Takahito MURA (JPN)

“What’s going to happen 10 years from now? I have no idea…… There is so much I want to do, I really don’t know. There are a lot of things I want to do after I’m done skating, things that are unrelated to skating. Of course, there’s a possibility I could be a skating coach, but I don’t think teaching is one of my strong points.

A lot of generation grew up as Shin-Matsudo Daiei (T/N: a department store rink where they hosted competitions for young skaters) skaters. Along the way, that rink shut down. We experienced so much there. There are a lot of difficult challenges that comes with being a skater like not knowing anything else beyond skating. That’s why, I want to experience the world, and many of us probably do. Maybe I’ll try getting a normal job or a not-so-normal one. And when I’ve seen what’s out there, perhaps I’ll return to skating. If I change on my mind on doing something different, I’ll return to the rink. I don’t know how it’ll turn out in the end… but I’d like to see what else is out there at least once.”

What will skating be like in 10 years?

“Several years from now, skaters will only be doing quads. Heh, that’s probably impossible. We’re still just getting down the quad toe-loop. But eventually, everyone will be effortlessly landing all sorts of quads. Right now, we’re landing all the triples and a quad… but 10 years from now, we’ll see.