Yuzuru Hanyu 

(羽生 結弦, Ha'nyū Yuzuru, born December 7, 1994) is a Japanese figure skater.

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), a Four Continents champion (2020), the 2010
World Junior champion, the 2009–10 Junior Grand Prix Final champion, and a five-
time Japanese national champion (2012–2015, 2020). He has also medaled at five other World
Championships, taking bronze in 2012 and 2021, and silver in 2015, 2016 and 2019.
Upon winning the 2020 Four Continents Championships, Hanyu became the first male singles
skater to achieve a Super Slam, having won all major competitions in his senior and junior
career. Regarded as one of the greatest male figure skaters in history, Hanyu has broken world
records nineteen times—the most times amongst singles skaters since the introduction of
the ISU Judging System in 2004. He is the first man to have received over 100 points in the
men's short program, over 200 points in the men's free skate, and over 300 total points in
competition.
Hanyu is the first Asian men's singles skater to win the Olympic gold. At nineteen years old, 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 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 a competition. He is the first men's singles skater
from Asia to win multiple World Championships.

Contents

 1Early life
 2Career
o 2.1Pre-Olympic career
 2.1.1Early career
 2.1.22008–09 season: Junior international debut
 2.1.32009–10 season: Junior world title
 2.1.42010–11 season: Senior international debut
 2.1.52011–12 season: First World Championships Medal
 2.1.62012–13 season
o 2.2First Olympic gold medal
 2.2.12013–14 season: Olympic and world titles
 2.2.22014–15 season
 2.2.32015–16 season: Breaking world records
 2.2.42016–17 season: Second world title
o 2.3Second Olympic gold medal
 2.3.12017–18 season: Second Olympic title
 2.3.22018–19 season
 2.3.32019–20 season
 2.3.42020–21 season
 3Skating technique
 4Coaches and choreographers
 5Public life
o 5.1Endorsements and ambassadorships
o 5.2Philanthropy
o 5.3Film and television
o 5.4Books and magazines
 6Personal life and education
o 6.1Winnie-the-Pooh
 7Awards and honors
 8World records and other achievements
o 8.1World record scores
 9Programs
 10Competitive highlights
o 10.1Senior seasons
o 10.2Junior and novice seasons
 11Notes
 12References
 13Further reading
 14External links

Early life
Hanyu was born on December 7, 1994, in Izumi-ku, Sendai, Japan,[16] the second and youngest
child to his father, who is a junior high school teacher, and Yumi Hanyu, a former clerk at a
department store. Hanyu's father was also an adviser to the baseball school club and
recommended the sport to him before he eventually chose figure skating.[17] His mother used to
make all of Hanyu's costumes in his early career, including costumes for his 2010–2011 and
2013–14 season free skate which were designed by American figure skater Johnny Weir.[17][18]
[19]
 She accompanied him during his training in Toronto, Canada, while his father and older sister,
Saya, stayed in Japan.[17][20] Hanyu's given name came from the desire of his father so he would
"live a dignified way like a tightly drawn bowstring",[21][22] and also symbolizes confidence, strength,
and straightness.[20]
At the age of two, Hanyu was diagnosed with asthma, a condition that slowly improved with time.
The condition remained an issue for Hanyu well into his career in junior competition, and
Canadian choreographer David Wilson has stated that it was not until Hanyu's transition into
adult competition that he succeeded in learning to cope with his endurance issues caused by his
asthma and experienced in the later parts of his performed programs as a junior.[23]
Hanyu began skating at the age of four after his sister's coach Mami Yamada had suggested he
try the sport instead of being a nuisance during his sister's training.[24][20] Yamada noted Hanyu's
impatience when he first got onto the ice. He came running and jumped on the ice, then fell hard,
hitting his helmet onto the ice, quickly got up and running again. However, Yamada praised
Hanyu for his ability to express his sincerity. After coaching him until the end of his 2nd grade in
elementary school, Yamada had to move to another prefecture and asked Shōichirō Tsuzuki,
former coach of Japan's first World Figure Skating Championships medalist Minoru Sano, to
coach Hanyu and "not put his talent to waste".[24] Figure skaters Hanyu looked up to while
growing up are Evgeni Plushenko and Johnny Weir.[1][25] He also mentioned Stephane
Lambiel, Javier Fernández, and Dick Button as the skaters who influenced him at the press
conference of the 2018 Winter Olympics.[26]

Career
Pre-Olympic career
Early career
Hanyu first competed nationally as a novice skater in the 2004–05 season. He skated and won
gold at the 2004 Japan Novice Championships in the Novice B category, the lower of the two
novice level categories.[27] His home rink then closed due to financial problems, reducing his
training time.[28] His coach at that time, Shōichirō Tsuzuki, eventually had to move to another rink
and was replaced by Nanami Abe who guided Hanyu until he switched to Brian Orser years later
in 2012.[28][29] In the 2006–07 season, Hanyu won the bronze medal at the 2006 Japan Novice
Championships in the Novice A category. Hanyu winning a bronze medal at the 2006 Japan
Novice championships earned him an invitation to compete at the 2006–07 Japan Junior
Championships where he placed 7th.[30][31] Hanyu's home rink reopened in 2007 after being closed
for two years.[28] He then placed first at the 2007 Japan Novice Championships in the Novice A
category and won the bronze medal at the 2007–08 Japan Junior Championships.[32][33]
2008–09 season: Junior international debut
In 2008, Hanyu moved up to the junior level and debuted at the ISU Junior Grand Prix. He placed
6th in the short program and 4th in the free skate, finishing 5th overall at the event in Merano,
Italy.[34] Following his Junior Grand Prix event, Hanyu won the gold medal at the 2008–09 Japan
Junior Championships. At 13, he was the youngest male skater to win the Japan Junior
Championship. This result also qualified him for the 2009 World Junior Championships.[35]
His high standing in the ranking of performances won him a medal and also earned him an
invitation to compete on the senior level at the 2008–09 Japan Championships where he placed
8th.[36] At the 2009 World Junior Championships in February, Hanyu placed 11th in the short
program and 13th in his free skate, giving him a total of 161.77 points to finish 12th overall.[37]
2009–10 season: Junior world title
In the 2009–10 season, Hanyu won both of his Junior Grand Prix events, in Croatia and Poland,
and finished as the top qualifier for the Junior Grand Prix Final where he achieved a new
personal best score of 206.77 points and won the event.[38] In the same season Hanyu also won
the 2009–10 Japan Junior Championships and earned an invitation to compete on the senior
level at the 2009–10 Japan Championships.[39] He then placed first on the junior level and sixth on
the senior level in the event. Based on his results, Hanyu was chosen to compete at the 2010
World Junior Championships. He won the competition after placing third in the short program and
first in the free skate to earn a new personal best of 216.10 points. He became the fourth and the
youngest Japanese man to win the junior world title.[40]
2010–11 season: Senior international debut

Hanyu at the 2010 Cup of Russia

For the 2010–11 season, Hanyu moved up to the senior level at the age of 15. His assignments
for the 2010–11 Grand Prix series were the 2010 NHK Trophy and the 2010 Cup of Russia.[41] In
his senior debut at the 2010 NHK Trophy, Hanyu placed 5th in the short program with 69.31
points. In his free skate, he landed his first quadruple toe loop jump in an ISU competition and
came in 4th with 138.41 points, giving him a total of 207.72 points to finish 4th overall.[42] Hanyu
finished in seventh place at the Cup of Russia.[43] At the 2010–11 Japan Championships, Hanyu
was in second place after the short program, but faltered in the free skate and finished fourth
overall. As the result, he was selected to compete at the 2011 Four Continents Championships,
where he won the silver medal with a new personal best score.[44]
Hanyu was skating at his home rink in Sendai when the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and
tsunami struck his hometown and the region. The water pipes at his rink burst as a result of
the April 2011 Miyagi earthquake.[45][46] He trained in Yokohama and Hachinohe, Aomori until his
home rink reopened on July 24, 2011.[20][45][47] He also skated in 60 ice shows, using them as an
opportunity to train.[28] In April, he participated in an ice show to raise money for the victims.[20][47]
2011–12 season: First World Championships Medal

Hanyu performing a Biellmann spin at the 2011 Cup of China

Hanyu began the 2011–12 season with a win at the Nebelhorn Trophy. He placed first in both the
short program and the free skate, for a combined total score of 226.26 points.[48] For the 2011–12
Grand Prix series, he was assigned to the 2011 Cup of China and the 2011 Rostelecom Cup.
[49]
 He finished 4th at the Cup of China,[50] then won the Rostelecom Cup with a new personal best
score[51] to qualify for his first senior Grand Prix Final, where he placed fourth.[52]
Hanyu then won the bronze medal at the 2011–12 Japan Championships, earning a spot on the
Japanese team for the 2012 World Championships. In his senior Worlds debut, Hanyu was
seventh in the short program but placed second in the free skate. He won the bronze medal
overall with a total score of 251.06 points, behind gold medalist Patrick Chan of Canada and
silver medalist, his teammate, Daisuke Takahashi of Japan.[53]
In April 2012, Hanyu switched coaches to Brian Orser in Toronto, Canada.[54][55] It was reported he
would make frequent trips to Toronto and continue to attend high school in Sendai.[54] After
moving to Canada, Hanyu increased his on-ice training to 3–4 hours a day, up from 1–2 hours,
which had been due to a combination of limited ice time in Sendai, schooling, and asthma.[20][28]
2012–13 season
Hanyu began his season at the 2012 Finlandia Trophy, where he won the gold medal. He landed
two quadruple jumps, a quad toe loop, and a quad salchow, in his free skate. It was the first time
he had landed the latter jump in competition.[55][56] Hanyu won the silver medal at his first Grand
Prix event of the season, the 2012 Skate America. His short program score at the Skate
America, 95.07 points, was a new world record.[57][58] At his second event, the 2012 NHK Trophy,
he scored 95.32 in the short program, beating his world record,[59][60] and went on to win the gold
medal in his hometown.[61][62] Hanyu qualified for the 2012–13 Grand Prix Final in Sochi, where he
finished second.[63]
In December 2012, Hanyu claimed his first national title at the 2012–13 Japan
Championships after placing first in the short program and second in the free skate.[64] He took
silver at the 2013 Four Continents Championships, having placed first in the short program and
third in the free skate.[65] At the 2013 World Championships, he was ninth in the short program
and third in the free skate, finishing fourth overall.[66]

First Olympic gold medal

2013–14 season: Olympic and world titles
Main article: Yuzuru Hanyu Olympics seasons §  2013–14 season: First Olympic and world titles
Hanyu began his season with a win at the 2013 Finlandia Trophy.[67] He won silver in both of
his 2013–14 Grand Prix events, the 2013 Skate Canada International and the 2013 Trophée Éric
Bompard, qualifying him for the 2013–14 Grand Prix Final. At the competition, Hanyu set a new
world record in the short program with 99.84 points and won the title.[57][68] He subsequently
competed at the competed at the 2013–14 Japan Championships where he went on to win a
second Japanese national title and named to Japan's teams to the Olympics and World
Championships.[69]

Hanyu (right) and Tatsuki Machida at the 2014 World Championships

At the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Hanyu took part only in the men's short program at
the Figure Skating Team Event for Team Japan. He won that segment and giving Team Japan
10 points.[70] Hanyu later broke his world record and became the first skater to score over 100
points in the short program in the men's short program individual event with 101.45 points.
[71]
 Hanyu won the overall event and earned the first Olympic gold medal for Japan in the men's
figure skating event, and only the second for the nation, following Shizuka Arakawa's gold medal
in the women's event in 2006 in Turin.[72]
Hanyu completed the season with a victory at the 2014 World Championships in Saitama, Japan.
[73]
 Hanyu became the first skater since Alexei Yagudin (in 2002) to win the Olympics, World
Championships, and Grand Prix Final in the same season.[74]
2014–15 season
Hanyu withdrew from the 2014 Finlandia Trophy due to a back injury.[75][76] For the 2014–15 Grand
Prix season, he was selected to compete at the 2014 Cup of China and 2014 NHK Trophy.[77]
At the Cup of China, Hanyu was second in the short program.[76] The next day, during the free
skate warm-up, Hanyu collided with China's Yan Han. Hanyu was visibly injured but decided to
compete. He fell five times in the free skate but scored enough to win the silver medal. After the
competition, he received stitches on his head and chin due to the collision and the multiple falls.
[78][79][80]
 He flew to Japan for further treatment. He had bruising to his chin and head, hurt his midriff
and left thigh, and sprained his right ankle.[81][82][83][84]
A few days before the NHK Trophy, Hanyu announced that he would compete but stated that he
wasn't in top form.[85][86] He struggled in the short program, placing fifth.[87][88] The next day, he
continued to have difficulties but placed third in the free skate, fourth overall. The score just
barely, by a 0.15 point margin, earned him a spot to the Grand Prix Final.[89][90] At the Final, he was
first in both the short program (94.08 points) and free skate (194.08 points, a new personal best
score and the overall highest free skate score of the season),[91] earning the gold medal. His total
score was 34.26 points higher than silver medalist Javier Fernández's score.[92]
In December 2014, Hanyu competed in the 2014–15 Japan Championships. He placed first in
both the short program and free skate with a total score of 286.86 points, earning him his third
consecutive Japan National Championships title and the first spot for Japan at the 2015 World
Championships.[93] He withdrew from the gala following the competition due to abdominal pain.
[94]
 Hanyu was diagnosed with a bladder problem related to the urachus and had surgery. He was
hospitalized for two weeks and expected to resume training a month afterward. However, on
February 9, he sprained his right ankle and once again suspended from on-ice training, this time
for two weeks. In March, he resumed training in Japan without his coach Brian Orser.[95]
Hanyu competed at the 2015 World Championships, where he scored a season's best in the
short program. He entered as first into the free skate, and scored 175.88, for a total of 271.08.
He finished second behind Spain's Javier Fernández by less than 3 points.[96]
Hanyu competed for the first time at the 2015 World Team Trophy, in Tokyo, Japan. He scored
first in both the short program (with a new season's best) and the free skate, receiving 24 points
to help Team Japan win the bronze medal, behind Team USA and Team Russia. He was the
only skater to win both segments in the competition.[97]
2015–16 season: Breaking world records

Hanyu at the 2015–16 Grand Prix Final

For the 2015–16 season, Hanyu skated to the soundtrack from the films Onmyōji and Onmyōji
2 in his free program, portraying natural philosopher and astrologer Abe no Seimei.[98] He also
met with Mansai Nomura, the actor who portrayed Seimei in the film, to get advice on how to
portray the character.[99] Hanyu started his season by winning gold at the 2015 Skate Canada
Autumn Classic, finishing 36 points ahead of the silver medalist, Nam Nguyen.[100] For the 2015–
16 Grand Prix series, Hanyu was selected to compete at the Skate Canada and the NHK Trophy.
[101]

At the 2015 Skate Canada International, Hanyu placed sixth in the short program with a score of
73.25 points after missing his quadruple toe loop and doing a double instead.[102] In the free skate,
he pulled up to second with a score of 186.29 after executing three quadruple jumps including
the quad Salchow and quad toe loop in the first half followed by a quadruple toe loop-double toe
loop in the second.[103] He finished second overall behind Patrick Chan with a total score of
259.54.[104][105] At the 2015 NHK Trophy, Hanyu placed first in the short program with a world
record score of 106.33.[106] He cleanly executed a quadruple Salchow, a quadruple toe loop-triple
toe loop combination, and a triple Axel.[107] In the free skate, he landed four clean quadruple
jumps to receive 216.07 and a combined total of 322.40, breaking the world records for the free
skate and the combined total. With this result, he qualified for the Grand Prix Final in second
place with 28 ranking season Grand Prix points which were accumulated over the several
international events which are part of the Grand Prix.[108][109]
At the 2015–16 Grand Prix Final in Barcelona, Hanyu broke the short program record which he
had just set two weeks prior, totaling a score of 110.95 points, putting him in the lead.[110][111] In the
free skate, he broke another new world record, scoring 219.48 points, giving him a combined
total of 330.43 and his third Grand Prix Final title in a row. Hanyu is the first man to have won
Grand Prix Final for three consecutive seasons.[112] He won with a total margin of 37.48 points
ahead of Javier Fernández, breaking the previous victory margin record held by Evgeni
Plushenko in 2004 (35.1 points).[113]
On December 26, 2015, Hanyu won his fourth consecutive title at the 2015–16 Japan
Championships, leading in both the short program and the free skate.[114] Following that event,
Hanyu announced that he would not compete at the 2016 Four Continents
Championships because he planned to focus on training for the 2016 World Championships.[115]
Hanyu skated another clean short program at the 2016 World Championships, scoring 110.56
points. He won that segment of the competition and had a 12.04-point lead over Javier
Fernández, who came in second.[116] In the free skate, Hanyu put a hand down on a quadruple
Salchow, fell on the second attempt without putting it into a combination, stepped out of a triple
Axel, decided to do a double rather than a triple Salchow, and had another hand down on the
triple Lutz. Following these errors, he finished the competition in 2nd place, behind Javier
Fernandez.[117][118]
On April 26, the Japan Skating Federation announced that Hanyu would take two months off the
ice to heal from injury. He had been dealing with pain in his left foot since the beginning of the
season, which worsened in January. The pain was the reason why Hanyu elected to do a
Salchow instead of a toe loop as his third quadruple jump in his free skate at Worlds. Hanyu was
diagnosed with Lisfranc ligament damage in his left foot.[119][120]
2016–17 season: Second world title

Hanyu and fellow Japanese figure skater Shoma Uno at the 2017 World Championships

For the 2016–17 Grand Prix, Hanyu's assignments were the Skate Canada International and
the NHK Trophy. His short program music was "Let's Go Crazy" by Prince and the free skate
music consisted of "Asian Dream Song" and "View of Silence" by Joe Hisaishi, while Hanyu titled
the program "Hope and Legacy". Hanyu competed at the Autumn Classic International, where he
won the gold medal and became the first skater in history to successfully land a
quadruple loop in a competition.[121][122]
At the 2016 Skate Canada International, Hanyu placed fourth in the short program, after landing
his first jump on one knee, nearly putting his hand on the ice on the second, and electing not to
perform a planned jump combination.[123] In the free skate, he pulled up to first with a score of
183.41. Overall he finished second behind Patrick Chan, and ahead of Kevin Reynolds. At
the NHK Trophy, Hanyu scored 103.89 in the short program and led this segment of the
competition by almost 16 points over Nathan Chen. In his free skate, Hanyu landed three
quadruple jumps: a loop, a Salchow, and a toe loop, but made mistakes on two other jumping
passes. He received a total score of 301.47 and won the gold medal.[124]