KatjaThera

I think what Yuzu meant was that his goal was Pyeongchang and he achieved it. From now on, he'll just go with whatever he feels like doing, without committing to any long term goal. If he still feels like competing in 2022 and he feels ready for the challenge and competitive, he'll probably go. If not, not. His goals are now in different directions. I don't think comparing him to Patrick or Javi is very meaningful. Patrick was never committed to quads and technical development like Yuzu and that always influenced how far he was willing to go in terms of sacrificing his body, I think. On the other hand, Javi was, at one point, leading the field in number of quads in the FS and that, combined with all those Javi saves have probably affected his knees. I'm also not sure about their history of injuries. Yuzu, as we know, has an extensive history of injuries and, as this one proved, previous injuries can influence how new ones go. That's my main concern when it comes to how long he will continue. However, aiming for 4A, he will also aim to be as healthy as possible, because I don't think even he can do 4A on painkillers. So he might start being more careful - while in his aim for Pyeongchang, he was often reckless, because the sacrifices were worth it - and that might, in fact, extend his longevity. However, if he doesn't feel competitive and like he can keep up with the top skaters, he won't stick around. So it's really one day, one months, one competition, one season at a time, from now on, IMO. As for who will take over as most popular once he retires, honestly, I believe no one. No one has the star power that he has or the combination of qualities. Some have some, others have others, but nobody has the whole package that makes Yuzu as popular as he is. He's an anomaly for figure skating, IMO, and ISU & co. better not get used to it... But I think even when he retires, we'll still see A LOT of him, because he is more invested in FS than ever. It's obvious he wants to do more for FS than just compete and win medals. I don't think he'd be interested in joining the ISU, though, or take on political roles. I believe he's more likely to get involved in promoting skating, promoting research in skating, helping young skaters and so on. Commentating, maybe doing his own research, if he goes for a PhD, coaching or just mentoring/guiding, ice shows, charity ice shows, promo activities, skating classes etc. Maybe at some point ISU, but in the near future, I think. He's not the type to care about rules, I think, he just cares about skating.

I think he hasn't had any press today? So it could be they crammed most stuff up yesterday and the day before so he could go get his checkup today. If so, we'll likely hear something by the end of the week. I wonder if they want a medical certificate to justify the withdrawal and ensure no issues with Mura substituting? No idea if there are any rules regarding withdrawing... (I wonder if Patrick and Javi not being on the list counts as withdrawing or the federations just left them off the submitted lists... I should check the rules >_<)

I don't think it's really fair to expect the JCC questions to be very knowledgeable. From what I've noticed, it was in fact geared more towards general journalists, rather than FS journalists. And yes, they could do their research and explain the technicalities of figure skating, but they're target audience isn't the FS crowd. And if that target audience wanted to read objective explanations of FS technical stuff, they probably would have, but they don't really care. However, having the double Olympic Champion explain it in his words, from his point of view, is something else entirely and might appeal to the casual reader more. He's basically promoting FS to the non-fans, I don't think there's anything wrong with that. In fact, I hope he'll do more of it, because I really loved the way he spoke about it. However, I agree the timing wasn't the best. He had tons of media and something like this was a bit of a waste of his precious time, I guess. But out of context, I think it's a great thing. (One thing I dream about is that, especially after Yuzu retires as well, he and Javi can make a joint 'promoting FS' thing, and work on that, in Spain, but also other countries, to help young skaters in places without much FS history. While not as badly as Javi in Spain, Yuzu has his own experiences with limited resources growing up, so I think it'd be a great project for them.) The Japan press club is made up of people who, even if they're not very familiar with FS, they've heard and seen a lot more of him, so they're familiar at least with him, his popularity and the key words - quads, 4A, quints etc. I think both conferences had their good points and bad points, and in a way, the variety was probably good for him, too. If he always only did in depth interviews, it'd get tiring. That said, I still have to properly watch the Japan press club one.

Maybe that's his purpose lol Talk about quints - and 5A - so people will think 4A is mild and won't freak out at him training it lol

I didn't catch the last question, so will wait to re-watch the video - somehow - when I get home tonight, but that kind of fits... I think he went all out in practices and so on to just have fun and enjoy himself, because he knew it would be hard from now on. But until then, make the best of it, have fun with the other skaters, enjoy himself, be silly, be crazy and do everything he feels like doing, including crazy jumps and combinations... I hope it won't be as hard as he said, though... However, I still wouldn't be very surprised if he went to Worlds. But right now, I can imagine only two scenarios in which he'd go to Worlds. One is if by some miracle his ankle isn't that bad and doctors say he can be in good shape for that. Which is very unlikely. And the other is if the ankle is very bad and might even endanger next season, in which case, he might want to do one more event - especially if it won't make things much worse - and help Japan with the spots, as well. But most likely he will sit it out. But his overall demeanor seems... a bit darker today. Maybe he's coming off of the painkillers ^_^;

He pretty much said the same things: He won thanks to the support from people supporting him since he was a junior, or since Sochi, those who watched and those who didn't, that he received all their support and that he's happy to have made people happy. And that he doesn't know what will happen from now on, but that he aims to continue giving performances that make people happy. (From memory, so could be wrong ^_^; )

Honestly, a part of me believed there was a small chance he might want to bring it for the Olympics. The way he answered questions about it, refusing to say: "definitely not this season" made me wonder. Of course it was a great risk, but I expected something like... if all his rivals went squeaky clean and judges piled up PCS candy for them, then he might feel it's a do or die and take the risk of Nessie. And that training 4Lz and especially 4A had to do with having an ace up his sleeve if he needed it. Of course, this is fantasy, but it wouldn't surprise me if 4A is far more advanced than anyone believes. We'll see... (By now, I believe his actions more than his words lol)

Given how much ANA has done for him without asking much in return - very few CMs and promo activities for ANA, compared to others - I like to think Shirota is on his side and she's only repeating what he himself has said. Also, I'd like to remind everyone of "no, he's not doing 4Lz this season" last Summer and most people believing it wasn't ready and he wasn't training it that seriously. Yes, Brian said he's trained 4A in a harness, and Yuzu has said he hasn't landed it and doesn't have a clear image, but the truth is, we have no idea how much he's done it or what his success rate is. However, if he aims for 4A in competition next season, it would be humiliating for his sponsor to say: "Oh, no, we don't have any expectations, let alone 4A!" Also, she clearly said it depends on his condition. Now, they'll be in Japan in about an hour, then there'll be media... today or tomorrow the check-up and then we'll see. We'll definitely see more of him until June or so, I guess (press, ie shows maybe, talk events, parade etc.) Also, the new book comes out on Thursday, so that'll be interesting...

Found it:

It's Boyang. There was a video posted somewhere. After that Yuzu pulled his jacket over his head, so they'd both be 'hooded' ^_^;

Oh the extra one is so fluffy! They're both great!

Also, for gala viewing, TV Tokyo (#006 on Fujitv) is scheduled to start broadcasting at 9am JST, until almost 1pm.

Now I wish Yuzu would win 11 gold medals, just to see him lift 10 fingers and a toe... maybe that's why he wears toe socks!

Random, but while I was checking Japanese TV for practice footage I found that BS-TBS (020 in Fujitv) is showing the second Onmyouji movie. If anyone feels like watching ^_^

It seems I missed Yuzu... but it's good to know he's still crazy lol

Oh, I didn't notice ^_^; That's good then!

Won't he be tired? If he flies this afternoon, he'll arrive tomorrow morning Korea time, I think... (or maybe we'll get cute sleepy Javi with cute hyper Yuzu lol)

I'm not sure it'd make much sense for Yuna to say it, since she wasn't skating this time around. But I am a little surprised, I did think they might have her as special guest. Then again, is she still publicly active? I guess she might be in Korea, but she never does ice shows outside of Korea, does she?

I think that's not entirely fair. He was by far the fastest, but I'm not sure figure skating skates are supposed to be used like that, at that speed (don't speed skaters have different types of skates?) So with proper equipment, against the others, in proper equipment, I'm pretty sure he'd win easily

LOL it would be adorable, though But yes, I guess Virtue/Moir or Misha or maybe even Javi could do it. I have no idea if there's any criteria for this... I remember I was surprised Patrick did it in Sochi, when I saw that, because it seemed random, but then I assumed it was because he did it in English and French. I have no actual idea, though...

OT, the after effects of a gold medal: https://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/k293412155 That's a framed, autographed picture that I'm guessing was part of a promo/contest by Ghana, and there are only 20 of them. It's currently at 600,000yen. That's about 5600USD. Or 4500EUR.

Honestly, I like Javi as the last of the second half. Gives him the second biggest spotlight after Yuzu, IMO. Him being a great performer probably weighed in the decision, too... I'm a bit at there being more ice dance and pairs than singles... I get that they wanted to include the Korean athletes, but still... (Then again, it means Valentina/Ondrej are there, so I can't really complain...) Or maybe after Nathan pulled out - if he did - they decided to keep it to just 5 ladies as well, for balance. (They should have invited Adam and Kaori instead :P) I wonder who will give the thanks from the athletes... Misha might make sense from a multiple languages POV, but otherwise, I guess it should be Yuzu?

No Nathan in the gala... Also, no Kaori. Seems they went with just 5 of each, men and ladies...

Pairs Gold was last. He was right before them. And Patrick gave a brief statement from the athletes... I had forgotten that. Wonder if that will happen again. ETA: The link doesn't work for me... maybe they realized it wasn't supposed to be public info ^_^;

I'm also wondering about Shoma and Junhwan... it could be the angle, but they look very close lol