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Olympics 2022: The Ice Prince Yuzuru Hanyu Shirley Dong
Olympics 2022: The Ice Prince Olympics 2022: The Ice Prince Yuzuru Hanyu Yuzuru Hanyu
By Shirley Dong
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Widely regarded as one of the greatest figure skaters of all time, Japan’s Ice Prince, Yuzuru Hanyu is the first Asian men’s single skater to win gold during the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. He defended his title again at the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang. All eyes were on this year’s Olympics to determine whether the two-time reigning champion would be the first figure skater in 94 years to win three consecutive men’s single figure skating titles since 1928. However, Hanyu himself suggested he was more focused on being able to land a quadruple axel than obtaining his third gold medal. The risky quadruple axel is referred to as “Holy Grail of ice skating” or “the king of jumps’’ due to the difficulty of completing 4.5 rotations. This move has maintained its reputation as the only quad jump that has never been successfully executed in competition. He told the Japan Times, “the main reason I chose to compete in Beijing is because I want to land the quad.”
To everyone’s surprise, he had missed an opening jump of his short program - the quad salchow - due to getting caught in a “hole on the rink.” It turned the planned quadruple Salchow to a single Salchow, which left him with a surprisingly low score of 95.15 in the short program and in eighth place. But many fans rushed to social media to voice their support and sympathy. Taiwanese fan Deng Yi-Hsein said in an Insider interview, “A single error does not take anything away from what a legend he is. He will always be a two-time Olympic gold medalist and a prince in our hearts.” Another fan said, “Every performance is his best.”
Yuzuru Hanyu at the Beijing Olympics
Image from Insider
10 ASIAN OUTLOOK
Many looked toward his free skating performance where he would attempt the quad axel. His first attempt to land a quad axel was during the Japanese Figure Skating Championships 2021-2022. While the International Skating Union acknowledged he was the first skater to attempt a quad axel in an ISU-sanctioned competition, it was not deemed a quad axel because he did not complete the required rotations, and he landed on both feet. His attempt was credited with a triple axel, lowering the total point value. At last year’s Olympics, he made history while performing “Ten to Chi to (Heaven and Earth)” by Isao Tomita. However he was still less than a half-rotation from completing the axel and took a fall while landing. He was still proud of this accomplishment despite this setback, and said, “This axel was the quad axel I had done so far.” He attempted this jump after spraining his ankle during practice and taking six doses of painkillers. Therefore, he will take a break after the games in order for his ankle to heal property and to reflect on this experience.
Overall, he finished fourth place in the competition, and all the comments from netizens were positive. With his popularity transcending political tensions between Japan and China, Hanyu has always been a crowd favorite in China. His nickname #Yuzu and #4A (quadruple axel) were the most-searched words on Weibo, China’s Twitter, and his arrival in Beijing generated headlines. To prevent the spread of coronavirus, tickets for the Beijing Olympics were not sold to the public and gifts, such as flowers and stuffed animals, were not permitted. However, fans, armed with banners and his signature Winnie the Pooh dolls, waited outside the skating stadium in order to show their outpouring of support for him. It was a relief the showering of Winnie the Pooh dolls did not occur this Olympics because Winnie the Pooh is banned in China for the striking resemblance to Chinese President Xi Jinping. Although he did not win a medal, he definitely secured a place in ice skating fans’ hearts this Olympics for his valiant efforts.
Fans cheer on Yuzuru Hanyu outside of the figure skating venue for the Beijing Olympics after the men’s free skate on Thursday in Beijing.
Image from Japan Times
