[2022.07.19] Yuzuru Hanyu Press Conference - Transition to Professional Figure Skating

[yuzurujenn]

Compilation of articles & interviews relating to his 'Statement of Determination' press conference held on 19 July 2022, announcing his transition to professional figure skating.

[yuzurujenn]

2022.07.19

 

Source: https://hochi.news/articles/20220719-OHT1T51137.html?page=1

Archived: https://web.archive.org/web/20220719083113/https://hochi.news/articles/20220719-OHT1T51137.html?page=1

 

Yuzuru Hanyu announces his intention to retire from frontline skating: "I have decided to continue skating as a professional athlete"

 

Spoiler

Yuzuru Hanyu (ANA), the back-to-back Olympic champion in men's figure skating, held a press conference in Tokyo on the 19th and announced his intention to retire from the front line. It was the first time in 149 days since the exhibition at the Beijing Olympics on February 20th that Hanyu spoke publicly. He appeared in a suit and bowed deeply. "I have decided to continue skating as a professional athlete," he said.

 

Hanyu, a native of Sendai City, overcame the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake to win consecutive Olympic gold medals in Sochi in 2014 and PyeongChang in 2018. He was the first Winter Olympic gold medalist to receive the People's Honor Award. At the Beijing Olympics, where he was aiming for a third consecutive victory, he attempted the unprecedented quad axel (four and a half rotation jump) in the free program, but fell, and was the first in the world to be recognized by the International Skating Union. Despite an injury to his right ankle, he did not hesitate to attempt the big dream move, making history again at the Olympics. He missed the World Championships in March due to a sprained right ankle.

 

Hanyu made his senior debut in the 2010-2011 season, and won the Grand Prix Final four times in a row from 2013 to 2016. He won a total of seven medals at the World Championships, including victories in 2014 and 2017. At the Olympic Games, he won in Sochi in 2014 and Pyeongchang in 2018, becoming the first skater to win consecutive titles in 66 years.

 

A press release sent to media outlets in advance stated, "We will hold a press conference as a place for Yuzuru Hanyu to express his determination." At the ice show "Fantasy on Ice" in May, Hanyu's skating had also evolved as an artist, but at the time, he was not available for interviews. At the Beijing Olympics, he said, "It doesn't matter whether it's a competition or an ice show," and "I hope to continue to cherish and perfect figure skating, which I love, as Yuzuru Hanyu."

 

 

Source: https://hochi.news/articles/20220719-OHT1T51147.html?page=1

Archived: https://web.archive.org/web/20250114071519/https://hochi.news/articles/20220719-OHT1T51147.html?page=1

 

[Yuzuru Hanyu press conference] "I will continue skating as a professional athlete"... Announces his intention to retire from competitive skating

 

Spoiler

Yuzuru Hanyu (ANA), the two-time Olympic champion in men's figure skating, held a press conference in Tokyo on the 19th and announced his intention to retire from frontline competition.

 

　At the beginning of the press conference, he said, "I have been able to work hard up to this point thanks to all of your support. I am truly happy to be able to fulfill my figure skating career as Hanyu Yuzuru, with the power of all of your support. I have decided to continue skating as a professional athlete."

 

　Hanyu, a native of Sendai City, overcame the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011 to win two consecutive Olympic gold medals at the Sochi Olympics in 2014 and the PyeongChang Olympics in 2018. He was the first Winter Olympic gold medalist to receive the People's Honor Award. At the Beijing Olympics, where he was aiming for a third consecutive victory, he attempted the unprecedented quad axel (four and a half rotation jump) in the free program, but fell, and was the first in the world to be recognized by the International Skating Union. Despite an injury to his right ankle, he did not hesitate to attempt the big dream move, making history again at the Olympics. He missed the World Championships in March due to a sprained right ankle.

 

　Hanyu made his senior debut in the 2010-2011 season, and won the Grand Prix Final four times in a row from 2013 to 2016. He won a total of seven medals at the World Championships, including victories in 2014 and 2017. At the Olympic Games, he won in Sochi in 2014 and Pyeongchang in 2018, becoming the first skater to win consecutive titles in 66 years.

 

　A press release sent to media outlets in advance stated, "We will hold a press conference as a place for Yuzuru Hanyu to express his determination." At the ice show "Fantasy on Ice" in May, Hanyu's skating had also evolved as an artist, but at the time, he was not available for interviews. At the Beijing Olympics, he said, "It doesn't matter whether it's a competition or an ice show," and "I hope to continue to cherish and perfect figure skating, which I love, as Yuzuru Hanyu."

 

 

Source: https://hochi.news/articles/20220719-OHT1T51148.html?page=1

Archived: https://web.archive.org/web/20250114071736/https://hochi.news/articles/20220719-OHT1T51148.html?page=1

 

[Yuzuru Hanyu press conference] The challenge of the quadruple axel continues "while pursuing my ideal"... Intention to retire from frontline competition

 

Spoiler

Yuzuru Hanyu (ANA), the back-to-back Olympic champion in men's figure skating, held a press conference in Tokyo on the 19th and announced his intention to retire from the front line. He will no longer compete in competitions and will pursue his career as a professional athlete.

 

　In his opening remarks at the press conference, Hanyu expressed his gratitude, saying, "I would like to thank all the teachers who have helped me grow as Yuzuru Hanyu and as a person, and all the teachers who have taught me figure skating. I would like to thank all the people who have cared about me."

 

　He also made a famous statement that he will continue to challenge himself to succeed in the quadruple axel: "I will continue to challenge myself, including the quadruple 1/2 jump, and aim for a higher stage. As a professional athlete, I will do my best in pursuit of Yuzuru Hanyu's ideals. I will continue to work even harder in the future."

 

　Hanyu, a native of Sendai City, overcame the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011 to win two consecutive Olympic gold medals at the Sochi Olympics in 2014 and the PyeongChang Olympics in 2018. He was the first Winter Olympic gold medalist to receive the People's Honor Award. At the Beijing Olympics, where he was aiming for a third consecutive victory, he attempted the unprecedented quad axel (four and a half rotation jump) in the free program, but fell, and was the first in the world to be recognized by the International Skating Union. Despite an injury to his right ankle, he did not hesitate to attempt the big dream move, making history again at the Olympics. He missed the World Championships in March due to a sprained right ankle.

 

　Hanyu made his senior debut in the 2010-2011 season, and won the Grand Prix Final four times in a row from 2013 to 2016. He won a total of seven medals at the World Championships, including victories in 2014 and 2017. At the Olympic Games, he won in Sochi in 2014 and Pyeongchang in 2018, becoming the first skater to win consecutive titles in 66 years.

 

 

Source: https://hochi.news/articles/20220719-OHT1T51150.html?page=1

Archived: https://web.archive.org/web/20230603212411/https://hochi.news/articles/20220719-OHT1T51150.html?page=1

 

[Yuzuru Hanyu press conference] "I got what I needed out of this result" "I had thought about retiring after the Pyeongchang Olympics"

 

Spoiler

Yuzuru Hanyu (ANA), the back-to-back Olympic gold medalist in men's figure skating, held a press conference in Tokyo on the 19th and announced his intention to retire from the front line. He will no longer compete in competitions, but will pursue a new path as a professional.

 

　When asked how he arrived at this decision, Hanyu said, "I have no intention of competing in any more competitions. I have already achieved everything I needed to in terms of competitions and results. I also feel like I no longer seek recognition for that. I was wavering, but from the beginning I had decided to retire after the Pyeongchang Olympics."

 

　Even though she will no longer be competing in competitions, she will continue to challenge herself as a professional with the quad axel (four and a half rotation jump). "I think, 'I don't have to land it in competitions,'" she said. "I believe I can pursue my ideal figure skating even outside of competitions. That's the decision I've made."

 

　Hanyu, a native of Sendai City, overcame the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011 to win two consecutive Olympic gold medals at the Sochi Olympics in 2014 and the PyeongChang Olympics in 2018. He was the first Winter Olympic gold medalist to receive the People's Honor Award. At the Beijing Olympics, where he was aiming for a third consecutive victory, he attempted the unprecedented quad axel (four and a half rotation jump) in the free program, but fell, and was the first in the world to be recognized by the International Skating Union. Despite an injury to his right ankle, he did not hesitate to attempt the big dream move, making history again at the Olympics. He missed the World Championships in March due to a sprained right ankle.

 

　Hanyu made his senior debut in the 2010-2011 season, and won the Grand Prix Final four times in a row from 2013 to 2016. He won a total of seven medals at the World Championships, including victories in 2014 and 2017. At the Olympic Games, he won in Sochi in 2014 and Pyeongchang in 2018, becoming the first skater to win consecutive titles in 66 years.

 

 

Source: https://hochi.news/articles/20220719-OHT1T51155.html?page=1

Archived: https://web.archive.org/web/20250114071944/https://hochi.news/articles/20220719-OHT1T51155.html?page=1

 

[Yuzuru Hanyu press conference] Final decision to be made after Beijing Olympics: "I don't think I need to stay on this stage forever"

 

Spoiler

Yuzuru Hanyu (ANA), the consecutive Olympic champion in men's figure skating, held a press conference in Tokyo on the 19th and announced his intention to retire from the front line. From now on, he will walk a new path as a professional.

 

　Regarding his decision, he said, "I didn't feel like my career as an athlete ended here, but there were many times when I wanted to turn professional." He continued, "I thought about when to turn professional after every match. After the Pyeongchang Olympics, I really thought about a lot of things after each match. As a result, the final decision came when I came back after the Beijing Olympics and was recovering my ankle, and when I thought about a lot of things, I thought, 'Maybe I don't need to stay on this stage forever.' I wanted to become stronger. I wanted to make it a stage where I could properly convey to everyone how hard I had worked."

 

　Hanyu, a native of Sendai City, overcame the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011 to win two consecutive Olympic gold medals at the Sochi Olympics in 2014 and the PyeongChang Olympics in 2018. He was the first Winter Olympic gold medalist to receive the People's Honor Award. At the Beijing Olympics, where he was aiming for a third consecutive victory, he attempted the unprecedented quad axel (four and a half rotation jump) in the free program, but fell, and was the first in the world to be recognized by the International Skating Union. Despite an injury to his right ankle, he did not hesitate to attempt the big dream move, making history again at the Olympics. He missed the World Championships in March due to a sprained right ankle.

 

　Hanyu made his senior debut in the 2010-2011 season, and won the Grand Prix Final four times in a row from 2013 to 2016. He won a total of seven medals at the World Championships, including victories in 2014 and 2017. At the Olympic Games, he won in Sochi in 2014 and Pyeongchang in 2018, becoming the first skater to win consecutive titles in 66 years.

 

 

Source: https://hochi.news/articles/20220719-OHT1T51158.html?page=1

Archived: https://web.archive.org/web/20220719145518/https://hochi.news/articles/20220719-OHT1T51158.html?page=1

 

[Yuzuru Hanyu press conference] "I will put all my energy and all my focus into my new path as a professional," "I might make myself even more nervous"

 

Spoiler

Yuzuru Hanyu (ANA), the consecutive Olympic champion in men's figure skating, held a press conference in Tokyo on the 19th and announced his intention to retire from the front line. From now on, he will walk a new path as a professional.

 

　When asked by the press if she would ever miss the tension of competitions in the future, she answered definitively, "Absolutely not." She continued, "That is because I want to do things in my future activities that will definitely allow people to experience the tension of competitions. I want to skate in a way that makes people tense up every time, so that they don't feel like they can relax because they're no longer competitors, but that they can experience the tension that comes from giving it their all. In fact, I might make them even more nervous. I want to put all my energy and all my nerves into each and every performance."

 

　Hanyu, a native of Sendai City, overcame the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011 to win two consecutive Olympic gold medals at the Sochi Olympics in 2014 and the PyeongChang Olympics in 2018. He was the first Winter Olympic gold medalist to receive the People's Honor Award. At the Beijing Olympics, where he was aiming for a third consecutive victory, he attempted the unprecedented quad axel (four and a half rotation jump) in the free program, but fell, and was the first in the world to be recognized by the International Skating Union. Despite an injury to his right ankle, he did not hesitate to attempt the big dream move, making history again at the Olympics. He missed the World Championships in March due to a sprained right ankle.

 

　Hanyu made his senior debut in the 2010-2011 season, and won the Grand Prix Final four times in a row from 2013 to 2016. He won a total of seven medals at the World Championships, including victories in 2014 and 2017. At the Olympic Games, he won in Sochi in 2014 and Pyeongchang in 2018, becoming the first skater to win consecutive titles in 66 years.

 

 

Source: https://hochi.news/articles/20220719-OHT1T51162.html?page=1

Archived: https://web.archive.org/web/20220719094643/https://hochi.news/articles/20220719-OHT1T51162.html?page=1

 

[Yuzuru Hanyu press conference] "Yuzuru Hanyu is always a burden to me"... He reveals his honest thoughts on his journey as the absolute champion

 

Spoiler

Yuzuru Hanyu (ANA), the consecutive Olympic champion in men's figure skating, held a press conference in Tokyo on the 19th and announced his intention to retire from the front line. From now on, he will walk a new path as a professional.

 

　Looking back on his journey as an absolute champion, when asked by the press "Hanyu Yuzuru, have you ever had any difficulties living as Hanyu Yuzuru?", Hanyu answered, "Hanyu Yuzuru is always a heavy burden to me." "Even when I stand on the stage here, I get really nervous. In that sense, I always wish to be perfect myself, and I want to be a better Hanyu Yuzuru. I'll continue to think, 'It's heavy,' but there are still a lot of people who see me like this and support me. I always spend my time thinking, 'Hanyu Yuzuru is heavy,' but I've tried to live in a way that I'm not ashamed of. I want to continue to live as Hanyu Yuzuru as I go on."

 

　Hanyu, a native of Sendai City, overcame the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011 to win two consecutive Olympic gold medals at the Sochi Olympics in 2014 and the PyeongChang Olympics in 2018. He was the first Winter Olympic gold medalist to receive the People's Honor Award. At the Beijing Olympics, where he was aiming for a third consecutive victory, he attempted the unprecedented quad axel (four and a half rotation jump) in the free program, but fell, and was the first in the world to be recognized by the International Skating Union. Despite an injury to his right ankle, he did not hesitate to attempt the big dream move, making history again at the Olympics. He missed the World Championships in March due to a sprained right ankle.

 

　Hanyu made his senior debut in the 2010-2011 season, and won the Grand Prix Final four times in a row from 2013 to 2016. He won a total of seven medals at the World Championships, including victories in 2014 and 2017. At the Olympic Games, he won in Sochi in 2014 and Pyeongchang in 2018, becoming the first skater to win consecutive titles in 66 years.

 

[yuzurujenn]

2022.07.19

 

Source: https://hochi.news/articles/20220719-OHT1T51151.html?page=1

Archived: https://web.archive.org/web/20221007231640/https://hochi.news/articles/20220719-OHT1T51151.html?page=1

 

[Yuzuru Hanyu Press Conference] "I don't feel lonely at all. Please continue to look forward to my work"... Q&A Part 1

 

Spoiler

Yuzuru Hanyu (ANA), the consecutive Olympic champion in men's figure skating, held a press conference in Tokyo on the 19th and announced his intention to retire from the front line. The following are Hanyu's opening words.

 

　-Do you feel any sadness about the decision?

 

　"I don't feel lonely at all. In fact, when I was first thinking up the text for this press conference, it was written about my future activities, but I felt like it wasn't quite like that. I thought it should be more determined and more hopeful, so now I feel like I can proudly say, "Please continue to look forward to me." So I don't feel lonely at all. I want to work even harder from now on, and I think there will be more opportunities for people to see my skating in various ways, not just in limited places like competitions, and I would like to create those opportunities, so I hope everyone will look forward to it."

 

 

Source: https://hochi.news/articles/20220719-OHT1T51152.html?page=1

Archived: https://web.archive.org/web/20250114072510/https://hochi.news/articles/20220719-OHT1T51152.html?page=1

 

[Yuzuru Hanyu Press Conference] The Olympics are "proof that I am alive"… Q&A Part 2

 

Spoiler

　Yuzuru Hanyu (ANA), the back-to-back Olympic gold medalist in men's figure skating, held a press conference in Tokyo on the 19th and announced his intention to retire from the front line. At the press conference, he also spoke about the Olympics in which he won two consecutive gold medals in Sochi in 2014 and Pyeongchang in 2018, and landed the first quadruple axel in human history at the Beijing Games in February of this year.

 

　-What do the Olympics mean to you, Hanyu?

 

　"For me, the Olympics were the two consecutive victories I won. They are important things that have put me in the position I am in now and allowed me to make these statements. In addition to that, of course I wasn't successful in my challenge at the Beijing Olympics, but I continued to pursue my dreams and keep working hard. In a sense, I think it was a place where I was able to prove that, so I'm more than anything glad that everyone saw me and thought I was cool, that they wanted to support me, and that it gave me the opportunity to think about moving forward, even if just a little bit. Of course, if I were to assign meaning to each Olympics one by one, it would become a really long story, but for me, it's proof that I'm alive. It's also proof that I continued to walk this path together with everyone, that I worked hard, and I think it's also a foundation for me to keep working hard in the future."

 

 

Source: https://hochi.news/articles/20220719-OHT1T51157.html?page=1

Archived: https://web.archive.org/web/20221007224515/https://hochi.news/articles/20220719-OHT1T51157.html?page=1

 

[Yuzuru Hanyu Press Conference] "I want to continue to work hard towards my dreams and goals"... Q&A Part 3 

 

Spoiler

Yuzuru Hanyu (ANA), the back-to-back Olympic champion in men's figure skating, held a press conference in Tokyo on the 19th and announced his intention to retire from the front lines. He spoke about his thoughts as an athlete and his future stance.

 

　-What have you been able to stick to as an athlete up until now, and what do you want to continue to stick to?

 

　"I want to continue challenging myself. To be honest, I find it very difficult to draw the line. The line between being an athlete as a competitor and an athlete as a professional is very vague, so if I were to become a professional now, would that mean I am a professional? It's that kind of world, so there is no other way to say it, but I don't think my feelings have changed that much. Anyway, I want to continue to work hard towards my dreams and goals, and I want to continue to be more responsible, responsible for my words, responsible for my actions, and fulfill my activities as an athlete. Of course, I strongly hope to succeed in a quadruple axel jump, share it with everyone, and perform it in front of everyone."

 

 

Source: https://hochi.news/articles/20220719-OHT1T51160.html?page=1

Archived: https://web.archive.org/web/20250114072720/https://hochi.news/articles/20220719-OHT1T51160.html?page=1

 

[Yuzuru Hanyu Press Conference] "For me, skating is like being alive"… Q&A Part 4

 

Spoiler

Yuzuru Hanyu (ANA), the back-to-back Olympic champion in men's figure skating, held a press conference in Tokyo on the 19th and announced his intention to retire from the front line. Hanyu has led the Japanese figure skating world at the forefront and expressed the appeal of the sport on the ice rink to the world. He spoke about his feelings about skating.

 

　- There is always an image of being stronger and higher. What inspires you to do that?

 

　"I strongly think that's because I'm an athlete. I've never been satisfied with the status quo, and I've always wanted to get better. Whether it's jumps or the musical expression that figure skating requires, I'm always looking forward to getting better, and I think that's why I've been able to keep skating for so long. For me, skating = living, and in life, there are bound to be times when things go well and times when they don't, and you get comments about that, people are happy about it, and there are all kinds of things that happen, but on the other hand, there are also all kinds of times when you stagnate. I think that those things really come through in skating, and I think that that's what figure skating is to me. So it's not because I set a record or got the highest score or did a difficult jump, but rather because I wanted to do more difficult things in my normal life, or simply because I wanted to be praised more when I was younger, and I feel like I've been able to work hard just because of those feelings."

 

 

Source: https://hochi.news/articles/20220719-OHT1T51165.html?page=1

Archived: https://web.archive.org/web/20220719104800/https://hochi.news/articles/20220719-OHT1T51165.html?page=1

 

[Yuzuru Hanyu Press Conference] "I want to continue to pursue the ideal of figure skating from the era I loved"... Q&A Part 5

 

Spoiler

Yuzuru Hanyu (ANA), the back-to-back Olympic champion in men's figure skating, held a press conference in Tokyo on the 19th and announced his intention to retire from the front line. The leading figure who supported the golden age of Japanese figure skating, competing against many overseas skaters, spoke about his thoughts on skating, which he has pursued.

 

　-As a champion, he led the way during an era when quadruple jumps were at their peak.

 

　"When I started skating and admired the top figure skaters, it was a big deal if you included two quadruple jumps in your program. There weren't so many different kinds of quadruple jumps like there are now, and you might have two of one type, or there was the triple axel, and that was the era. Then quadruple jumps disappeared again, and an era came when you could win without jumping quadruples, and so on, and we have come to where we are now.

 

　But I liked it, and it still is, the figure skating I like is the skating of the era that I admired. So, in that era, if you were asked whether you would win if you jumped three quadruple jumps, the answer was no, and if you jumped a lot of triple axels, the answer was no. It was performances that you could feel something from the heart. I want to continue to perform in a way that makes people think, "This person wants to see me perform."

 

　I can't really evaluate on my own whether I have been able to perform like that up until now, but I would like to perform more like that in the future, and the rules of competitive figure skating will change again, and there are small changes to the rules every year, so there may be more changes to the rules from now on, and various other things may happen, but I would like to continue to pursue the ideal form of figure skating that I pursued in the era when I loved it."

 

 

Source: https://hochi.news/articles/20220719-OHT1T51171.html?page=1

Archived: https://web.archive.org/web/20220723012459/https://hochi.news/articles/20220719-OHT1T51171.html?page=1

 

[Yuzuru Hanyu Press Conference] Thanks to fans: "I'm not retiring or anything. Please continue to support me"... Q&A Part 6

 

Spoiler

Yuzuru Hanyu (ANA), the back-to-back Olympic champion in men's figure skating, held a press conference in Tokyo on the 19th and announced his intention to retire from the front line. Hanyu has been conveying the charm of figure skating both at home and abroad. He expressed his gratitude to the many fans who have supported him.

 

　-What does your fans mean to you, Hanyu? Any message for your fans?

 

　“Again, well, it’s difficult to explain in one word, but it’s because of the people who support me that I’m here speaking, that I’ve been able to skate up to this point, and that I’m able to continue to pursue skating even further in the future. To be honest, I don’t think that I’m a special person or that I have any special powers or anything like that, but I think that I have the strength because everyone supports me more than most, and that it’s only because of the power of their support that I’ve become better.

 

　For example, if I were only supported by around 10 people from now on, I'm sure I would be overwhelmed just by receiving the feelings of those 10 people, and I probably wouldn't be able to devote my days to just skating like this.

 

　However, in the midst of all this, everyone had high expectations of me, and when I was able to live up to those expectations, even more people had higher expectations of me, and that cycle was really important to me, and I want to continue that cycle, and I want to continue performing in a way that lives up to everyone's expectations in that way, so honestly, from the bottom of my heart, what I feel right now is, "Please continue to look forward to me," and "Please continue to watch me." To be honest, I feel that more than anything that I don't want to say thank you here, because it's not over at all. I'm not retiring or anything, so from here on I'll get even better, and I'll work hard to perform in a way that makes people think it's even more worth watching, so please continue to support me."