Nordic ski jumper Noriaki Kasai recently reflected on the 2019-20 World Cup season and restated his aim to continue competing during an interview with The Yomiuri Shimbun.
The 47-year-old legend, who belongs to Tsuchiya Home Ski Club (Team Tsuchiya), this past year had to skip the traditional event Four Hills Tournament and also failed to put together the kind of successful season he envisioned.
But he showed confidence because of the experience he gained at the Continental Cup, a circuit ranked below the World Cup, and expressed an ambition that has not diminished.
He spoke about his enthusiasm:
The Yomiuri Shimbun: How do you look back at the 2019-20 season?
Kasai: It was a season of poor performances like nothing I've experienced before. I didn't get the results.
Q: From the start of the World Cup, your form didn't improve over time?
A: I put a priority on polishing my approach form, which has been a hurdle for me, and so my performances got better in autumn. I also entered the season expecting to be able pick up World Cup points, but once I was out on the snow, my [approach] worsened and I've been trying to figure it out. When I tried to shift my weight forward get more speed, I would slip at the takeoff and there was no distance on my jumps. It became a vicious cycle.
Q: Did you compete on the tour with this difficulty?
A: At overseas competitions, I don't have the opportunity to practice. Because I don't think my physical and muscular strength have waned, if I can resolve that problem, I should be able to move ahead of [teammates] Ryoyu Kobayashi and Masamitsu Ito, with whom I train. I believe in myself.
Q: In the midst of the season, you toured to participate in the Continental Cup. That your first time?
A: The travel was tough and there was no trainer. After this experience, I realized for the first time how difficult that kind of situation can be. I got through it and it made me feel like I wanted to do more. I felt like a new me.
Q: How hard the travel?
A: Sometimes I was crammed in a car full of luggage and traveled for five to six hours. But such adversity made me stronger, so it wasn't that hard to take.
Q: You were unable to participate in the Four Hills Tournament for the first time in 25 seasons?
A: I knew it was unavoidable with me in such poor form.
Q: You finished third in the Yukijirushi Megmilk Cup in February?
A: With no other members of the World Cup team with me, I wanted to at least earn a spot on the podium, so that was a confidence-builder. It would've been a mental blow had I not been able to do that.
Q: Subsequent competitions were called off amid the impact of the spread of the new coronavirus outbreak?
A: I wanted to practice (rather than be in competitions), and so I felt a deep desire to work toward next season as soon as possible.
Q: In December last year, your second child and first son was born?
A: Without my children, I would have been down in the dumps. They were a big help.
Q: Ryoyu Kobayashi, your understudy, finished third overall in the World Cup individual standings. Though he could not win the top position in a row, he recorded three victories. His 16 victories are second most in history among Japanese men.
A: Strictly speaking, he could have won more. I thought he was going to quickly move past my record (of 17 victories). He attention to his body, his endurance and his mental toughness to be a consistent performer are still lacking. Because he has the gifts and skills to win championships, I think I have to train him all over again.
Q: What's your next goal?
A: First, I want to regain my spot as a member of the World Cup squad. If my performances improve, it'll mean I'm back on the World Cup team, I'm on podiums and that will lead to me being at the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022. I want to take advantage of every opportunities.
Q: Sapporo is bidding to host the 2030 Winter Olympics.
A: I turn 58 that year. Though I don't know when I'll begin to fall off as an athlete, I want to continue to competing unless I get burned out. Kazu-san (professional soccer player Kazuyoshi Miura of Yokohama FC in the J.League's top division) continues to play even after turning 50. I want to make that my goal.
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