Will you come to practice tomorrow? Shinba Higuchi, the first winner of the GP Series, was saved from burnout by her “mentor.

Burnout” after the Beijing Olympics in ’22

In the first part of the article, “[She was ready to retire, but…] A ‘new strategy’ that led to the comeback of Shinba Higuchi, who won her first GP Series title in a stunning comeback,” we discussed the “stunning skating” of Shinba Higuchi (23), who won the Grand Prix series this October, after a long break after the ’22 Beijing Olympics. In this article, we reported on the “stunning performance” of Shinba Higuchi (23), who won the Grand Prix series this October after a long break after the Beijing Olympics in 2010.

Read the first part of the article , “[She was ready to retire, but…] A ‘new strategy’ that led to the comeback of Shinba Higuchi, who won the GP Series for the first time with a stunning comeback.

At Skate America, the first round of this season’s GP Series, Higuchi won her first GP Series title in her 14th competition. It was on October 20, one night after her victory, that she revealed her secret story about the victory she had won after a twisting and turning skating career.

When a reporter asked her if she ever thought of retiring, she smiled and reminisced.

I honestly thought, ‘I can’t do this anymore,’ a little after the Olympics (in Beijing) were over. I thought I couldn’t do the same amount of training, and with my injury, my mentality was in shambles and I was in no shape to handle it. So I chose to take a break, but rather than taking a break, I thought I would just disappear.”

Since her junior years, she has been called a “rocket,” with her speedy skating, and her manipulation of high-difficulty triple jumps. 13 years old, she competed in her first All-Japan Championships in 2002, where she placed 3rd, becoming the first skater since Mao Asada to reach the podium in her second year of junior high school. The following year, she also placed third at the World Junior Championships, where she finished sixth. 24-year-old Kaori Sakamoto, the current world queen, said, “You can’t beat Shinba.

However, she suffered repeated injuries and weight adjustments, and narrowly missed the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in 2006. For the past four years, he has been thinking only of the humiliation of that loss. He was in a state of burnout after his long-cherished dream of competing in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

A “Proclamation” from his mentor

It was coach Koji Okajima, with whom Higuchi had worked hard for a long time, who brought him back on the ice once again.

He asked me, ‘When are you coming to practice? I went to the rink for now, and from then on, he would often ask me if I wanted to come to practice tomorrow. The kids I was practicing with also asked me, “Have you been practicing lately? I was forced to go to the rink anyway (laughs).

At first, she was reluctant to go to the rink, without motivation or goals, but as she spent more and more time with skating, without being obsessed with results, unlike before the Beijing Olympics season, “Gradually and gradually, I began to think it might be interesting, and that’s when I was able to return,” she says.

Last December, she finished 12th in the All-Japan Championships, but at the National Sports Festival the following month, she sensed her potential.

I had always wondered if the All-Japan result would be enough, and of course, I didn’t know at the time if I could practice any harder than before, and to be honest, there was a part of me that was unsure, but the National Championships became a competition where I could find my next challenge. But the National Championships gave me a chance to find my next challenge, and that made me think, “I might be able to do a little more.

My current goal is to win the All-Japan Championships to be held in Osaka in December.

That has always been my goal. My motivation has completely changed since last season, and I think that is one of the reasons why I am getting closer to that goal.

I think this win has made me see that goal more strongly again,” he said. On the other hand, he says that his thoughts about the Olympics have not yet been stirred up.

I want to achieve results in each and every competition,” he said.

The “former girl prodigy,” who has impressed us with her resurgence, will continue to refine her unique skiing skills in a graceful, lighthearted manner.