lajoitko

I was watching WC 2017 pairs SP and remembered Yu/Zhang. Are there any recent news about them? I can´t even remember what happened to them? Were they both injured?

Wasn´t there earlier this year an interview with Laternik where he said that they don´t expect the proposition to pass but want to use it as an opener to wider discussion or something like that? Or did I dream about it?

Yuzu tells here little about his diet, about 53 minutes onward. He likes chips and soft drinks and goes to McDonald's.

It was Alexei Yagudin´s free program when he won the Olympics and WC in 2002. There are surely others too, but when I hear the music I remember his program.

About NDP I remember very vaguely this story how Wilson just gave the choreography to Yuzu and when Yuzu asked what the theme of the program was, they gave him a French movie with English subtitles, so Yuzu had basically no idea what he was skating to. Then when he returned to Japan, he found Japanese subtitles and began to understand the program better. Don´t ask for any sources because I don´t have them. I just have this tendency to remember these weird things about Yuzu and my memory could be wrong. I just remember thinking like “oh, poor baby” when hearing/reading this story many years ago.

The latest NHK Trophy video message and Yuzu´s reference to the 2015 NHK Trophy made me checking some things. 2015 NHK Trophy was held in the rink that was built for the Olympics in Nagano (remember how after the perfect Seimei Yuzu pointed at the Olympic rings). This happened two and half years before the 2018 Olympics. This year’s NHK Trophy is held in the rink that was built for the 1972 Olympics in Sapporo and the competition is held two and half years before the next Olympics. Of course, this doesn´t mean anything but it is interesting that these kinds of random coincidences seem to happen around Yuzu quite often.

They talk about the Finnish skating federation´s profit. And when you consider how they organized the event at short notice, you could say that the GP Helsinki was a true jackpot for the federation. They don´t know yet how to use the money but personally I would put it to the junior work and some other developement projects which would benefit the Finnish figure skating in the long-term. But this is just my personal opinion.

I remember that before GPF 2013 I kept thinking that the Olympics would be a great learning experience for Yuzu. Of course I dreamed about him winning but at that time I felt that his time would be at the next Olympics. GPF 2013 really changed that. Over one night my dream became a real possibility. When I look back, I really think that Yuzu winnning the GPF had a big impact on what happened at the Olympics couple months later. Also it was the last Yuzu competition that I could watch without having a nervous breakdown. Sometimes I miss that carefree feeling... Also the Japanese men field was really deep at that time. Oda was third at the GPF and didn´t make to the Olympic team.

Yuzu spoke about his childhood dreams in one of the early P&G interviews. Translation can be found here https://yuzusorbet.tumblr.com/post/126496961412/yuzu-days-interview-on-pg-website-hanyu-talks I remember one story that at first he wanted to win one gold medal but then he thought that it would be too easy. If he wanted to be remembered as a legend, he would have to win the gold twice. And it was a very young Yuzu thinking about this. I can´t find the source, I just have this memory. Maybe someone remembers it better. On the other hand, it is easy to dream about things that are way beyond the reach at the time. What counts is making them a reality when you have a chance to do it.

Thank you! It is very good document about the fans. I downloaded it but I don´t want to put it on Youtube or any other video sites. Mostly the fans speak English but there is two girls speaking Swedish. First girl (finnish figure skater) says how Yuzuru´s skating is entirely captivating and second girl admires his jumps. My Swedish is very very poor so hopefully someone can correct this. There is also the famous press conference lady (she is also a ex-figure skater) explaining the special arrangements for Yuzuru´s safety in the icerink and hotel. I haven´t seen this interview anywhere. It is done after the free skate. Sorry for the low quality, I recorded it on my phone. Also, Yuzuru is saying how he tries to be healthy, so be prepared.

I want to share very personal story. It is kind of sad and if you have lost someone very recently, you probably don´t want to read further. This is also very long, so feel free to skip this.

I have thought a lot what will happen when Yuzuru is no longer skating competitively. I was a skating fan before I found Yuzuru. I wasn´t exactly a casual viewer, I had opinions and favorite skaters, but I wasn´t so into it as I am now because of Yuzuru. A lot will change, for example I won´t be waking up in the middle of the night just to watch figure skating competition, and I won´t order expensive magazines only for the pretty pictures. I do those things only for Yuzuru. But I will still have other skaters to follow. I won´t know every little detail of their programs and I won´t be having a nervous breakdown during their performances, but it will still be a fun experience, just different. Maybe for a time it will be too painful to watch men´s competition. If that happens I will focus more on other disciplines. And I see myself going to the big figure skating competitions if the opportunity comes, because I love watching figure skating live. The bigger issue for me are the changes that ISU is considering after the next olympics. If they come true, I don´t know what will happen to my interest. But now there is still time to enjoy the sport and then we will see what happens. But whatever happens I will always be a Yuzuru fan. It will be intresting to see what role he will be taking after competitive skating. I have this feeling that he has already great plans for the future and we just have to wait patiently for him to reveal them.