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Yuzuru Hanyu GP Helsinki 2018: Post-FS Interview 

Translation provided by sweetwater on Planet Hanyu! 

Shuzo: We are welcoming Hanyu san here. To be honest, it felt more like your new beginning than your origin. Congratulations on winning this competition!

Hanyu: Thank you. Yes, I indeed feel that I finally made a new start.

Shuzo: What do you mean, “finally”?

Hanyu: Well, it had been really hard for me to win the first GP, so I feel that I finally made it. Of course, my first GPs in the past seasons often held in the first or second week of the series, but this year I had one or two more weeks to train so I consider that may have helped me to get this result.

Shuzo: You said you wanted to have fun while competing, but to be honest, I could not find a smile on your face when you finished your performance. You looked as if you were battling, battling with yourself.

Hanyu: It was indeed a battle today. Well, the Loop (4Lo) wasn’t as good as I hoped, each of the other elements also had some problems, my feet were fatigued a bit, but I somehow fought through.

Shuzo: The jump sequence you did in the second half, 4T-3A, you landed it for the first time in the history. The audience got excited too.

Hanyu: But if it can’t earn GOE, it’s meaningless. Next time, I’ll do my best to earn some GOE.

Shuzo: Um… could you be a little happy about it? You are doing something amazing.

Hanyu: But as artistic gymnast Kohei Uchimura often says, you have to nail it cleanly. In my mind, to nail it cleanly should be the start point… or what I would be able to call a success.

Shuzo: OK, direct what you feeling now to Cup of Russia. Again, congratulations! It was amazing! (Claps his hands)

Yuzuru Hanyu & Shoma Uno | shared podiums 2009 → 2018

Bonus

It’s so adorable how Yuzu reaches out to Pooh for strength and reassurance before his free skate. 😍

Please take good care of Yuzu, dear Pooh! 😊

And look at Brian’s face! He knows Yuzu all too well. 😂

I was being crushed by anxiety. Completely crushed. Pyeongchang was coming closer and closer; it was really getting to the point that if I didn’t get on the ice, then I wouldn’t be able to make it to Pyeongchang. I felt very pained toward myself since I couldn’t get on the ice…I was very scared of myself, who could not go on the ice.

I told myself that I had to practice because it was such an anxious time. It would definitely help me at Pyeongchang. So, with that anxiety, I went into the challenge.

Ghana | november 2018

P&G YUZU DAYS (Oct 2018) From Hanyu to readers, gratitude of 4 years.

—YUZU DAYS started as a serial publication in 2015, end of June.  The series has now entered its 4th year.  This year in May, we had a special project “Let’s send our ‘Thank You’ to Hanyu-senshu who has moved us and given us courage”;  we have delivered all your comments to Hanyu-senshu and we have received his comments on this, and also on YUZU DAYS which is in its 4th year. — 

To the readers who have been supporting me, I would like to say “thank you” and “congratulations”~ First of all, it is really due to everyone’s support that I was able to win 2 consecutive victories.  Thank you very much.

This is a story from my childhood days;  I like baseball and I often watched the game.  During the player-of-the-game interviews, “the home run I hit today was due to all of you”, there are often expressions like that, right?   As a child, I wondered about those words, “Can it be real?”  Because it is impossible for cheers of support to physically carry the ball.   However, as I myself continued to skate, I came to feel that support can really turn into power. 

This is just my own explanation;  support means expectations, and that becomes pressure.  Pressure is, let’s take for example homework, when there is a deadline, you will advance and head towards the goal.  That pressure turns into power.  So, with all your expectations and support, I want to win the gold medal, I must win it, so that becomes my driving force.  So really, support turns into power, and I want to say “thank you”, but more than that, your power through me as a medium emerged as results, so I would also like to say “congratulations” to all of you. 

To me, YUZU DAYS is a place where I can be myself~ In YUZU DAYS, I can speak plainly as myself.  It is a serial publication and is for members only, so I can feel at ease and speak about myself properly.  Here, being at ease, I can share about myself, I can say fully things that I want to say, hey I’m like this, hey I am this kind of human being, I think it is a place where I can be myself and say such things.  

I want the comments section to be a place where you can be yourself~ I can really feel that all of you are also feeling at ease when you make comments.  Maybe because I am feeling at ease when I am speaking, so everyone is at ease and they send in various comments.  

For me, I can speak through skating or through the media, but it is hard to have a place for all of you to directly convey your individual thoughts.  I think it’s good if this becomes the place where you can speak.  Because I have a place like this, I can be myself, and I hope the comments section can be a place where you can be yourself.

Like the ‘congrats’ and 'thank you’s in our hearts, I hope YUZU DAYS will be a place where such positive feelings can be expressed.

-Translated by me;  original from: P&G myrepi.com  (Do not use my translation without permission)

***************** I still remember the very first YUZU DAYS in 2015…. it was an interview on the ice show that he had just done, FaOI Makuhari.  I did not translate it but from the 2nd one onwards, I fell in love with these monthly YUZU DAYS articles and found myself translating them to share with other fans every time after I read a new one.  Sometimes they were cute advertisements, sometimes they were his thoughtful words as he reflected on his life, and always there were lovely new photos of him.  All fans looked forward to Yuzu Days at the beginning of each month.  His wit and wisdom always touch me and you can really see the beauty of his character in his thoughts.  So happy to read in this latest article that this is a place where he can be himself.  Thank you, P&G-san, for Yuzu Days.  Thank you, Yuzu-kun, for being just the way you are.  

There is a heart in this pic… a pot of hunny for those who can see it. 😆 😁 😏

P&G YUZU DAYS (Oct 2018)   Talking about it now, PyeongChang Winter Olympics

—In November 2017, Hanyu had a serious injury during official practice.  It was just 3 months to PyeongChang Olympics. Overcoming adverse circumstances, he won the Olympics, becoming the first person in 66 years to have 2 consecutive victories.  We interviewed him on his thoughts and feelings at that time.—

This time, because I had an injury, all of you were waiting for me while worrying, supporting me while worrying, your feelings came through to me very strongly.   When I entered the Olympic venue, my feeling was “everyone, I’m alright, so please don’t worry”.  And I thought, it would be good if I could skate with the feeling of “I have received all your feelings of concern and I am really back!”  

The 3 months before the Olympics were very difficult but I had set the concrete goal of “I want to do up to here” until entering the Olympic venue.  I practised with total belief that as long as I could achieve the goal I had set myself, I could win the Olympics. That goal was achieved on the day before heading for PyeongChang.  That is why I had the feeling of “I have done the preparation for winning” when I entered the venue.

During my Olympic performance, the last step sequence of the free skate was most memorable.  At that time, I had the feeling of “I could win this Olympics” and so I let the joy explode and I skated.  The triple lutz before that, I was in the air in a weird direction and it would not be strange if I had fallen but I managed to stay up.  I thought I was so funny not to fall, and from then I became completely my natural self. Actually, in a sense, a performance has to enchant, so I do not think it is good to finish it with my own happiness.  SEIMEI’s Abe no Seimei that I portrayed in my free skate has the image of a mysterious person with limitless abilities, but at the last step sequence I completely became my true self and the feeling was like “I, am simply happy!” (laughs) But, for that moment, perhaps it was good that way.   I want to feel properly the happiness that can only be savoured at this Olympics and to remember it well. From here, there will be some decades more of my life but because this moment will not return again, I want to preserve it properly in my memories and enjoy it from the bottom of my heart. 

The moment that I felt the most happiness was when I went up on the podium.   When I stand at the place of the gold medal, I do not put my feet anywhere else and I jump up there with 2 feet at the same time ‘dahn!’ – this is what I always do.  I also had the thought that I want to preserve this moment in my own memory.   By the way, because I was so excited and adrenaline was flowing, I didn’t feel any pain in my foot at all. (laughs) When I got onto the podium, it was the moment that I felt “Now I am the most free”.   In the world of sports where results are everything, I felt I had proven my own hard work up to now.  I am first and I performed my best, even if nothing was said, the feeling was like I was standing in a territory that would not be invaded by anyone.  Inside me, that felt like “freedom” and it was a very happy moment.

P&G 2018

Yuzuru Hanyu (羽生結弦 Hanyū Yuzuru) was born on December 7, 1994. 

He is a Japanese figure skater who competes in the men’s singles discipline.

He is a two-time Olympic champion (2014, 2018),

a two-time World champion (2014, 2017),

a four-time Grand Prix Final champion (2013–2016),

the 2009–10 Junior Grand Prix Final champion, the 2010 World Junior champion, 

and a four-time Japanese national champion (2012–2015).

*Please note: Due to the flu, he withdrew from the Japanese National Championship for the 2016/2017 season. Due to a right ankle ligament injury, he withdrew from the Japanese National Championship, Grand Prix Series and World Championship for the 2017/2018 season and from the Grand Prix Final for the 2018/2019 season (despite of being the first qualifier for the GPF 2018/2019 season).  

Regarded as one of the greatest, if not the greatest figure skater in history, Hanyu has broken world records sixteen times - the most times among singles skaters since the introduction of the ISU Judging System in 2004. He holds the current world records for the short program, free skating and combined total scores in addition to the historical world records for all three segments for the era before the 2018-19 season. He is the first man to have broken the 100-point barrier in the men’s short program, the 200-point barrier in the men’s free skating, and the 300-point barrier in the combined total score. He is the first and only man to have broken the 110-point barrier in the men’s short program, the 220-point barrier in the men’s free skating, and the 330-point barrier in the combined total score for the era before the 2018-2019 season. He is the first man to have broken the 110-point barrier in the men’s short program in the current scoring system. 

Hanyu is the first Asian figure skater competing in men’s singles to win the Olympic gold. At the age of nineteen, he was the youngest male skater to win the Olympic title since Dick Button in 1948. He also became the first man to win two consecutive Olympic gold medals since Dick Button’s back-to-back titles in 1948 and 1952. 

At the 2016 CS Autumn Classic International, Hanyu became the first skater in history to successfully land a quadruple loop in competition. 

At the 2018 Grand Prix Helsinki, he became the first skater in history to attempt and land a quadruple toe loop-triple Axel sequence in competition.

He is the first men’s singles skater from Asia to win multiple World Championships.

He is the first skater from Asia to win the Grand Prix Final, Olympic, and World Championship titles in the same season (2013–14) and the only skater to do so since Alexei Yagudin (in 2002).

He is the first and only singles skater in history to win 3 consecutive Grand Prix Final titles (2013–2015).

He is the first and only singles skater in history to win 4 consecutive Grand Prix Final titles (2013–2016).

He is the first skater to successfully land 3 quadruple jumps in the second half of a free skating program (2017 World Team Trophy).

He is the first and only men’s single skater to end as world No. 1 in men’s single skating world standings for 5 consecutive seasons (2013-2018) since the latter’s establishment in (2001-2002) season.

In recognition of his achievements, Hanyu has been awarded with numerous accolades, most importantly the People’s Honour Award (in 2018) and the Medal of Honour with Purple Ribbon (in 2014 and 2018).

Hanyu is regarded by analysts as a well-rounded skater, known for his ability to combine strong technique with mature and versatile artistry. The 2006 Olympic silver medalist Stephane Lambiel described him as “the most complete athlete in figure skating, probably ever.” Various media outlets and commentators have recognized Hanyu as the greatest figure skater in history, particularly after his second Olympic victory, for his consistency in results in a highly competitive field and ability to deliver under pressure.

His skating techniques include the Biellmann spin the doughnut spin. Both are known for their difficulty, for male skaters especially, due to the flexibility required. 

He is also known for his difficult entry to a camel spin. 

“Hanyu’s entry into this spin, similar to his triple axel, he doesn’t change his legs…He cannot make use of the power (from switching his legs), I think his control of the centrifugal force is excellent…Despite the difficult entry into the spin, the speed is fast and the position is beautiful.” – Suzuki Akiko

( cr: Translated by Ci)

Other signature moves include the layback Ina Bauer, the side lunge, the one-hand hydroblading.

His elements are praised for their high quality of execution and his jumps are noted for their precision, flow, and ice coverage. Hanyu is known for his  difficult triple Axel entries, usually from a patented back counter, a spread eagle, or twizzle. 

“Probably to those watching, he does it so casually, many might not realize the level of difficulty…Before the triple axel, he adds a counter turn before his entry into the triple axel…He uses the same leg to turn and goes straight into the jump. No matter how, the body will be off balance, but he has very good control and jumps. One cannot do this without good skating skills.” – Suzuki Akiko

( cr: Translated by Ci)

“He has some double three turns into that triple axel, which means that the momentum of your body, the centrifugal force is acting against the way that you want to be preparing for your triple axel. So the strength and just diligence it would take to get into the triple axel without having to sort of reset is incredible. I honestly don’t know how he does that.” – Charlie White from Yuzuru’s Otonal program in 2018 Grand Prix Helsinki

*Post on other Yuzuru’s triple axels here.*

Currently, Hanyu is able to execute four different types of quadruple jumps in competition – the toe loop, Salchow, loop, and Lutz. 

*Post on Yuzuru’s quads collection here.*

*Credit many of these information to Yuzuru Hanyu’s wikipedia and reference sources from the page. If I missed any crediting or if you would like me to take down your source, please message me and we can talk about it. 

Below are a few commentaries from commentators/coaches on Yuzuru’s program performances or about him as a skater.

“Welcome to Planet Hanyu, population one: Him.”  Massimiliano Ambesi on every perfect Yuzuru’s program.

“Figure skating is not such a high profile sport. When you think of the greats of this year:  Jordan Spiedth,  Floyd Mayweather, Messi, Ronaldo. This guy (Yuzuru) in his sport is as good as they are.” Simon Reed on Yuzuru Hanyu. 2015 GP Final Free Program Seimei

“It’s a historic moment. I compared it to the day men landed on the moon.“ Carol Lane on Yuzuru Hanyu. (?)

“It’s like he’s on a mission to be not just the best in the world, but the best there has ever been.” Carol Lane on Yuzuru Hanyu. 2016 Worlds Championship Short Program Chopin Ballade No. 1 “Too late, he already is…And you know what, not everybody gets him. Like some people actually find him a little boring. How is that boring? The intensity is boring? ” Kurt Browning on Yuzuru Hanyu. 2016 Worlds Championship Short Program Chopin Ballade No. 1

“Figure skating is so lucky to have a Yuzuru Hanyu. He is a great ambassador for the sport and he continues to push it both artistically and technically…I almost feel bad being so complimentary of his jumps because I don’t have time to talk about how amazingly he did this program. I mean from start to finish it was complete. Everything was where it needs to be. When I talk about some of the other skaters needing to be specific with their head or their facial expression or their hands, you see Yuzuru Hanyu and you begin to understand exactly how perfect you can make things just simply through dedication, experience, and working. This kid works and work and works to make it look like that, and we are the beneficiaries, frankly.” Charlie White on Yuzuru Hanyu. 2018 GP Helsinki Short Program Otonal

“And another reason why someone like Hanyu is such a great ambassador for the sport because they do have an appreciation for the past and for former skaters, for people who meant something for the sport.” Andrea Joyce on Yuzuru. 2018 GP Helsinki Short Program Otonal

“The finest figure skater ever.” Simon Reed on Yuzuru Hanyu. 2018 GP Helsinki Free Program Origin

“That is everything you could ever want in a short program. The complete package; he balances the artistic score and the technical score like no one I’ve ever seen. The best ever. He has the jumps, he has those quads, he has the performance ability. It was perfection.” Tara Lipinski on Yuzuru Hanyu. 2018 Winter Olympics Short Program Chopin Ballade No. 1

“What’s the most unbelievable to me about all of this is somehow he’s getting better. He was unbeatable a few years ago and this is even stronger. He’s putting out such amazing quality. His musicality is every improving, his spins are as well as anyone else in the world, and when you’re jumping with that sort of ease. It just looks like he’s doing a watered down program even though it’s elite, it’s the hardest program in this event and he does it so comfortably that it looks like just a simple runthrough…The biggest thing about Yuzuru is the jumping passes are just part of the choreography. He has so much flow in, so much flow out, and he gets right back to the program as quickly as he can and it’s just stunning…It’s just awesome time to be a figure skating fan and to be able to watch somebody at their peak like Yuzuru Hanyu.” Ryan Bradley on Yuzuru Hanyu. 2018 GP Rostelecome Cup Short Program Otonal

“There’s something about recreating enough energy after a Quad Toe to step forward and do a Triple Axel, and you can’t explain anybody else unless you’re in the skating world. Mathematically, it’s just math for the judges, but you’ve got to be impressed by something like that.” Kurt Browning on Yuzuru Hanyu. 2018 GP Helsinki Free Program Origin

“Maybe just not the best there is, but maybe the best there ever will be. He’s that good.” Carol Lane on Yuzuru Hanyu. 2018 GP Helsinki Free Program Origin

“A different way of talking about Figure Skating on television. The Best There Is, The Best There Was and The Best There Ever Will Be.” Massimiliano Ambesi on Yuzuru Hanyu’s 2018 Winter Olympics Victory

“There’s Grand Prix, there’s Rostelecom Cup, and then there’s Yuzuru Hanyu. Someone above it all. Him, and no one else.” Massimiliano Ambesi on Yuzuru Hanyu. 2018 GP Rostelecome Cup Short Program Otonal

“I’ll begin not from today’s skating. I’ll  begin with that many (people) called Hanyu another planet’s figure skater, sportsman that descended from the heaven. He has awesome abilities, which he is embodied where he needs to do it – on the ice…His ability to be beautiful not only on the ice. He has his own line conduct which his sports team with his coach unlikely could suggest…There is something else, that was given (to him) from higher/supreme being. Someone, maybe, will win over Yuzuru at the ice. But he is inimitable in life.” Rafael Arutyunyan on Yuzuru Hanyu after 2018 GP Rostelecome Cup Short Program Otonal

“Every element was delivered beautifully. He skates with sort of a reckless abandon, it’s organic to him. Watching this… This was a masterclass.” Scott Hamilton on Yuzuru Hanyu. 2018 Winter Olympics Short Program Chopin Ballade No. 1

“I’d give +5GOE but some judges will give him +4 because they think they’re immortal & still have time to see another genius.” Tatiana Tarasova on Yuzuru Hanyu. 2018 GP Rostelecome Cup Short Progam Otonal

“We just witness greatness. He is superior to any other male figure skater out there. In my opinion, Johnny, I don’t know is he the best skater of all time?…You look back and there’s been incredible male skaters, but none of them are doing quads like this and skating with that type of passion.” Tara Lipinski on Yuzuru Hanyu. 2015 GP Final Free Program Seimei

“It isn’t just the quads, it’s the quality of the quad. It isn’t just the jumps, the skating is beautiful. The delicate touches, the ina bauer, the biellman, that none of the other men are doing. It’s the stacking, everything from top to bottom.” Johnny Weir on Yuzuru Hanyu. 2015 GP Final Free Program Seimei

“There are good skaters, and there are great skaters, and then there’s Yuzuru Hanyu who is on a whole other level.” Carol Lane on Yuzuru Hanyu. 2014 GP Final Free Program Phantom of the Opera

“And a very, very attractive machine to watch out on ice.” Simon Reed on Yuzuru Hanyu. 2018 Winter Olympics Victory

“Dance, pair, ladies, he’s the strongest out of all the world’s skaters. He’s a masterpiece. I’d like to watch him in Vancouver too.” Alexei Mishin on Yuzuru Hanyu. 2018 GP Rostelecome Cup 

“Also, because he has nothing to prove.” “Nothing at all.” Massimiliano Ambesi and Angelo Dolfini on Yuzuru Hanyu. 2018 GP Rostelecome Cup Free Program Origin

“Take Yuzuru Hanyu for example. For me he is number one…He enjoys it when he is performing. He has charisma. I like his jumps. I like his choreography. I like his spins. I don’t know how to say it in English… if we (follow his example) – he does the everything: jumps, spins. He’s what we need in figure skating. Choreography, skating skills… we have other skaters who are good jumpers but their choreography is not quite (as) good. Not enough to take in the audience.” Evgeni Plushenko on Yuzuru Hanyu 

“I have to say, he is the greatest of all time. That’s for sure.” Brian Orser on Yuzuru Hanyu. 

“No strength to breathe! Thank you for the present, in the highest sense, art! Thanks for the hardest jumps, made with absolute musicality ! Thank you for the path you showed to all the athletes of our sport. With respect and love!” Tatiana Tarasova on Yuzuru Hanyu

“Hanyu has done a performance for the books, Hanyu is the greatest skater than has ever stepped on the ice in the entire history, period. There has never been one like him and I don’t know when there will be another one.” Angelo Dolfini on Yuzuru Hanyu. 2017 Worlds Championship Free Program Hope and Legacy

“The living legend of the figure skating world Yuzuru Hanyu is on the ice. I think no more words are needed here.”  Julia Lipnitskaya on Yuzuru Hanyu. 2017 GP Rostelecome Cup Short Program Chopin Ballade No. 1 

“Look at the energy. He is the end of this program, which is essentially a sprint where he’s doing some of the hardest elements that we see in our sport, and he is flying through this footwork. His body is constantly moving. Trying to do that when you’re fatigue without look fatigue is one of the hardest things in our sport that we ever have to do.” Ryan Bradley on Yuzuru Hanyu. 2015 GP Final Short Program Chopin Ballade No. 1

“Those are the kind of things that make Yuzuru Hanyu such a well-balanced, complete skater. It’s not just the jumps, which are also incredible, it’s everything in between.” Tanith White on Yuzuru Hanyu. 2018 Winter Olympics Gala Exhibition Notte Stellata

“I am an atheist but I believe he is the god of Figure Skating.” Alexei Yagudin. 2018 GP Rostelecome Cup Short Program Otonal

“This is really the moment for me. Right to his fans & he takes that quintessential, legendary figure skating moment, leading into the footwork sequence…It’s that moment where you say:  ‘Here I am. Yes, I’m your hero.’” Tanith White on Yuzuru Hanyu. 2018 Winter Olympics Short Program Chopin Ballade No. 1

“At this point, there is nobody that can beat a perfect Yuzuru Hanyu.” Johnny Weir on Yuzuru Hanyu. 2015 GP Final Free Program Seimei 

“It’s a beautiful piece of music called ‘Hope and Legacy’ by Joe Hisaishi. This piece is so quiet and so delicate it takes a skater as good as Yuzuru to make this work.” Johnny Weir on Yuzuru Hanyu. 2016 GP NHK Trophy Free Program Hope and Legacy

“Impressive, the best free that has ever been skated by Yuzuru Hanyu, and that means that this is the best free that has ever been skated in history. 125 of TES are something incre- …terrific. It can annihilate anyone, I imagine it will be much more than 90 PCS, this is a performance-” Angelo Dolfini on Yuzuru Hanyu. 2017 Worlds Championship Free Program Hope and Legacy

“90? I’ve never seen anything like this! You cannot not give 100 PCS, you cannot not give 10 for everything, because there’s never been something like this. Interpretation, 10! Choreography, 10! Transitions, 10! Do you even want to talk about that, look at the others! [it means, you can compare what the others do and what he does :P]. Performance, 10! Skating skills, 10, this is the best you could see, complexity of edges and steps that we’ve never seen. I repeat, go on, because  I feel like crying, because this is an incredible performance, a historic moment for sport in general, incredible, a living legend… 97.08 is a scandal, we’ll have to take note of that.”  Massimiliano Ambesi on Yuzuru Hanyu. 2017 Worlds Championship Free Program Hope and Legacy

“Hanyu is…the best ever. There has never been one like him.”Angelo Dolfini on Yuzuru Hanyu. 2017 Worlds Championship Free Program Hope and Legacy

”But in the end the title goes to the most anticipated athlete, one of the most famous athletes when it comes to the Winter Olympics. Who can be compared to Hanyu? Maybe Shaun White, maybe. Back to back Olympic titles, 2014 and 2018. This was the most difficult of the two, because of everything that has happened: a bad injury, a long time off ice, many doubts regarding his condition, leaving out two jumps he really cared about…let’s hope he may be in Milan for Worlds. He is the current World champion…two World titles, two Olympic titles, but it’s not the number of his medals that makes the difference, it’s the quality of what he does. And here he is, Olympic Champion, Hanyu Yuzuru, symbol of these Olympic Games [among men].” Massimiliano Ambesi on Yuzuru Hanyu. 2018 Winter Olympics Free Program Seimei

“It is difficult to imagine. It’s not just the quantity but the quality of what he does, not only the quantity of medals he has won, but how he has won them. Sometimes dominating the field, winning even by huge margins, but also showing that he can fight when the occasion asks for it. We’ve seen some truly legendary competitions among the men in the last few years.” Angelo Dolfini on Yuzuru Hanyu. 2018 Winter Olympics Free Program Seimei