If you want an Olympic medal, you have to do it, let’s not kid ourselves. But I’ll play the strategy game. Right now, with a mistake and I got 88 in the short program. I think the French judges were fair. So I’m thinking: 88 with a quad mistake and program components that aren’t maxed out… If I can secure a 95 in the short, that’s already great to set things up before the free. You don’t win a competition with the short, but you can’t afford to fall behind. If you’re as good as Adam at remontadas, great for you, but I don’t like that kind of pressure. So yes, two quads is interesting. But you have to play with the rules. It’s better to do a triple toe with +5 than a quad Salchow two-footed. I’d love to go head-to-head with the best by putting in two quads. I tried it in Zagreb, it was almost there, and I was happy.
You surprised everyone by changing your short program.
Kevin: It was a great program, but I didn’t really get any positive feedback.
I’ll give you positive feedback!
Kevin: Now it’s too late! If everyone had told me that while I was skating it, maybe I would have kept it. A lot of judges, when I asked them, said, “It’s nice, it’s different,” but the scores weren’t going up. I’ve skated programs less fun than Lady Gaga, and people told me it was amazing. So here’s my little gripe: if you like something, say it. I love my new short as much as Lady Gaga. I want to show real skating lines. I’ll never have Guillaume’s presence or glide, but the goal is to move toward what he and Laurence bring. I want something light, something emotional. Showing my emotions is what I do best. This new program carries an inner message. Judas will come back, but not right away. For Worlds, that will be perfect, fewer stakes, a celebration of skating. And that costume, I adored it. I designed it myself, with the shoulder pad, the spikes… I’m also excited about the new costume, blue satin that moves like water. Fancy!
One month after winning Skate America, what emotions are still with you?
Kevin: It was crazy. It was really hard, because I knew Skate Canada would be complicated and that I wasn’t ready cardio-wise. I went for a quad toe and somehow landed it by miracle, even though I hadn’t worked on it for a month. After that, I didn’t have legs anymore, so I knew how it was going to end. For Skate America, we went in thinking: if I skate well, great; if I skate poorly, we’ll see what needs changing. I stayed completely outside of the pressure. Kazuki Tomono was stressed because he had skated well at Skate Canada, Daniel Grassl wanted to qualify for the Final, Nikolaj Memola was stressed, same for Mikhail Shaidorov. I could see how tense they all were, and I felt completely detached. In the programs, I just did what I knew how to do. I don’t control what the others do, that’s the magic of sport. It felt like an early Christmas gift.
Are you taking a break over the holidays?
Kevin: Yes. You wouldn’t think so, but when I skate, I’m in pain. During performances, I try to push through, use the adrenaline and forget about it, but in the background, the pain is still there. My goal is to be at my best at Europeans and at the Olympic Games, so I’ll do everything I can. I’ve had medical exams, they don’t find anything, but it still hurts.
What is your assessment of these past years and how do you look ahead?
Kevin: I hope I’ve done what was needed over the past four seasons. I’m happy because, apart from Europeans, which were a disaster, I managed to stay on my feet. I counted: since Skate America last year, only three competitions out of sixteen where I wasn’t on the podium. Now I’m learning to appreciate my journey, because before, each good competition would pile on the pressure. I’d think, “Now you have to do better,” and coming back to training was hard, competing was hard. Today I feel more mature, tougher. I coach a bit, I choreograph too. I’ll do one more season for sure, because Europeans will be in Lausanne, and then the World Team Trophy. It’s the most fun event, we get to go to Japan, enjoy it, and represent Team France. For the Grand Prix, I’d love to go to NHK Trophy and take my mom with me to Japan. She followed me everywhere when I was a kid. My parents put so much money into this sport for years and years, I’d really like to give them the chance to travel.
Solène Mathieu - Skate Info Glace
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