Yuzuru Hanyu: Two New Programs
With Japanese nationals in just a few days, everyone’s excited to see the king of the ice return. Yuzuru Hanyu stayed in Japan this year instead of going to Toronto due to COVID-19. He opted to skip the Grand Prix series, in part due to his asthma, and in part to protect his devoted fans. So, we haven’t seen Yuzuru at all this season. And, most suspiciously, we still don’t know his programs. As I’m writing this, there are only three days until Nationals begins. All of the other major skaters have released their programs. So why hasn’t Yuzuru announced anything? Is he trying to keep something a secret?
Well, Yuzuru has announced two entirely new programs. He’s likely created these entirely new, show-stopping programs to win at Worlds and the Olympics. Yuzuru has said that Nathan is his motivation to keep going.
He probably wants to beat Nathan at Worlds or the Olympics in an epic showdown. And with Nathan taking a break after Beijing 2022, we have to wonder if Yuzuru’s going to give it his all for a one-last-hurrah victory.
It wouldn’t surprise me if he’s going to give it his all with brand-new programs at Worlds, and if he wins, he will retire. If he doesn’t, he’ll go to Beijing 2022.
So I’m not worried about the absence of Yuzuru, or the fact we don’t know his programs yet. I think he’s going to explode at Nationals with a fire program. Maybe it’ll be a messy skate, or a performance to remember. But he’s going to surprise us all.
(And yes, I am hoping for the quad axel)
