Adam Siao Him Fa, the new nugget of French figure skating

The 2022 World Figure Skating Championships already seem a long way off. In March of that year, Adam Siao Him Fa had only finished in the 8^e place in the men’s individual competition, but he still set the ice at the Sud de France Arena in Montpellier on fire with a twirling performance to the sound of Daft Punk. The Frenchman knows that the eyes that will be on him will no longer be those of discovery, when he will take his first steps on the skates during his short program at the 2023 Worlds, Thursday March 23 (from 7:50 a.m., Paris time), in Saitama, Japan.

In one season, Adam Siao Him Fa has radically changed in dimension. In January, just days before his 22^e birthday, he became European champion in Espoo, Finland. He is only the fifth Frenchman in history to win the continental title; the first since Florent Amodio, in 2011.

At the announcement of the notes, and therefore of his coronation, the person concerned just sketches a slight smile in front of the camera. “I didn’t immediately realizehe tells the World. At the time, I was happy with the result, but not happy with the performance because I knew I could have done better. »

This European crown came to confirm the formidable season of the native of Bordeaux. A season during which he has continued to take important steps with a first ISU Grand Prix at the Trophée de France 2022, in Angers in November (a first for a Frenchman since Brian Joubert, in 2009), then a first title champion of France in December. “Results that demonstrate the quality of the work done”summarizes its choreographer, Benoît Richaud.

“It seemed natural to me to go skating”

The proof also, according to Adam Siao Him Fa, that his decision to settle in Nice, in May, “was the good one, may it work well”. After three seasons under the orders of Brian Joubert, in Poitiers, then a year with Laurent Depouilly, in Courbevoie (Hauts-de-Seine), the skater was looking for a new start. The Beijing Olympics, where he finished 14^ewere the trigger. “I thought a lot about what I needed, how I could train to progress morehe recalls. Now, in Nice, I have everything there, whether it’s the physical trainer, the coaches or the choreographer. »

Along the Baie des Anges, this child of Mauritian parents – who arrived in France to study in the late 1970s – is surrounded by a structure dedicated to him, with Benoît Richaud, his physical trainer Diego Diabakhate and his two coaches Cédric Tour and Rodolphe Maréchal. The latter had already trained him during his childhood.

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