[2022.12.08] Bungeishunju - Yuzuru Hanyu: Making Skating a Culture

[yuzurujenn]

*Machine translation, inaccuracies exist. Please do not comment in this thread other than translations*

 

Source: https://bunshun.jp/bungeishunju/articles/h5016 (paid article)

 

Yuzuru Hanyu: Making Skating a Culture

101 brilliant Japanese people

 

Sochi, gold medal at the PyeongChang Olympics. Figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu (28), who turned professional after participating in the Beijing Olympics. Coach Shoichiro Tsuzuki, who has been guiding him since elementary school, looks back on the trajectory of his growth.

 

Spoiler

Yuzuru Hanyu began attending the skating school I managed in Sendai when he was in the second grade of elementary school. He was a perfectly ordinary child, but above all, he hated losing. Also, he was very emotional and often cried. Since elementary school, Hanyu and I have talked about our huge goal of "Let's go to the Olympics and become champions."

 

A major turning point in his skating life was the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011. The local rink in Sendai became unusable due to the disaster, so he started practicing at the rink in Yokohama where I was working. One day, when an aftershock occurred, Hanyu rushed outside the rink with a pale face. Other skaters held onto the wall and waited for it to settle, but Hanyu’s fear was different. At that moment, I deeply realized the extent of the emotional trauma he suffered from the earthquake.

 

His troubled heart gradually eased because he was invited to exhibitions all over the country and was cheered on by many spectators. Then, in March 2012 at the World Championships, he stood on the podium for the first time.

 

Because he has had experiences that others cannot imagine, he grew into a person who always takes responsibility for what he does and, at the same time, is grateful. It is precisely because he possesses humility that comes naturally without conscious effort that he can convince people and inspire them.

 

I often talked with Hanyu about wanting to make skating not just a leisure activity, but a culture. The path he has walked is about delivering something to people through skating, and he is truly trying to make skating a culture. Regarding jumps as well, skaters who surpass the quadruple Axel that Hanyu first landed at the Beijing Olympics are beginning to emerge. This must be a source of pride for him, knowing that he has evolved skating.

 

Now, Hanyu is heading toward the future. And I couldn't be happier that he is trying to express what he wants to say from his birthplace, Sendai.