Florent Amodio at the 2013 Trophee Eric Bompard, in November
On March 22, just two days before the beginning of the 2014 Worlds in Saitama, Florent Amodio wrote on his facebook account: “I won’t be at the World Championships this year, I have to continue to reconstruct myself in order to come back on top. Japan, I love you. See you soon”.
by Florentina Tone
The skater elaborated on the reason of the withdrawal for the television station France TV Sport: “After my disappointment at the Olympics, I must regain confidence in me. Today, I’m not ready to make a good World Championship. This is a season to forget”.
This was indeed a disappointing season for the talented French skater, who finished the European Championships in January on a surprising (and not in a good way) 13th place, after getting medals at the last three editions of the continental competition: Florent was first in 2011, third in 2012 and second last year, in Zagreb. In Budapest, this January, Florent ranked seventh in the short program and 20th in the free skate.
As for the Olympics, the23-year-old skater finished the event on tears, being ranked 18th overall – six places lower than in Vancouver, four years ago. Not to mention his sixth place at Cup of China and seventh place at Trophee Eric Bompard, last November in Paris. So, yes, there have been tough times for Florent, who parted ways with Nikolai Morozov, his longtime coach, in July last year.
Florent, in Paris, at the 2013 TEB, performing his short program (“La cumparsita”, choreographed by Stephane Lambiel)
Also skipping this edition of the Worlds in Saitama, for various reasons, are the Sochi silver medalist, Patrick Chan (who’ll start attending University of Toronto in September), the Sochi bronze medalist, Denis Ten, and the Japanese bronze medalist in Vancouver 2010, Daisuke Takahashi (due to his knee injury, not fully healed).