Yatagarasu

Up now, much closer to where we are today! Daisuke Takahashi of Japan skating to music from the motion picture La Strada by Nino Rota at the 2010 World Championships in Torino, Italy Of course we have to mention him! 2010 World champion, 2002 World Junior champion, 2012 Grand Prix Final champion, a 2-time Four Continents Champion (2008, 2011), 2-time winner of Winter Universiade (2005, 2007), 5-times national champion and of course, the 2010 Olympic bronze medalist, along with quite a few other medals that grace his display cabinets. We'll back up a little first. In the pre-Olympics season just before his first GP event, it had been announced that Takahashi was injured. It was his right knee (he had a torn ACL) and had to undergo surgery for it. He ended up with a bolt inserted into his right knee and an entire missed season. Come the Olympics, after taking his 4th national title he won the Olympic bronze, a first for a Japanese man in figure skating. But we're moving a little bit further in time, the Worlds right after it, in Torino, Italy. After the short program, he was sitting in first place and then this free skate happened. It was enough to win him the gold medal (Patrick Chan got silver) which was the first gold medal for Japan in the men's discipline and the first gold medal for an Asian man. It was also the competition where he attempted the 4F, though it was not ratified because it was two-footed and under-rotated. But it was a bold choice, to attempt it, and along with his expressiveness, skating skills ,musicality and a wonderful program choreographed by Pasquale Camerlengo, it won the day! Finally! Alternate Link 1 - Japanese commentary Alternate Link 2 - Italian commentary, RAI

Whoever it was should rethink their life choices

I honestly couldn't tell you, I'm sort of neutral on this one. The -3Lo combo has its drawbacks. Not just with the whole hips thing but the risk of doing it properly. So while it's an excellent BV boost, it's also a risk. I have no idea what Brian would think here, he sometimes tends to go with the safer option but then he might think it's still better than say fiddling with weird quad combos. And Yuzuru himself is obsessed with maximizing everything so it may have been his idea. So I'm sort of neutral. If he does end up doing it, maybe some day some journo will ask how it came about.

Go up. While the -2Lo does bring a small increase, when you check out the -3Lo you see the point. From 9.8 to 13.6. @Neenah yes, 1.5hr actually. Effective training =/= long hours. That is indeed old school, as @Sombreuil mentioned. It's been proven long ago that long hours mean diddly and only lead to overwork and burnout/injuries. Effective training can be much shorter, with greater benefits. That Raf thing sounds ... not good.

Who got him drunk?! *shifty eyes* No, seriously, I actually do think he respects Yuzuru and I think this has especially grown lately.

I thought this was a given? Hello 3A-3Lo, nice to meet your acquaintance. I blame @mcq for this, it got mentioned as an option so many times last season to raise the BV that somehow the universe whispered it into his ear and his delightful brain latched on to the increase. I mean it is a significant increase and I'm not doubting he can rotate this combo properly but goodness, his hips. *shifts in chair* But it is an excellent strategy no doubt and really goes well with what he mentioned, maximizing, attacking all the elements. And it maximizes our headaches, woo!

Reorganized the summary section for readability (also a shout out for beautiful SEIMEI 3F!). Magazine reports & longer broadcast specials that come out later will have their own posts with links added in this post for organization. Here you go folks, all in one, thanks to our @gladi Yuzuru Hanyu 2017-18 Media Day: Master Post

Hahaha yes yes they did. Have another!

So many questions about life choices, so little time ....

Google can be useful too. I couldn't find one particular costume I remember from Ilia Kulik but Googling - Ilia Kulik giraffe lead me right to it!

@ralucutzagy Oh you brought up Brian J right? Thank you

The legendary Alexei Urmanov ladies and gents!

I am being very careful now with this thread. Omg those ... those ... something I'll raise you an Elvis

He got rid of it later on in the season. I will forever question who thought that was a good idea because without it, it's a decent costume.

I am wedded to that playlist It's not just good for watching but whenever I search for something, I just find the year and voila, solved. BTW the 1tvdance Helsinki FS is gone. ISU, in their great wisdom and desire to popularize skating, filed a copyright on it. Because of course.

Ok found a decent pic of the obvious one I mentioned. Takahito Mura and The Thing

Insert media is working, so there's no rush really, whenever you have the time! And thank you!

I choked on my precious melon. I blame you for this

Watch all of them, in a row, starting from when he was a kid? Here, use this. It's perfection.

(thank you @ralucutzagy) I found the others 2006 2010

I don't want to start with the most obvious one, so here we have Nathalie Pechalat and Fabian Bourzat are one of my fave couples for this. 2006 Olys, 2010 ... but the toilet paper one is my fave. No idea why it won't embed, so - click

More translations - to this video. source

Yuzuru has done a Rippon before, on a 2T, so upping that to a 3T was probably, for him, not that difficult. But in actuality, a tano and a rippon have different consequences to how your body feels in the air during the jump so I think he'd probably not even try a tano. It's actually not as easy as people think. I am in love with the 3T Rippon though and more than anything it is because I can hear the salt trucks unloading by the dozens. Ahhh sweet, sweet sounds of salt pouring out.

Patience grasshopper, patience. It'll come! and no worries!

Found it! Just to clarify that was not Yuzuru's answer. His answer was the same as we saw on the previous page. It is the reporter who after that makes the conclusion of "it seems that his practice success rate is increasing, so perhaps depending on what his rivals do and how proficient they are, it may become a secret weapon in Pyeongchang". I was curious, thanks, because that'd be a major difference compared to his other answers.