Yuzuru Hanyu Cheer Thread

MarieM

Grumpy Cynical Ice Dance Lover
Messages
9,967
If I was Yuzu, I wouldn't want to end my career on such a low note. I would give myself a chance to compete at worlds. His performance in Beijing was gutsy, though he couldn't win a medal.

I hope we can see him skate for many more years. I enjoy his skating more than anyone else's. Ultimately though he has to follow his heart.
He looked off. IMO he should just stop there and enjoy skating as a pro or whatever we call it nowadays.

And IMO his 4a is in his head and really far from happening on the ice : he's at least half a turn short.
 

livetoskate

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,006
I would love to see him skate one last time at Worlds but one of his different free skates and without trying the quad axel. He can be like Jason Brown and skate a gorgeous, memorable last program without falls if he is retiring.
 
S

ShuPa

Guest
I would love to see him skate one last time at Worlds but one of his different free skates and without trying the quad axel. He can be like Jason Brown and skate a gorgeous, memorable last program without falls if he is retiring.

I think his ultimate goal is to land the 4A at competition, so I think he'll try it next time when he competes. I don't know if his last competition will be at a World championships or not, maybe he wants to say goodbye in front of his home audience.
 

Xela M

Well-Known Member
Messages
4,827
I'm really upset over Hanyu retiring. He is unbelievable. None of the new generation of Japanese skaters can touch him on skating skills and sheer beauty on the ice. I am not at all excited about the "new guard"
 

livetoskate

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,006
I'm really upset over Hanyu retiring. He is unbelievable. None of the new generation of Japanese skaters can touch him on skating skills and sheer beauty on the ice. I am not at all excited about the "new guard"
As far as I know, he hasn't said anything about retiring, but I was guessing he would after this season. He's 27 and not winning with ankle problems. If I were a top athlete, I'd rather go out nicely at the top than going downhill over many years. For example, Fumie Suguri was sort of a joke for continuing to compete years and years after her world medal glory, placing lower & lower in Japan. Bychenko has fallen apart on the world stage. Many other examples....
 

Fadeevfanboy

Well-Known Member
Messages
308
I wanted Hanyu to win the Bronze so badly :wuzrobbed He is just beautiful
and as cute and adoreable as little Shoma is he really is one of the most overrated skaters of all time IMO. His jump technique is absolutely horrible, and he gets away with pre rotations and other issues galore. I still will never forget his brutally underrated quad fall in 2018 not called, which robbed Javier of silver. One of the biggest crocks ever.
 

Vash01

Fan of Yuzuru, T&M, P&C
Messages
55,385
I think his ultimate goal is to land the 4A at competition, so I think he'll try it next time when he competes. I don't know if his last competition will be at a World championships or not, maybe he wants to say goodbye in front of his home audience.
He had planned on trying the 4A at the NHK but he had to pull out due to an ankle injury. He appears healthy now. Why not win his third world title with a clean 4A? He appears close to landing one.
 

Vash01

Fan of Yuzuru, T&M, P&C
Messages
55,385
and as cute and adoreable as little Shoma is he really is one of the most overrated skaters of all time IMO. His jump technique is absolutely horrible, and he gets away with pre rotations and other issues galore. I still will never forget his brutally underrated quad fall in 2018 not called, which robbed Javier of silver. One of the biggest crocks ever.
I love Shoma's passion but last night I felt he was way overscored with a LP skate that had way too many flaws. It may Have kept Yuzuru from winning a third consecutive Olympic medal.
 

Vash01

Fan of Yuzuru, T&M, P&C
Messages
55,385
I'm really upset over Hanyu retiring. He is unbelievable. None of the new generation of Japanese skaters can touch him on skating skills and sheer beauty on the ice. I am not at all excited about the "new guard"
Has he announced his retirement?
 
Last edited:

Fadeevfanboy

Well-Known Member
Messages
308
I love Shoma's passion but last night I felt he was way overscored with a LP skate that had way too many flaws. It may Have kept Yuzuru from winning a third consecutive Olympic medal.

He often is. He gets the benefit of breaks on technical flaws too often. Maybe since he is so cute, small, and charming, I am not sure. The scoring gap was enough, it might not have mattered, so I take comfort in that, in that atleast it wasn't a blatant robbery like Fernandez in 2018 with Oda's uncalled badly underrotated quad loop.
 

Vash01

Fan of Yuzuru, T&M, P&C
Messages
55,385
I have mixed feelings about Yuzuru missing the podium. On one hand I would have hated seeing him on the lower podium. On the other, it would have been a great achievement to win medals in three consecutive Olympics. Very few have done that.

It is water under the bridge now.
 

Fiero425

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,302
He had planned on trying the 4A at the NHK but he had to pull out due to an ankle injury. He appears healthy now. Why not win his third world title with a clean 4A? He appears close to landing one.

IDK what to say! Injuries? Practice? Extending himself as he ages? Are we really surprised at the results? :confused: :wall::rolleyes::summer:
 

Vash01

Fan of Yuzuru, T&M, P&C
Messages
55,385
IDK what to say! Injuries? Practice? Extending himself as he ages? Are we really surprised at the results? :confused: :wall::rolleyes::summer:
His popped 4S in the SP had nothing to do with his age. It can happen to a 20 year old. I know you love to harp on Yuzuru's age but his two performances at the Japanese nationals could have won him the OGM. That was just 6-7 weeks ago. Surely he didn't age by 6-7 years!

Again, please be aware this is a cheer thread. Yuzuru knows his body much better than you do. When he feels ready to retire, he will.
 

Fadeevfanboy

Well-Known Member
Messages
308
Chen skating like he did would have been virtually unbeatable anyway but I wonder if Hanyu had skated really well in both programs if that would have put more pressure on him and if he still skates as well. Particularly in the long if they are close after the short and Hanyu skates great say right before him. I don't know if Chen typically watches the other skaters but it would be impossible to ignore the situation in this case. That is the main thing I wanted him to do. I knew he was the underdog this time but I wanted to see him skate really well and pile the pressure on Chen. Sadly this entire quad he never skates anywhere near his best in head to head competition with Chen. It is almost like he is a bit spooked by him. It is hard to be dominant so long then have a younger challenger that might also be politically more favored than you, and is doing harder jumps.
 

Allskate

Well-Known Member
Messages
12,804
He had planned on trying the 4A at the NHK but he had to pull out due to an ankle injury. He appears healthy now. Why not win his third world title with a clean 4A? He appears close to landing one.
I was watching him in practice. He did a ton of quad axel attempts. He didn't come close on any of them, and he did not stand up on any of them. He chose to go for it in the long program anyway, came closer, but fell and missed the next jump. It may have cost him a medal. But, I think he knew that the odds were very long and made the choice to go for it anyway. He has two Olympic gold medals. He decided that taking a long shot to land the first quad axel was worth the risk of not medaling. Others wouldn't look at it that way. Scott Hamilton and Brian Boitano said on Olympic Ice that no coach would have taken the approach that Hanyu did, but it is Hanyu who has to be the one to prioritize his goals and make the decisions accordingly. He chose to go for the very high risk long shot.

I don't think this is about age, though already having two Olympic gold medals may have entered into his thinking. He always has been a risk taker and pushed the sport technically. He won both his Olympic golds without doing entirely clean programs. At this point in men's figure skating, given the level of difficulty and risk, it is going to be a rare occasion when we see the men at the top consistently doing clean programs in competition.
 

Vash01

Fan of Yuzuru, T&M, P&C
Messages
55,385
I was watching him in practice. He did a ton of quad axel attempts. He didn't come close on any of them, and he did not stand up on any of them. He chose to go for it in the long program anyway, came closer, but fell and missed the next jump. It may have cost him a medal. But, I think he knew that the odds were very long and made the choice to go for it anyway. He has two Olympic gold medals. He decided that taking a long shot to land the first quad axel was worth the risk of not medaling. Others wouldn't look at it that way. Scott Hamilton and Brian Boitano said on Olympic Ice that no coach would have taken the approach that Hanyu did, but it is Hanyu who has to be the one to prioritize his goals and make the decisions accordingly. He chose to go for the very high risk long shot.

I don't think this is about age, though already having two Olympic gold medals may have entered into his thinking. He always has been a risk taker and pushed the sport technically. He won both his Olympic golds without doing entirely clean programs. At this point in men's figure skating, given the level of difficulty and risk, it is going to be a rare occasion when we see the men at the top consistently doing clean programs in competition.

i never understood his obsession with going for the 4A at the Olympics. It was almost like he lost sight of the tremendous opportunity to become a three time OGMist. May be he never even considered that possibility. In the end it is his life and he alone can decide what to do with it.
 

Allskate

Well-Known Member
Messages
12,804
i never understood his obsession with going for the 4A at the Olympics. It was almost like he lost sight of the tremendous opportunity to become a three time OGMist. May be he never even considered that possibility. In the end it is his life and he alone can decide what to do with it.
Maybe when you already have two Olympic gold medals and the expectations are so high, you see being even more aggressive and risky as the best option? Mikaela Shiffrin has said that she was very aggressive with her first two ski races in Beijing, both of which resulted in her going off course. Simone Biles already was the GOAT and was way ahead of the field, but she kept upping her difficulty when she didn't need to. Granted, she did take out a skill that officials refused to reward and she did put her safety first when the Olympics came, but she was being very aggressive.

We can't really know what Hanyu's thinking was. I think it's very hard to put ourselves in the minds of high profile champions who are under tremendous pressure and high expectations from themselves and from others.
 

Fiero425

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,302
Maybe when you already have two Olympic gold medals and the expectations are so high, you see being even more aggressive and risky as the best option? Mikaela Shiffrin has said that she was very aggressive with her first two ski races in Beijing, both of which resulted in her going off course. Simone Biles already was the GOAT and was way ahead of the field, but she kept upping her difficulty when she didn't need to. Granted, she did take out a skill that officials refused to reward, and she did put her safety first when the Olympics came, but she was being very aggressive.

We can't really know what Hanyu's thinking was. I think it's very hard to put ourselves in the minds of high-profile champions who are under tremendous pressure and high expectations from themselves and from others.

I think if he had gotten over the obsession of that silly 4A, he would have at least made the podium! He blew it! :confused: :summer:
 

Spun Silver

Well-Known Member
Messages
12,130
I dont think champions are happy just to make a podium. A silver or bronze would still be yet another defeat by Nathan. He said he knew his tech content was not enough to beat Nathan, so what was left to him was the chance to break a new barrier. Maybe he still will. I remember viscerally how many hard falls Mirai had to take before she could land a clean 3A (which she only did a few times in competition).

I would think that not his age, but the beating he put himself through to get the 4A, could account for his not seeming to be in peak form this week. I can't even imagine.
 

Vash01

Fan of Yuzuru, T&M, P&C
Messages
55,385
I dont think champions are happy just to make a podium. A silver or bronze would still be yet another defeat by Nathan. He said he knew his tech content was not enough to beat Nathan, so what was left to him was the chance to break a new barrier. Maybe he still will. I remember viscerally how many hard falls Mirai had to take before she could land a clean 3A (which she only did a few times in competition).

I would think that not his age, but the beating he put himself through to get the 4A, could account for his not seeming to be in peak form this week. I can't even imagine.
I often wondered, after his mistake on the 4S in the SP and again in the LP if the 4A had become a distraction. Also, when he said in the past (after the nationals) that his current layout was not enough to win. I assume he meant to beat Nathan. It almost sounds like he didn't believe that he could beat Nathan. He didn't even try to change that Layout. That is very unusual for Yuzuru because I always saw him as a very confident person.
 

Allskate

Well-Known Member
Messages
12,804
I dont think champions are happy just to make a podium.
Agreed. And if they aren't going to make the podium, they often want part of their performance to be original or advance the sport in some way. It was interesting watching Shawn White after his last run yesterday. He was so emotional. I don't think it was just because he didn't medal. And I don't think it was just because he realized that his career now was behind him. Or just that a new generation had taken over and was doing bigger and harder things than he had ever done. I think it was partly because he got a standing ovation from the crowd and so many of the other boarders were coming over to hug him and thank him. I though it was both nice and true when Nathan went out of his way at the press conference to say how phenomenal Yuzu was and that Yuzu was partly responsible for driving him to do better and be more successful.

Maybe Hanyu, Shiffrin, White, and Biles should get together for dinner. :D
 

Vash01

Fan of Yuzuru, T&M, P&C
Messages
55,385
This interview has English subtitles. It's sad when he says he feels his efforts were not rewarded. He also mentions a slight ankle sprain.


I don't think he means the judges didn't reward him. Rather, the universe didn't reward his efforts. It sounds like he worked very hard on the 4A, and usually when he works hard, he is rewarded with success. Not this time. No medal, no 4A landing, even though it was ratified. Just my interpretation. He is a great skater, the greatest. It makes me sad to see him sad.

I agree with the discussion that followed. He trained all alone. It would have helped him to have a coach around.
 
Last edited:

Users who are viewing this thread

  • Top
    Do Not Sell My Personal Information