Hanyu Yuzuru Banks On Quad Axel To Revive Gold Hopes At Beijing

Figure skater Hanyu Yuzuru has racked up a long list of achievements in his glittering career. On Thursday, however, he faces his toughest test yet as he tries to overcome a disappointing start to his Beijing Winter Olympics to claim a third successive gold. His quest will likely depend on an audacious attempt to pull off the most difficult maneuver in his sport.

From the age of 4, Hanyu would spend countless hours practicing his moves at a rink in Sendai City, in northeastern Japan. Ten years later, he competed in international competition at the World Junior Championships in Bulgaria, finishing 12th.

 Hanyu wins the 2009 ISU Junior Grand Prix Final.

It wasn’t long before he was competing at senior level, winning silver at the 2011 Four Continents Championships in Taiwan. Then disaster struck.

A few weeks later, Hanyu was practicing at his local rink in Sendai when Japan’s 2011 earthquake and tsunami hit. The shaking destroyed the rink and caused extensive damage to his family home. He and his family were forced to evacuate. It was a major setback for the young athlete, who was just beginning to make big strides in his sport.

 The building housing Hanyu’s local ice rink was badly damaged.

“I lost my focus,” recalls Hanyu. “I had to prioritize other things—moving and getting my life back on track. I started to wonder if I should even keep skating. I felt like I wanted to do volunteer work instead.”

In the end, the answer was to combine the two. Hanyu found new purpose by skating at charity shows. The more he skated, the more motivated he became. Before long, he was setting his sights on the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

Rising to the top

Hanyu’s Olympic debut came on February 13 that year in the men’s short program. He landed all three jumps, finishing at the top of the table with 101.45 points. The following day, a series of falls in the free-skating program threatened to undermine all his hard work.

 In 2014, Hanyu became the first Japanese male figure skater to win an Olympic gold medal.

Ultimately, however, he did enough over both programs to hang onto the lead, becoming Japan’s first-ever gold medal-winning men’s figure skater. “It hasn’t sunk in,” he said afterwards. “I’ve won gold, carried by the hopes of so many people, including all those affected by the disaster.”

 Hanyu is feted by more than 90,000 people at a celebratory parade in April, 2014. Struggles and setbacks

No sooner had Hanyu achieved Olympic glory than he was beset by a series of injuries. Chronic back pain forced him to skip a competition in Finland in October, 2014.

Then, in November, while warming up for the Cup of China in the Grand Prix series, he collided with a Chinese skater, suffering a number of injuries.