Two missed landings, a fall on a quadruple toe loop and a 19th place… Thursday, the short program proved to be a cross for Adam Siao Him Fa during the world figure skating championships in Montreal. The hope of a medal seemed nothing more than a sweet dream. But, sometimes dreams come true.
During the night from Saturday to Sunday, after a superb and flawless free program (206.90 points), the Frenchman managed to climb onto the podium. A bronze medal for France at the Worlds, a first since Brian Joubert in 2010. “We not only marked the history of skating with this comeback, we marked the history of sport,” confides to 20 minutes Benoit Richaud, his trainer and choreographer.
How did Adam, who was at the bottom of the hole after the short, find the resources to make this crazy comeback?
Oddly, it’s something that I visualized and I knew he was capable of doing it, because we have had quite a few examples in sport and skating, especially since the introduction of the new system. If Adam performed like he did at the Cup of China or the French Grand Prix, we all knew he could score over 200 points. We spent a lot of time talking about short and freestyle. There were meetings, “ultra-shock” discussions.
What do these “ultra-shock” discussions consist of?
Depending on the circumstances, the moment, the person, there are things to do and try. Sometimes you have to comfort, sometimes you have to violate, sometimes you have to motivate or shock. You just have to find the right ideas, the right words, the right things to say at the right time. That’s very high-level coaching, you have to be able to feel your athlete, especially when you’re in a moment where things aren’t going well. When it goes well, it remains much easier.
What state of mind was he in after this short program?
He was extremely frustrated and disappointed. It created a little doubt in him. You can win by not skating well, where everything is not perfect, like when he won at the European Championships. But, Adam, as he has achieved some perfect performances, he is now in this search, like the great champions, of nickel on everything. There is a huge amount of work to be done, which comes with maturity and experience, to become a master of this talent.
After the short, has the free program been remodeled, with more complex figures for example, in order to score more points to move up the rankings?
We haven’t changed anything. The backflip was planned in circumstances where there was not much risk. For example, in a European Championship where he had a big lead, he could do it. But the program was the same, apart from small changes in details in the choreography, in the transitions, in the way of approaching the jumps, but nothing with the aim of gaining more points. We’re on a program where he can’t score much more than he did. We are on very high scores. This is his best performance.
Do you feel like you have left your mark on the history of French figure skating?
We realize it without realizing it, because we are always in the moment. But clearly, we made our mark on the history of French skating, but not only that. We marked the history of sport, because there are not many sports where there have been such comebacks.
Adam, can he still improve?
It is at 9.30 on the components. The maximum is 10, and there we can score quite a few points. Adam is a skater that, in a short time, I will be able to bring to 10, which I had already managed to do with Kaori Sakamoto, three-time world champion. Afterwards, if we want the technical score to improve, it will only be by adding “quads” [quadruples sauts], what we will prepare during the summer. The technical rules of the programs will change, and they are in Adam’s favor, because they remove a jump from next year, which is interesting for Adam, who is a complete skater.
The goal now is the 2026 Olympics in Turin?
The goal is to reach the limit at each stage of your progress. His progression curve is increasing all the time. The idea is to overcome this curve by soliciting it, so as not to put it to sleep. I have seen plenty of athletes whose potential was “killed”, where the progression curve was not exceeded. I still can’t see the limit of its potential. Some skaters are very strong at a very young age. Adam is in the process of exploding with more maturity, we’re still a little in the process of discovering it. You have to dig a little deeper into him. The objective, obviously, is the 2026 Olympics, but also the home Games in six years.