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

The 2022 World Figure Skating Championships are already far away. In March of the same year, Adam Xiao Him Fa finished only 8th^e place in the men’s individual competition, but he still set the ice on fire at Montpellier’s Sud de France Arena with a whirlwind performance to the sound of Daft Punk. The Frenchman knows there will be no more prying eyes on him when he takes his first steps on his skates during his short program at the 2023 Worlds on Thursday, March 23 (starting at 7:50 a.m. Paris time). ), in Saitama, Japan.

In one season, Adam Siao Him Fa has radically changed its dimension. In January, a few days before the 22nd^e On his birthday, he became the 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.

During the announcement of the records and thus his coronation, the person in question only flashes a slight smile in front of the camera. “I didn’t understand right awayhe tells her the world. At the time I was happy with the result, but I wasn’t happy with the game because I knew I could have done better. »

This European crown came to confirm an excellent season for the Bordeaux native. A season in which he continued to make significant strides with his first ISU Grand Prix Trophée de France 2022 in Angers in November (the first for a Frenchman since Brian Joubert in 2009) and then his first French title in December. “Results that show the quality of the work done”Its choreographer Benoît Richeau summarizes.

“It seemed natural to me to go skating”

Also, according to Adam Xiao Him Fa, his decision to settle in Nice in May. “It was good, it might work well”. After three seasons under Brian Joubert in Poitiers, then a year with Laurent Depuilly in Courbevoie (Haute-des-Seines), the skater was looking for a fresh start. At the Beijing Olympics, where he completed 14 years^ewas provocative. “I thought a lot about what I needed, how I could train to progress furtherhe recalls. Now, in Nice, I have everything there, be it a physical trainer, coaches or a choreographer. »

Along the Baie des Anges, this son of Mauritian parents – who came to France to study in the late 1970s – is surrounded by a structure dedicated to him, along with Benoit Richeau, his physical trainer Diego Diabachate and his two coaches, Cédric Tour and Rodolphe Marechal. . The latter already trained him as a child.