micaelis

OK, here are a couple thoughts. First, the Tokyo Olympics. Right now it appears that Kohei Ichimuru is going to compete this year, although in a limited way. If he weren't competing he would be, in my estimation, the most logical candidate to light the cauldron in the opening ceremony. So, they need someone to light the cauldron, preferably a someone with a very high profile. Well, Yuzuru Hanyu has the highest profile of any athlete in any sport in Japan, and is probably the only Japanese athlete whose profile spreads way beyond Japan. With the games having been postponed and now being held in a sea of controversy for going ahead during a pandemic, they need a true headliner. Yuzu would qualify. The only problem - he's still an active athlete. They'd have to bite the bullet on that and risk controversy there. The thing is that if Yuzu's profile in Japan was simply that of an extremely successful figure skater the negatives would outweigh the positives. But Yuzu's involvement with post-3/11 rebuilding efforts makes him far more than simply a figure skater. He is, after all, a recipient of the Peoples' Honor Award, which officially was for his two consecutive Olympic golds but I am also convinced that his outreach activities for earthquake survivors also played a role in choosing him. We'll have to wait and see. Now the second, Yuzu and underscoring on his skates and overscoring on Nate's skates. I think that is something that will not be an issue this upcoming season. The reason is that Yuzu's pursuit of a third consecutive Olympic gold medal is going to be the major story arc in all winter sports this upcoming season. It will eclipse the Yuzu vs Nathan rivalry. Add also the possibility of Yuzu landing the fabled 4A and you can be sure that outside the United States Yuzu's double quest of a third gold and a 4A will be the major topic amongst the media commentators and if there is any bias in the scoring of him and Nathan, they will raise the issue. They don't want any judging bias to spoil their narrative of Yuzu skating towards figure-skating history glory. In every competition he is in he will be the dominant story and the commentators (except for the Americans) will be on his side. We do have to remember that Yuzu has very vocal fan bases in lands far beyond Japan. The ISU and its judges will be on trial this upcoming season. So, that's it. Just some thoughts on a couple issues that have me thinking in recent weeks. I think the concern with judging bias that has been so much an issue recently in this forum has failed to take into account the necessity of their being some sort of story to have to bring TV viewers to the figure-skating broadcasts, not just figure-skating viewers but sports viewers in general. I remember back in 1972 when Secretariat was looking to be the first horse-racing triple crown winner in over two decades and how after his Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes wins the eyes of Americans well beyond the horse-racing fans were on the Belmont Stakes. They weren't disappointed. Concerns about Secretariats ability to handle the length of the Belmont track were proved groundless when Secretariat won with a time that shaved more than two seconds of the track and world-distance records, prompting the commentator to say that that was a record that would likely last forever. The results of Secretariat's win that he was featured on the covers of Time, Newsweek and Sports Illustrated celebrating the victory. Just remember this, figure-skating, like any sport, when being broadcast requires some issue to bring people to tune in. Lots of people means high ratings and high ratings mean top advertising dollars and Yuzu's pursuit of glory this coming season means those dollars will be underwriting the competitions he's in. Just remember that it's all in the money and this season the money will be following Yuzu's quest and not his rivalry with Nathan. The judges will know that they are under the microscope and on trial this season. I'd rest easy if I were you. Just remember that the viewer ratings for Secretariat's Belmont run were the highest in history at that time for horse-racing. They'll be the same for Yuzu's quest and because of that the advertising dollars will be following and because of that the judges will behave.

We can only dream, but sometimes dreams do come true.

My dream scenario - It's Beijing 2022, the men's free skate. Yuzuru Hanyu had wowed the audience with a revived and updated version of Parisienne Walkways, getting a high, but not record score to put him in first place heading into the free. Nathan Chen had skated extremely well and was now seen as the likely taker of the gold, if he skates as well in his free. Yuzu is the last to skate but he has surprised everyone by forsaking the program he had been skating through the season and is instead using Masquerade for his free skate, lengthened slightly and augmented with additional jumps, going with Masquerade because it is the most intense program he's ever skated. He starts up well and it comes to his first jump. Out of a counter he jumps, landing it precisely when the music thunders out. Nobody hears the music after that for a while as the audience grasps what they had not expected. Nessie is born and Nathan says goodbye to his hopes for gold. The rest becomes history as Yuzu racks up a perfect 100 for his component score and then in the interview afterward he announces his retirement. Going out in a blaze of glory. It can't get much better than that.

I think Brian's relationship to Yuzu began to seriously evolve back in the 2013/14 season when Yuzu totally took over men's figure skating (GPF gold, Olympic gold, WC gold) but it really needed realignment in those two weeks late in 2015 when Yuzu captured the men's record books and began to seriously look like the GOAT. After that, I think, Brian has not so much been an instructor but an adviser, someone Yuzu can turn to when he needs objective judgment from another. Since that time Yuzu will turn to Brian when he needs help in figuring out something but it is Yuzu who is in charge of the direction he is going. Once international borders are reopened I think Yuzu will remain in Japan but journey to Toronto at times to review things with Brian and company, listen to their comments, weigh them and act on those suggestions he feels are feasible in moving him forward. That is one thing we have to remember about Yuzu. He never wants to stay where he is, he always wants to move forward even if it involves taking risks in competition. That's the mark of not only a true champion but a true GOAT.

I just finished watching the Stars on Ice Hachinohe show and I was absolutely mesmerized by Yuzuru's Blinded by the Light skate with barely audible sound (and that not the song of his program's title). I would say that during the six minutes of that extraordinary piece of ice-skating wizardry there was not a single pair of eyes in that arena not focused on Yuzu. And guess what? No jumps!! Top that, Nathan!

In regard to Yuzu's thesis we can probably hope to see it in English translation sometime soon, that is, if Yuzu wants it to be published in an international scientific journal. Why do I say translation is probably on its way? It's that English is the required language for international scientific writing (Centuries ago it was Latin). The reason? Basically beyond those who are native English speakers English is the most widespread second language. It has become the universal language for international commerce and increasingly it is the universal language for academic discourse. I'm sure Yuzu would like his thesis to be available to non-Japanese so that's the reason I'm saying an English version should be forthcoming. As for its possible dangers to the ISU and Yuzu's long-term plans, well, I think we got a sample of that with the recent Stars on Ice. I have a strong feeling that Yuzu is one of those who was central in getting this year's show organized. The lighting was more elaborate and the length of his solo indicates that he was seeking to alter the nature of ice shows, at least in comparison to the canceled Fantasy on Ice, which essentially is a collection of skaters doing their gala programs. I think Yuzu is planning to produce ice shows that have internal cohesion and exploit possibilities in skating that go beyond what is seen in international competition today. Ultimately I can see Yuzu, along with other prominent skaters both past and present, spearheading the formation of a new figure skater's union to stand against the ISU and its blatant manipulations. I'm reminded of what happened in the early days of Hollywood when a number of leading performers in film, protesting against the practices of many of the studios, broke away and formed their own studio, called United Artists. They had the high profiles that made it possible. If Yuzu were to gather about him a number of other prominent skaters to form a skating union I think it could work. He has the ability to visualize far into the future, as we saw when well before he even began to skate intensively in competition, Yuzu declared that he was going after TWO Olympic golds. He did just that, as we all well know. I know this might seem to be mere fantasizing but we must remember that one of the reasons Yuzu is what he is is because he has the ability to think outside the box. That ability we see in practice right now when we look at Yuzu's apparent priorities being the attainment of the holy 4A rather than the winning of a third Olympic gold. That very attitude itself must frighten the ISU because it essentially says he doesn't need competitions around which to structure his career. Yuzu is not interested in winning these days, he's just interested in skating.

I wouldn't put too many of your hopes in ice shows for the debut or development of Nessie. Fantasy on Ice this summer is canceled (which means almost everything else will cancel). What I do think, however, is that Yuzu has whittled down his ideas of what to do next. 4A is next. Everything else is incidental, even a 3rd consecutive Olympic gold although if he achieves that he will absolutely cement his status as Greatest of All Time. Even now I would say that the majority of figure-skating commentators give him that title. The 4A is the Holy Grail of figure skating although the notions of 5anything also are up there, but the 4A stands supreme because nobody has done it and except for Yuzu nobody seems to be putting serious effort into achieving it, thinking it's impossible or right now not worth the effort. Yuzu is making the effort and if he succeeds he'll do what he has before - raise the bar. If Yuzu achieves a 4A then everyone's attention will be on 5's, whether toes, salchows or whatever. Yuzu, if he is continuing in competition might just go ahead and decide he wants to do a 5A (don't take me seriously here). In any case a Yuzu threepeat in Beijing plus a 4A will mean that men's figure skating since the 2013/14 season will be deemed the age or Hanyu. Not even Nathan with all his aerial acrobatics, can claim that. Yuzu for the last decade has been the individual all the other male skaters have been training to surpass, Nathan included. Some have, of course, but right now I would be willing to bet that all upcoming skaters are still training to beat Yuzu, even though he's lost some in the last couple years. It all boils down to this comment made by Johnny Weir (before he bought into the Nathan storyline) that "Nobody can beat a PERFECT Yuzuru Hanyu." That was true back when Yuzu rewrote the record book back in 2015 and remains so today. A perfect Yuzuru Hanyu remains the joker in the deck when looking to see how male skating competitions might turn out.

Is it my imagination but I recently saw a video of Yuzu at age seventeen. I know it's more or less impossible, but it seems to me he's gotten better-looking in the few years between then and now. His face has filled out and his physique has lost its adolescent gangliness. What do you think?

My memory might be misleading me but didn't Yuzu say when he was finally back on the ice after the infamous fall seen around the world that he had worked up to a double axel but just couldn't get the triple axel until he essentially made himself forget how to do a double axel and then the triple axel, well stored in his muscle memory, came back as clean as usual. In the case now under discussion it might be that he should forget everything he knows about triple axels and see what develops. A suggestion might be that he try going back to a double axel, something he hasn't routinely done in years, and see if he can go directly from that to a 4A and forget about the 3A.

I seriously wonder how much disinformation we are getting from Yuzu. Not that he's lying but putting a different spin on things. I just can't imagine that he's tried the 4A a thousand times and never landed it. I think it's fairly likely he is landing them but not perfectly. Until his 4As are competition-ready he's not saying he's doing them. We have to know Yuzu and I think most of us will agree that Yuzu never says he's capable of doing something until he's capable of doing something perfectly.

Pardon my omission. In spinning my vision of Beijing and Yuzu next year I neglected to mention the omnipresent 4A. The most dramatic way for him to reveal it would be in the long program at Beijing. A successful accomplishment there would make it impossible for the judges to hold back the points. The 4A is the Holy Grail of figures-skating. If Yuzu debuts and lands a successful 4A in Beijing the judges would risk getting lynched if they don't hand him the gold.

I've been thinking quite a bit about next year in Beijing. The first thing is that Yuzu's pursuit of a third consecutive gold medal will be THE big story of that Olympics, since the last time it happened was nearly a century ago. Second, because of that Yuzu will be the sentimental favorite, meaning that there will be far more people HOPING he'll win than those hoping someone else will. Assuming that most will see the competition as being between Nathan and Yuzu, except for the American media, the spin around most of the rest of the world will see Nathan as the evil usurper. I hope that Nathan is ready to handle that sort of flak. Even the American media will be somewhat restrained in their support of Nathan, however, because they won't want to be seen as on the side of evil and wanting to rain on Yuzu's parade. Finally, the judges will be extra-extra-extra careful in their judging both skaters because they will be under a microscope and will not desire to be seen as possibly biasing the results because of inaccurate judging. Finally, what will happen if Yuzu takes gold a third time. At that point even the most anti-Yuzu fans will have to accept the fact that that third gold makes Yuzu without a doubt the Greatest of All Time. And then he retires.

In all this talk about how responsible was Brian for Yuzu's success one major element has been overlooked and that's Javier Fernandez. Yuzu acknowledged how much Javi had helped him over the years and we should acknowledge that. I don't think we should underestimate Javi's (unintended) role in making Yuzu the skater he was. Having another world class skater training with him was certainly a means by which Yuzu's own skills could improve. The two, both guided by Brian, were able to feed off each other in their development as skaters. If Brian was the cake, Javi was the icing.

Seeing this again reminds of just why POTO is my favorite Yuzu program and his 2nd POTO costume my favorite Yuzu costume. If he decides to recycle a program for Beijing I would strongly recommend this, although I think he might consider my 2nd favorite Yuzu program, Masquerade, as an alternative. Either way, both would work as the program in which he could introduce Nessie to the world.

Just a little thought I had: Shoma is cute. Daisuke is handsome. Yuzu is beautiful. 'Nough said.

His greatest triumph? I don't think it's going to come during his competitive career. I really think it's going to come when he starts producing ice shows that become the gold standard of ice shows. We know he has the creativity but I think also he has the charisma that is needed when such enterprises are undertaken, the charisma and leadership qualities to bring together groups of artists all with egos and being able to unite them with a common vision. If he does accomplish that then he will have a troupe that can tour internationally and his ideas of what skating should be can be disseminated wherever he goes.

OK, where can or should Yuzu go next season?. The first thing we must all remember is will he even DO the Grand Prix. He sat out this last one. Which ones will he do if he does? All of the Grand Prix countries will want him because if spectators are being allowed the ones he is in will be guaranteed sellouts. Remember also that if he is competing next season he will be the men's skating big topic. Yuzu versus Nathan will take second billing because it's been a century since the Olympics men has had a chance for a threepeat and that will be the narrative in Beijing. Will Yuzu get his third gold? The American media, especially NBC, will try to keep the focus on Nathan/Yuzu but beyond the American borders Nathan will be small potatoes. The one thing that will be involved between him and Yuzu will be the question of whether he can 'steal' the gold from Yuzu. Nathan will have to deal with the fact that he is likely to be the 'villain' of the piece. Again, except for the US a Nathan victory will be largely a negative story elsewhere. Nathan will be skating in an atmosphere more negative for him than anything he has encountered thus far. It will have a psychological effect and what that effect is we won't know until we see the results of his skating. Incidentally I do think it very possible Yuzu might not do the GP series although what the repercussions for Japan might be should he abstain I don't know about. Why stay out? Not simply because of what that Covid situation might be then but also it minimizes his potential for injury. He might just want to do Japanese nationals and maybe 4CC before heading to Beijing. One other thought: It's going to be difficult for the ISU judges to overscore Nathan and underscore Yuzu since they do not want to be depicted as the reason Yuzu didn't triumph. We have to remember that Yuzu is the most popular skater out there and most likely the most popular skater ever. It's not just his fans in Japan. It's like one commentator said that for Yuzu every competition is a home event. I know the commentators always talk about the Japanese following Yuzu around the world, but there are legions of non-Japanese doing the same thing. As a result Yuzu's pursuit of a third gold will be one in which the ISU will not want to be seen as 'raining on his parade'. The judges next season will be under a microscope.

I have to fully agree with you here. I also think Yuzu might be slightly altering his sentiments regarding Beijing. I think he wants the gold (who wouldn't?) but I think another factor has entered. Has anyone noticed that three of the top four men were Japanese? As important as a gold is for Yuzu I think might be the thought that he could contribute to a Japanese dream - sweeping the podium at Beijing. Right now it appears that Japan has a figure-skating 'dream team'. If they can all three peak at the same time next year, and that peak just happens to be at the Winter Olympics and is enough to medal, the three will return to Japan to a rapturous reception. Yuzu, if he gets gold, will have his third triumphant parade in Sendai but I think it quite possible the three together might have a parade in Tokyo. When you consider that Yuzu was the first Japanese male to get the gold in the men's event in Sochi, three Japanese on the podium will indicate that Japanese figure-skating in the men's department has risen exponentially during the Yuzu years and Yuzu is probably the reason why. He has become an inspiration to all up-and-coming male skaters in Japan. Indeed, the inspiration involves more than just the skating. Did anyone notice how 'Yuzuish' Yuma's costume is. All in all I am sad that Yuzu did not triumph but the sun does not rise or set based on how Yuzu does. He doesn't appear overly affected by the results in Stockholm. Indeed I think he is probably putting the 20/21 season behind him. First priority for him, at the moment, is probably getting himself and his mom back to Toronto. The anti-virus bubbles that were in place in Stockholm might be enough to allow Yuzu back into Canada. We can only hope. I do know one thing while seeing things in Stockholm and that is how wonderful it was to have Yuzu and Brian back together. Let's hope that circumstances will work out to let their togetherness continue. PS - those wondering what Yuzu will do after retirement I'd put my money on producing ice shows. That is the best means Yuzu will have to influence the course of figure-skating.

I know this should be in the competition thread but this is short and very too-the-point. What is? The great fear Nathan has, a fear that despite all his preparations and assumptions Yuzu might completely remake the competition by debuting Nessie. Actually I'm serious. I think every skater vying for podium positions after this long pandemic-driven almost competition-free season is wondering if and when Yuzu might go for the nuclear-option and land the dreaded (by all except Yuzu) quad axel.

I hope everyone here is not panicking over the recent quake off Miyagi. It was JUST a 7.0. I know you might be wondering about 'just' but you have to remember that the moment-magnitude scale used to measure seismic intensity is logarithmic, meaning that a 9.0 quake (3/11) is 100 times the strength of a 7.0.hg. As far as Yuzu being present I presume he's already departed Japan, possibly several days ago in order to recover from jet lag and to deal with any quarantining regulations (although if he was smart about it, he'd have cycled into Stockholm time well before departing). As for his vulnerability to the virus while there I would imagine he is using a medical grade mask, the sort worn by doctors and nurses during surgical operations. That plus social distancing should pretty well do the job. [admin edit: speculation]

I think many of us are overlooking one thing when thinking about danger to Yuzu in Stockholm and that is unlike last year vaccines are available and have been for some time. Japan got started late in vaccinating its people, giving priority to front line workers to receive it. I have a feeling that the Japanese skaters and their support staff were probably also given the vaccine seeing as how Japan's numbers in Beijing are dependent on the showing at Worlds this year. As such, if Yuzu is vaccinated and he continues to mask himself along with those around him it should be quite safe for him to go to Stockholm. In fact the fact that he's been vaccinated along with his mother might make it possible to return to Toronto after Stockholm. All this, of course, is speculation on my part but I think when regarding Yuzu in Stockholm we should take into account the possible immunity he might have.

I think it means as sites for world championships.

The day is coming, exactly four weeks from today and we have the 10th anniversary of what Yuzu calls the most traumatic day in his life, the great earthquake and tsunami. I'm sure in Japan there are going to be many commemorative events that day and Yuzu will almost certainly be participating, given the history of his involvement with the recovery efforts there. With Worlds just a few weeks later I think the mental pressures on Yuzu must be ever-increasing in intensity. We all should keep these things in mind in the coming days. Also, exactly one year from now we will be in the middle of Beijing 2022 and there is a good chance by that time we will know whether Yuzu has won his third Olympic gold or not (depending on when the figure-skating is scheduled). I know that for so long Beijing seemed like a distant vision but realize that for Beijing 2022 we are now in the final countdown.

I posted on this topic before but I'll repeat. My feeling is that if he is not competing Kohei Uchimura, Japan's super-gymnast, will light the cauldron. If the torch relay takes place I fully expect Yuzu will be one of those who carries it in Sendai, most fittingly the route should take him past Ice Rink Sendai. Even if he does carry the torch in the relay I would not be surprised if he is the last to carry the torch in the opening ceremony, handing it then to Kohei, thus having Japan's greatest winter athlete handing it over to Japan's greatest summer athlete, winter giving way to summer. The symbolism would be most fitting since the last two times the Olympics were in Japan, they were both winter games.

In a novel I have been writing the main character who is a very young world class ballet dancer, expresses his goal as a performer - He gestures with his hand sweeping down his body from head to toe - "I want to make my body sing". That perfectly describes Yuzu's pursuit of perfection.