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Yuzu eyes … He said that sometimes he has such a look as if he killed somebody. Dima Aliev told that he and other skaters were afraid to look into Yuzu’s eyes.
(twitter.com/ameyuzuki)
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Sendai Parade Crowd Size - screenshot collection
Each one of these screenshots comes from a different block/section along the parade route. As you can see, it was packed from the starting point all the way to the end. There were approximately 108 thousand people in attendance (I don’t think this includes people watching from buildings).
People quite literally lined up before dawn in order to see him from the front rows, and they would have lined up the night before if not for a ban from doing so. When articles write about Yuzuru’s rockstar popularity, it’s not a hyperbole, and I don’t think most casual fans quite grasp how ridiculously popular and dearly beloved he is. Yes, you see tens of thousands of people in arenas during big competitions, but it’s something else to see all of these people coming solely to glimpse one person who is simply going to be standing and waving for a few seconds in passing.
And don’t assume Japanese fans are the only ones in attendance. Shout-out to the Argentinian fans, the US fans, the Canadian fans, the Russian fans, the Romanian fans, the Chinese fans, and many others who made the journey.
(I wonder what the number would be if we added everyone streaming live from home?)
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If you have time, do you think you could break down how you would score Nathan? A lot of blogs I seem to find are huge fans of his but I just can’t seem to get into his programs.
uhhh, I don’t have much time right now, but I’ll try my best? He lacks a UR call in the SP (his 4F was UR and I saw it in real time as he landed it right in front of me lol), but I’m going to focus on the FP as it was cleaner.
Jumps GOE: one of the biggest problems I have with his score. Besides one jumping pass everything else was executed from a long, extremely long, set up, so he isn’t getting bullets for creative entry or steps before the jump. He doesn’t have flow out of his jumps, because his landings are quite scratchy, and I wouldn’t say his elements are matched to the music, nor effortless throughout. No varied position nor delay in rotation. He doesn’t have very big or high quads, so they’re worth neutral GOE, as none hit at least 2 bullets for me. His StSq and ChSq (which is like, two spread eagles btw) got generous GOE as well. Anyway, his BV was 115. Take off the 2 points he loses on GOE for the scratchy 4S and 4T3T, and add the spins GOE…I’d say his TES would be 115-118. So that’s roughly 9 points less than that inflated 127.PCS: an even bigger problem. There’s no way Nathan’s PCS should be even comparable to Deniss’. Honestly, I would not give Nathan more than 7.5 in SS, 7 in TR (lol in 2010 he would have gotten 5-6 for that, look at Plushenko’s protocols :P) which is quite generous, and a generous 8 for PE and IN, plus 7 for CO (there’s not much choreography in there tbh). That’s 75 PCS. Add some inflation, and you get like 80 max. He got almost 92 guys lmao.
That’s…196-198. He got 219. And tbqh, I don’t think I was too harsh. Look at the rules, look at how he skates and imo this is all quite reasonable. As for my feelings about Nathan as a skater, I’ve said this before, but I quite liked him as a junior, and thought he had a lot of potential, but I really can’t like the way they tried to develop it. If he’d had a different skating philosophy and worked on quality I could probably like him, but right now I just can’t enjoy his skating. Too much quantity too little quality.
Ever notice how Alina and Nathan are basically doing the same thing (jumping-wise) but alot of people treat poor Alina like garbage and most people praise Nathan, calling him a king a what not. No shade to either, I like both, it just makes me angry
Alina has TR and hits more bullets through steps and creative entry and varied position, so I would actually say Alina is doing way more than Nathan? Too bad she’s not from the US, so she will be considered evil forever.
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🌟 Favorite Yuzu things: NOTTE STELLATA delayed single axel
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Saw this question somewhere and been wondering why since. Hoping you could provide an answer? :) "How did Yuzuru Hanyu win his second Olympic gold with only the two lowest-scoring quads?"
I assume you are a brand new fan? As was the person who posed that question you saw? Completely, totally, brand new? First time watching figure skating, ever? Which, you know, is completely fine, only in which case, I’d like to point both of you to the Wikipedia entry on Figure skating, particularly, the first paragraph.
404: Mention of quads not found.
Figure skating can be described in multiple ways, so the Wikipedia definition is not the one and only correct answer, but I am 100% sure that nobody you ask would ever define it as a sport in which athletes perform quadruple jumps on ice.
Since you are a new fan, I’d also want to share with you some pretty cool facts. Winning his second Olympic Gold was not the only thing Yuzuru has achieved with only the two lowest-scoring quads. It was, arguably, not even the coolest thing he has ever done with those two. With only the quad toe and the quad Salchow, he has also achieved:
The highest and second highest combined total scores of all time: 330.43 (Grand Prix Final 2015) and 322.40 (NHK Trophy 2015)
The four highest short program scores of all time: 112.72 (Autumn Classic International 2017), 111.68 (Olympic Winter Games 2018), 110.95 (Grand Prix Final 2015), 110.56 (World Championships 2016)
The second and fourth highest free skating scores of all time: 219.48 (Grand Prix Final 2015) and 216.07 (NHK Trophy 2015)
Won his first Olympic Gold medal, his first World title, and three consecutive Grand Prix Final.
All in all, 11 out of 12 of his World Records were set with only those two quads (the one exception is his Free Skate at Worlds last season).
So, I think the more valid question you might want to examine is: why does Yuzuru Hanyu even bother training any other type of quad at all? (Hint: he’s extra).
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Hi Alice, just wanna squeal about your description of Yuzu's PC Seimei, because that's exactly the kind of storyline we get from dramatic tale (or manga :D), i.e. you usually see the main character fighting tooth and nail for victory, and sometimes you fear for their life. But that's why it's all the more satisfying, because when they win, they win with conviction. And I think PC's Seimei will always have a special place in my heart, cause I'm a sucker for main character winning against all odds
Oh, I am very glad you like my description :)
It’s true that Yuzuru’s life and career and especially his struggle this entire Olympic season are the sorts of things you can usually find in manga. Tell you what, though, if he were a character in a manga I’d probably scoff at the author for being overly clichéd. I mean, a hero repeatedly overcoming staggering odds? A colorful cast of opponents who get exponentially stronger as the story progresses?Him showing up to save the day, stoically enduring his not-yet-healed injury? His triumph at the end? The perfect, heartfelt, tear-jerking happy ending? What kind of inane and lazy plotting is that even? If this were indeed fiction I’d have thought the author of the story must be a privileged millennial who sees the world in magical rainbow sparkles and knows nothing about the true hardships of life. I’d have told him/her to wake the hell up and face the truth because fairytale isn’t real and miracle doesn’t exist, sweetie.
So, well, while I don’t think there is anything remotely wrong if you, or anyone else, appreciate Yuzuru because his story is almost like fiction, personally, I prefer to appreciate him because his story is real :)
(He might look like he’s accidentally walked out of a manga, but he’s a 100% certified human being. I’ve seen him in the flesh, he’s real y’all)
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Four Years...
I was just looking at pictures from Sochi compared to Pyeongchang, thinking ‘wow, what a four years it’s been…’
And then I stopped, thinking ’… wow, what a four years it’s been’.
I mean, I remember the high everyone came off after Sochi, and like a month later he became world champion (!!!!). All at 19.
During the summer there were parades, and ice shows, and interviews, and meeting the prime minister and the Emperor of Japan. Everyone lived and breathed Yuzuru.
Summer comes and goes, and a new season starts, and with it the Grand Prix events. And THE event. Cup of China 2014. Which left everyone in shock, whether they watched it live or not. Boy gets knocked out and concussed, bleeds all over the ice, nearly kills himself performing (and I’m not exaggerating here), and somehow still makes it with a little push from the judges.
A month later, battered and bruised, he competes at home, falls left, right, and center, and finishes off the podium for the first time in ages (and for the last time as a matter of fact).
Still makes it to the GPF, KILLS HIS PERFORMANCES, and finishes with almost a new FS world record.
But, our boi wouldn’t be our boi if he didn’t have something up his sleeve. And so, just after winning Nationals, it turns out he has to rush to hospital to receive abdominal surgery. Needs time to recover, has barely time to train (much similar to now, actually), and finishes second at worlds.
Seasons come and go, and after the year of tears we’re glad the drama’s FINALLY over but, haha, no. Because Mr. Hanyu comes back with a vengeance.
Introduces two masterpieces of a program (although the SP had been introduced in the previous season but it got a nice little makeover), and after struggling in the first two competitions, changes the layout to make them way more difficult… And drops a world record bomb at NHK. NEW SP record, FIRST to break the FS 200, and FIRST to break the overall 300.
And because he enjoyed it so much, did it again at the GPF. Because why not. Piece of cake, right?
He collects a few more medals over the season to finish second at Worlds again, because, surprise! He’s injured again. So, time off to heal. Again.
(He should really have a routine going by now but still the boy does not understand how to let his body rest.)
With the new season come two new programs, and one very purple suit. It was white at first, but white costume on white battleground? Meh, not necessarily the best choice.
Oh, and also a new quad. No biggie! With very young, very bouncy skaters right on his heel, he keeps on pulling all his tricks out his sleeve.
Turns out this is actually a very relaxing season without major injury drama (oh, the nerves!), and in the end he get’s rewarded with his SECOND WORLD CHAMPION TITLE.
And finally, the season of all seasons! It’s almost time for the Olympic Games! Everyone wants to be in top form! Everyone pulls out all the guns! And Yuzu brings back the two most beautiful programs in history (sorry, I’m biased)!
And because everything is going well enough, Yuzuru. Gets. Injured. Again. And badly this time. During the training of the quad Lutz he severely injures a lateral ligament in his ankle. Now, I’m not a doctor, but for an athlete that’s goddamn serious.
Withdraws from NHK which is a massive shock (and also a relieve). Withdraws from Nationals which is a shock (but is kind of expected and is also a relieve). Then nothing. Nada. Niente. The Olympic Games, HIS GOAL SINCE SOCHI and before (he once said he hadn’t actually planned to win the OGM at Sochi, that was supposed to be his test run to shake the nerves for Pyeongchang) and the driving force behind all of the above, come closer and closer and there is no word of Mr. Hanyu. Yes he got nominated. Yes he doesn’t withdraw. But were is he?
And then he shows up. Late to the party, with an entourage of bodyguards that look like they could snap your neck like a twig if you walked the wrong way, all smiles and deeply relaxed.
Gives a few interviews, turns up to training to do a 15 minute session of stroking, singles and a tripple Axel, byyyeeeee. Comes back the next day with almost his full repertoire of quads, informs us that he’s been training for a few weeks now, that’s good (giving everyone a heart attack, because HOW??), goes on with his life and smashes this competition.
And becomes a two time (consecutive) Olympic Gold Medalist.
I mean… one of the injuries above is enough to throw someone off so much that they never really recover and have to look on as younger skaters take over.
But not Mr. Hanyu. He wanted that OGM, he worked for that OGM, and he went and goddamn took that OGM.
And I couldn’t be prouder to have watched everything unfold.
And I couldn’t be happier to see him succeed.
Mr. Hanyu, I bow to you and everything you have achieved in and for this sport.
Wow, what a four years it’s been.
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The best day of my life as a figure skating fan
It was yesterday, of course.
PyeongChang is the fourth Olympics which I followed as a fan of this sport, and only the second one which I watch with enough knowledge to really understand how everything works. You might have heard this story before, that I only truly invested time into studying the ruling and scoring after Vancouver, because I was (and still am) a fan of Mao Asada and I was so utterly resentful and bewildered by the result back then.
Four years ago, Sochi ended on a bittersweet note for me. Yuzuru won, of course, but there was the regret of his imperfect long program. Then there was Mao with her disastrous short program and then that dazzling comeback free skate, about which the what if question would keep haunting me even to this day.
I watched PyeongChang approaching with a mind divided. There is the rational part which told me to expect the worst, that Yuzuru would surely try his best, but he would not, could not, do well, he would have to let go of his Olympic crown, because how could it ever turn out to be any better for him, with that most ill-timed injury, that off-ice period which felt like an eternity, with those new challengers throwing out quads after quads after quads. Then there is the irrational part which refused to give up on hope and kept telling me that fairy tales can exist and dreams do come true and miracles can happen and that Yuzu had never ever let me down before, not when it mattered most.
Do you know when I stopped being self-conflicted? It was when Yuzu arrived in PyeongChang and I saw him smiling at the sea of reporters at the airport. That was when I realized that in the last few months, with the stress and the worry about his condition, I had forgotten what a marvel he is and how much more mature he has grown as an athlete, as a person, in this last Olympic cycle. Seeing the way he handled the pressure, completely relaxed, composed, confident, with just the right amount of intensity and excitement for the Games, made me remember that he came to PyeongChang no longer as a young challenger like he was at Sochi, but as a king returning to defend his rightful throne, the World Champion, the Record Holder, the History Maker. That was the moment I put my doubts to sleep and truly, wholeheartedly started to believe that, yes, he could do this.
His Short Program two days ago was a masterpiece. Familiar as I was with every note and every choreographic touch of his Ballade, I found myself stunned and speechless, all over again, by the way he treated that piece of music, with patience and respect, with cherish for each motion. It was a commanding performance from the second he started moving to the music, and after the quad Salchow I could feel myself no longer gripping the edge of my seat, because how could anyone not let themselves be soothed and entranced by the way he was moving on the ice?
Yesterday morning I woke up completely convinced that Yuzu was going to win. I don’t know exactly what came over me, but it was a great feeling. It had little to no basis in the facts, of course (I’ve been watching this sport long enough to know that the long program is a different animal, and anything can, and will, happen in those 4 and a half minutes) but, if anything, that lack of reason made it all the more wonderful to have such a feeling of total, absolute trust that something good was about to happen. I was oddly cheerful all the way up until the competition started and I was going around trying to calm people down (I apologize, girls, if I was overly, annoyingly, upbeat and insensitive to your anxiety when I talked to you yesterday).
There is no need for me to regale you with a summary of what happened in the free skate. Media around the world have covered the story, the drama, the history, the 1000th medal. Yuzuru landed his two opening quads flawlessly and I was on cloud nine. The only thing that gnawed at me and brought me back to the Earth was that I could see how his right ankle was visibly troubling him in the second half. When he went in for the final Lutz my heart was either beating too fast, or was stopping altogether, I’m not sure, but I’m certain that what went through my head was please please please if there is a god anywhere and you are listening then can you please just let him land this one jump and I will never ask you for anything else ever again please please please. At the end of that performance, when Yuzu went yes, yes, yes and then grabbed his ankle, I was hysterical. I don’t think there is any moment in figure skating which had ever made me more emotional than those 5 seconds.
…
I am not by nature a person who cries a lot, or at all, but watching Yuzu on the Olympic podium made me tear up, truly. The last time I cried because of figure skating was for Mao’s free skate at Sochi. Thank you, Yuzu, for making my tears those of complete happiness this time around. Thank you for defying my belief and teaching this cynical me, once again, that efforts never go in vain, thank you for this miracle, thank you for allowing me to be your fan, thank you for everything. Getting to know you and your skating is one of the best things that has ever happened in my life.
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yuzuru, shoma and javier embrace after the competition
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This is weird but it is my dream to see him achieve the gold on Pyeongchang. He’s an overachiever and I relate so hard to him because of that. He works so damn hard, he overtook himself, so why can’t I? If he can accomplish his goal while he’s on a hard time, then why can’t I? He’s a fighter and I believe I can fight as well.
Thank you for being my source of motivation, thank you for inspiring me.
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Here to remember that today....
… this spread eagle happened (LOOK AT ITTT)
…. this extra bow happened
…..this puppy smile and fluffy hair happened
….this dramatic exit happened
….this Turandot mimic happened (I laughed so hard when I saw it haha XD)
….this highfive + this whole happy family happened (awwww :3)
Or it’s just that I’m so overwhelmed by the pairs event that now I want to gif every moment that happened today :3
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Before Yuzu arrived in Korea, I imagined he would get off the plane wearing sunglasses, walking in slomo with badass music like this:
But no, one pair of sunglasses ain’t enough for him, he gotta have 6 pairs of sunglasses there beside him :))) 😎😎😎😎😎😎
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