‘No regrets’ as Mao bids farewell -中級（編集前ー上級）
‘No regrets’ as Mao bids farewell
Figure skating icon gives few clues to next step
Mao Asada answered every question during a news
conference on Wednesday, her first public appearance since announcing her
retirement from figure skating two days earlier on her blog.
Speaking in a large ballroom at a Tokyo hotel, Mao
emphasized that she feels at peace with her decision to leave the sport.
Mao realized her career was over when she finished 12th
at December’s national championships. She said on Wednesday that
she had made up her mind to leave the sport in February.
“I’ve always tried to perform without making mistakes and
skate confidently,” Mao said. “I wasn’t able to give a perfect performance and
that frustrated me. I saw my score in the kiss and cry, and thought,
‘Maybe I don’t have to do this anymore.’
“I’ve competed at the national
championships since I was 12, and I ended with the most
disappointing result that I ever had. It factored into
making the decision as one of the biggest reasons.”
Nevertheless, the 26-year-old leaves the sport with a
smile on her face. She thought of wearing a black suit on Wednesday,
but instead chose a white blouse and black skirt to reflect her refreshed state
of mind.
She said that she is satisfied that she “had done everything.”
Mao confessed that there was actually one thing she
regrets. When she returned to the ice after a year’s layoff following the 2014
Sochi Olympics, she made it her goal to go to the Pyeongchang Games in 2018.
“I was conflicted because I announced my goal
publicly and didn’t carry it out,” said Mao.
“I began figure skating when I was little and it gave me
joy when I was able to do techniques I hadn’t done,” said
the Nagoya native, whose signature move was the triple axel. “It was like, ‘I
want to do a triple loop next.’ Those kind of things were fun.
“I don’t really have any bad memories, because this is the
path I chose for myself.”
Mao’s name was often associated throughout her career with
rival Yuna Kim. Asked about her feelings toward the South Korean
Olympic gold medalist, Mao said, “We competed with each other
since we were about 16 years old. We really inspired each other and I think we
shook up figure skating together.”
Mao said she would appear in a skate show in July in
Osaka, but outside of that, she does not have any
concrete plans for her post-competitive figure skating career.
At the end, Mao stood up and once again expressed her
appreciation to her supporters. She almost choked up but regained composure and left
with positive words about her future.
“Not forgetting what I’ve done in my skating career, I
would like to find a new goal and move forward with a smile on my face,” she
said.
いかがでしたか？赤でハイライトされている部分が、上級レベルのテキストから削除されたものです。
いかがでしたか？赤でハイライトされている部分が、上級レベルのテキストから削除されたものです。
