Geo1

I know that we have gotten used to seeing Yuzu alone during the last two Japanese Nationals, but I, for one, will miss seeing Brian and Ghislain cheering by the boards and sitting in the Kiss and Cry with Yuzu at Beijing. It appears that Yuzu is going it alone without coaches judging from the fact that no one has been listed as his coaches for the Olympics by the Japan Skating Federation. I am sure that Yuzu will be fine on his own, but I will be sad not seeing the three of them together.

I believe that his height has been reported as 172 cm for a long time. 172 cm is 5 feet and 7.7165 inches, pretty close to 5’8”.

Yuzu really does have long neck, doesn't he?

As Yuzu has always said, being nervous before competitions is normal and everyone experiences it. It's what you do with that anxiety and nervousness that makes a difference. As @Pianistliz has stated, Yuzu says that this pressure empowers him. To address @DancingFeather concerns, Yuzu has said that failure is a part of success. Of course, you are going to feel disappointed, frustrated and kuyashi if you do not succeed, but you can take that failure and learn from it. Thomas Edison said that genius is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration. Yuzu is no different. Practice makes perfect may be trite, but it is true. Obviously, you will have a much more positive attitude going into an event, whatever it is, if you have thoroughly prepared for it. On the other hand, there are times that, unjustly or otherwise, your efforts will not bear the fruit that you had hoped for. This is where it is good to remember Yuzu's wise words that efforts may lie, but will never be in vain. Do not get discouraged. The following, under the spoiler, are my thoughts about how Yuzu has achieved everything he set out to do. I am confident that Yuzu, with his positive mindset and determination, will convert that nervous energy to power and skate perfectly clean in the SP and FS to make history by achieving his dream of successfully landing the 4A in competition and winning his third consecutive Olympic gold medal. I am also taking comfort in "the rule of three" – that things come in threes – in this case, three consecutive Olympic gold medals.

In this recent Olympics “Men’s Singles Figure Skating Last 5 Champions!” YouTube video, they screwed up and used Yuzu’s team competition short program PW instead of his record-breaking men’s singles PW performance. They can’t seem to get everything right as far as Yuzu is concerned. On the other hand, they have no qualms about shamelessly using Yuzu’s images (neither of which have anything to do with the previous five Olympics) to catch people’s attention.

I think they called it like they see it. Yuzu is a “superstar”. Nathan is just a “jump machine”.

Welcome back! Please stay with us to cheer Yuzu to a successful landing of the 4A and a third consecutive Olympic Gold Medal!

I also agree with the above posts. There have been times since 2014 when I started following Yuzu that I questioned his judgment, but time and time again he has proven me wrong. He does not say things lightly. He weighs his words. When he says that he's going to do something, he means it. Yuzu is not intimidated by pressure. On the contrary, he turns pressure into power. He never takes the easy route. He enjoys overcoming seemingly overwhelming challenges. He had previously been saying that his only focus is on successfully landing the 4A in competition. It was after he was chosen for the Japanese Olympic Team that he openly declared that since he has put his arm through the sleeve of the Japanese team jacket, the only thing for him to do is WIN. Only Yuzu would put this much pressure on himself – the pressure of successfully landing the 4A and winning his third consecutive Olympic Gold Medal. He has done this purposely to empower himself to reach for and achieve the impossible dream. Listen to the lyrics... and how they are sung.

There is nothing that we do not already know in this France 24 article, but it is always nice to read about how much Yuzu inspires people and how much love and devotion his fans have for him. https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20220125-art-and-tears-skate-star-hanyu-inspires-diehard-fans This post has been tagged by yuzuangel as [NEWS].

On the first day of my articles, my principal said, "Throughout your legal career, you will have many clients and cases, but you have only one reputation. Never sacrifice your reputation for the sake of a client or case." In other words, don't cheat in order to win a case or gain an advantage. Always be true to yourself and to a high standard of values. If you do that, then other lawyers and judges will always respect and trust you. As @Sombreuil has stated, it seems that a lot of skaters and their coaches take the attitude that winning is everything and that the end justifies the means, even if that involves taking shortcuts or cheating on their techniques.

I believe that it’s a Bachelors degree.

Yes, I agree that the image of "three blind mice" seems more fitting for the JSF, but the nursery rhyme dates from 1609 and refers to three Protestant loyalists who were accused of plotting against Queen Mary, a Catholic. The farmer's wife refers to the Queen who with her husband, King Philip of Spain, owned large estates. The three plotters were burned at the stake. In the nursery rhyme, the "blindness" of the mice was their fatal adherence to the Protestant faith. I chose to compare the JSF with the Three Wise Monkeys because they represent the proverbial saying, "See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil," which is now generally used sarcastically against those who, through selfishness, cowardice or lack of moral fiber, choose to turn a blind eye to wrongdoing and refuse to speak out against injustice.

It's hard to believe that four years have passed since PyeongChang. It seems like yesterday that we saw Yuzu and Javi hugging each other emotionally with Shoma trapped awkwardly in the middle. Yet now, we find ourselves barely 12 days from the start of the 2022 Beijing Olympic Games and seeing Yuzu competing in the Team SP. I know that most of you have seen the NHK program, "Spirit of the Athletes: Road to the Gold Medal"(with English subtitles), but I thought it was appropriate to post it here so that those of you who may be inclined can watch this inspirational documentary of Yuzu's fight to recover from a devastating injury, his intelligent analysis of the situation and formulation of strategy, his grit and determination, and the encouragement and wise advice provided by Ghislain, all leading to his second consecutive Olympic gold medal victory https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6h43hx

The JSF needs to complain and put pressure on the ISU regarding the unfair scoring, but this will never happen because the powers that be within the JSF are willfully blind and will continue behaving like the Three Wise Monkeys.

Belinda Noonan's commentary was right on point. What I found irritating was the inane banter from her fellow commentator, Jim Horne. Someone should tell him that it’s better to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool than to open it and remove all doubt. Jim Horne reminded me of the character "Buck Laughlin" played by Fred Willard in the movie "Best in Show", a spoof of dog shows, who was the colour commentator who obviously knew nothing about dogs or dog shows. When the scores came out, Belinda clearly thought that Yuzu was underscored and was questioning the judging when she said: "What's it really going to take?" "How do you improve on that?" I.e., How do you improve on perfection (and why do the scores not reflect that)?” PS: I was born in Japan on February 4, so Yuzu will be skating the Team SP on my birthday! Hoping that he gives me a winning clean Rondo Capriccioso for my birthday present!

"Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil." This proverb is used to refer to a lack of moral responsibility on the part of people who refuse to acknowledge impropriety, look the other way on or feign ignorance of evil deeds.

Mark Hanretty and other commentators, like Rod Black during 2019 Skate Canada International, consciously avoid calling Yuzu "The Greatest of All Time" even while praising him. The closest they get is "one of the greatest". They never fail to mention Nathan and that he has beaten Yuzu repeatedly since the SP at PyeongChang. Almost all of the English-speaking commentators, including Simon Reed, Chris Howarth and Kurt Browning, are pandering to the ISU and its agenda. Tanith White is the only one that I heard referring to Yuzu as “The Greatest of All Time” during a PyeongChang Olympics NBC pre-figure skating segment regarding Yuzu’s stardom with Liam McHugh and Scott Hamilton. Liam McHugh posed the question, “If he (Yuzuru Hanyu) wins here, Greatest of All Time?” Scott Hamilton, of course, said that Dick Button is the greatest of all time. Tanith White replied, “Yeah, why not? Absolutely! If he wins here, Greatest of All Time!... No offense to Dick Button.”

Here are a couple of pictures of Ghislain that were taken this evening at the airport on his way to the 4CC in Tallinn, Estonia. This is his first international competition in two years. The last time was at the 4CC in Korea with Yuzu and Jun.

I think that it would make the perfect drink coaster.

I have really loved the music, "Empire of Angels" by Thomas Bergersen, ever since I first saw this MAD by Abby Zhang when it came out in mid-2016. I have always wanted to see Yuzu skating to "Empire of Angels". Abby Zhang’s MAD has a number of memorable videos of Yuzu, like the sexy backward steps in the original Seimei, but there is one that may not be so well-known. It is of Yuzu practicing in front of Tracy at the Cricket Club. In the mirror behind Tracy, you can see the reflection of a number of juniors skating in a line all looking at Yuzu. It is a serendipitous occurrence, but it could not have been choreographed any better if it had been carefully planned by a Hollywood director.

It looks like tsunami warnings and advisories have been issued with respect to the islands of Tonga, the Pacific coast of Japan, the Pacific coast of the US from California to Alaska as well as the West Coast of Canada where I live. I am hopeful that people in all of the affected and potentially affected areas will be safe, but this is a reminder that the earth and all life is fragile and can totally change in a heartbeat.

Not crazy at all. It had the same effect on all satellites and Fanyus around the world. Yuzu really is our light.

Dmitriev a rival? Really? Don't make me laugh! @Umebachi I applaud your tact and diplomacy.

I love your story! I have posted my story of falling down the Yuzu rabbit hole numerous times before, but like you, it was serendipitous. I was not a figure skating fan. The last time I had watched a figure skating competition was probably (and I can’t be sure about this) “The Battle of the Brians” between Brian Orser and Brian Boitano at the 1988 Calgary Winter Games and that too was accidental rather than planned. As I have said before, I was channel surfing when I came across Yuzu and Parisienne Walkways… And, like so many others, my life changed. Before Yuzu, I had never been a fan of anyone. Others have told similar stories of fortuitously chancing upon Yuzu and this changing their lives. For example, Christina Valdez, the owner and director of the Crescendo Conservatory in Kansas City was on her way home from ballet classes with her daughter when her daughter insisted that she watch a Japanese figure skater scheduled to perform on TV that evening. When she watched Yuzu for the first time, he was performing his short program, Chopin Ballad No. 1. She was mesmerized and asked her daughter which ballet school he was from. She did not believe it when her daughter told her that he trained in Toronto and that it was not a ballet school. She thought that he was formally trained in ballet and was immediately enamored with Yuzu. You may have already read her story and seen the tribute ballet performances that she made honoring Yuzu such as “Notte Stellata”. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmzVx2P7TYM And the hour-long “Beauty, Ballet and Yuzuru Hanyu”. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCfgA9ldtOQ I have seen countless Japanese videos of Yuzu and how so many people personally attest to him changing their lives and giving them the inspiration, motivation and strength to deal with their lives and challenges.

Oh, there would be no contest on a technical debate regarding Yuzu's and Nathan's performances. Max would wipe the floor with them on an intelligent analysis of the performances, no question. The problem is that the US commentators would refuse to engage in such an intelligent technical analysis. They would turn a deaf ear to Max's thoughtful comments and shamelessly point to the scores awarded Yuzu at Japanese Nationals and the scores awarded Nathan at US Nationals. They would have the same mentality as the Americans who still firmly believe that Biden is not the lawfully elected President of the United States and that the election was stolen from Trump. They would just keep repeating the same old rhetoric, fake news and lies without engaging in any intelligent discourse. (This is just my opinion. My apologies to people I may have offended who believe that Trump actually won the election. I don't mean to start a political discussion here.) This is another example of how everything on Yuzu's side is built on truth, integrity and honour. Yuzu is the model of truth, integrity, honour, humility and respect. Max only points out the obvious truth. He is the most knowledgeable and honest figure skating analyst and he is calling it as he sees it. On the other hand, US Figure Skating, American commentators and media are the exact opposite. They don't care how their skaters win. The end justifies the means. This would not be such a one-sided buildup to the Beijing Games if the judges at Japanese Nationals scored Yuzu fairly, awarding him the grades of execution he deserves. I am not talking about over scoring Yuzu. If the JSF scored Yuzu objectively and fairly, his short program and free skate scores would have outpaced Nathan's ridiculously inflated scores. What US Figure Skating is doing with Nathan's scores is shameless. On the other hand, what the Japan Skating Federation is not doing to support Yuzu is shameful.