Yuzuru Hanyu announces his retirement from competition (updated after his press conference)

[Sylvia]

It's [2018 Olympics FS] available to watch via the Olympics YT] channel : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23EfsN7vEOA

Also his 2018 Olympics SP to Chopin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-7rZ4G1f0w

"Yuzuru Hanyu dedicates his performance to Notte Stellata at the PyeongChang figure skating gala to the victims of the devastating 2011 earthquake in Japan." (also on the Olympics YT channel - loved seeing his delayed single Axel then 3A near the end!): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gRoIy0YWQo

Also, Hanyu's 2014 Olympics programs:
SP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bk6qrBrqAqo
FS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUskvEAITdE
EX: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zszUNj8ENbI

 

[Trillian]

The popularity of skating in Japan right now is well beyond what it was in North America in the 1990s.

That’s been my impression, and Yuzu is the biggest star of them all. That’s why I’m really curious to see how much further he might be able to push the market for the entertainment side of skating, independently of the ISU (if he has the ambition to do that). He could potentially create interesting opportunities in terms of professional career paths for both himself and other skaters.

 

[antmanb]

Oh his 2018 Olympic SP to Chopin is a masterpiece. The transitions in that programme are unrivalled in any skating programme of the IJS era.

A simple thing I used to love was his competition warm ups for his quad Sal where he would set it up and do a huge airy double with his arms straight out to the sides

 

[BittyBug]

His Chopin short, Romeo & Juliet free and Seimei are probably my favorite competitive programs of his, but I liked almost all of his programs, even Otonal and his "best of Plushenko tribute."

I also loved his exhibitions, like his program for the 2018 Olympic gala, but especially his Requiem for Heaven and Earth. I was lucky enough to see it in person and it was amazing.

 

[kwanfan1818]

From Nam Nguyen
https://www.instagram.com/p/CgMEW-nOcLp/

 

[her grace]

Best wishes to Hanyu as he moves on to professional skating.

I think his best work was from 2015-2018 and that he needed that extra quad to cement his legacy. Otherwise, he was gonna be like a Lipinski. Glad that he went on to build a memorable repertoire. OTOH, none of his programs from 2019-2022 stand out in my mind. But good for him to go out on his own terms.

 

[MINAM]

He appeared on NHK news after the press conference. Busy day for him. I laughed a little when he said "I don't like the word "retiring" LOL Good luck to him. Hope he gets a holiday.

 

[PRlady]

You can report your own post and make the request.


It's available to watch via the Olympics YT channel : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23EfsN7vEOA

Also his 2018 Olympics SP to Chopin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-7rZ4G1f0w

Thank you. I got goosebumps again. A brilliant and evocative skater, a star at 16 who never stopped working to be better. We were lucky to have him.

 

[Sylvia]

Nathan's post: https://www.instagram.com/p/CgNrKNIh_tZ/

It’s been the honor of a lifetime to have been able to stand on the same ice as Yuzuru Hanyu. Thank you for everything you have done for the sport, and everything you will undoubtedly continue to do for it

 

[Rukia]

Love that picture of Nathan and Yuzu. Two iconique skaters.

 

[ChelleC]

Love that picture of Nathan and Yuzu. Two iconique skaters.

Nothing like watching the two of them back to back when they were on. We've been fortunate to watch them both.

 

[Dobre]

I think my favorite Hanyu memory is seeing him in a practice session at Skate Canada 2015. I think it was the first time I saw him live, and while the event did not go well for him, he looked great in the practices. Just flying around the ice.

He obviously hasn't been at his best the last several seasons, and that can be hard to watch when an athlete has been stronger for a long time; but I was very impressed with his free skate this winter at Japanese Nationals.

 

[ChelleC]

Thank you. I got goosebumps again. A brilliant and evocative skater, a star at 16 who never stopped working to be better. We were lucky to have him.

I just watched his free from 2012 Worlds, and it's just...wow.

 

[canbelto]

I will never stop marveling at the way Hanyu would exit those 3As with a twizzle.

 

[misskarne]

Nathan's post: https://www.instagram.com/p/CgNrKNIh_tZ/

I will always wish we had got a competition where both were at their top form. It always seemed that one or the other was injured or skating rough whenever they came head to head.

 

[myhoneyhoney]

I will miss watching him in competitions. He was very calming to watch. If he ever performs in California, I’ll be there for sure!

 

[Willin]

I will never stop marveling at the way Hanyu would exit those 3As with a twizzle.

The spread eagle-3A-spread eagle is absolutely insane.

 

[Holy Headband]

An incredible career we were all lucky to witness. I’ll miss his attention to transitions and his spins and footwork at the highest level; although he was an amazing jumper and some of his programs were a bit watered down to account for that, they all included little musical accents and choreographic moments that went above and beyond the bare minimum; I don’t know who’s going to deliver that now. Vasiljevs? Cha? Brown (who’s also going to retire soon, probably)?

I hope Hanyu will be able to focus on skating beautiful programs in shows now, protect his health and help revitalise the pro skating circuit in Japan and beyond. Mostly, I hope his fans will allow him to have a normal life in retirement and do whatever he wants in relative anonymity.

 

[paskatefan]

Thank you, Yuzu, for so many years of your amazing skating. I loved your friendly & respectful rivalry with your training mates (you were SO supportive of Javi, for example) . I'll never forget how you helped pick up the Poohs (was it during a 4CC competition?), & I will certainly miss those "Pooh" showers!

 

[MacMadame]

But since people have been asking us to take the fanyu discussion out of this thread, let's go ahead and do that. I'll start a separate thread for that.

So in a thread where we are discussing the impact Hanyu's retirement will have on skating, we aren't supposed to discuss the impact it will have on his most ardent fans? Well, alrighty then.

 

[Sylvia]

Brian Orser and Tracy Wilson posted a video yesterday ("Heartfelt gratitude for our amazing journey. Keep inspiring the world. Be you.") and re-posted it in better quality today: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CgPOW3CJScw/

Javier Fernandez's post: https://www.instagram.com/p/CgOzng9r39v/
Yuzu-kun, I don't even know from where to start.
First of all, congratulations on you incredible career and thank you for every lesson you gived to the skating world. With your effort, year by year you became a legend, a star.
I had the luck to share many moments with you on the ice and off the ice and the pleasure to see you grow as a man and as an skater.
I've learned so much been with you in trainings and in competitions, thanks to that, I also became a stronger skater.
I wish you the best in this new part of your life, and I'm sure we will keep enyoing your espectacular way of skating, in figure skating shows!!
Otsukaresama deshita Yuzu!!

I liked seeing these quotes from his early coaches:

Only praise, gratitude for Yuzuru Hanyu after retirement announcement - The Mainichi

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Former mentors, peers and others close to Yuzuru Hanyu had nothing but praise and gratitude for the 27-year-old Japanese figure skati

mainichi.jp

Shoichiro Tsuzuki, 84, who coached the two-time Olympic and two-time world champion during his elementary school days, said he had "never met such a great athlete" and that Hanyu "raised the level of Japanese figure skating and set a great example for children."
"He loves skating and is determined to continue to improve his skating. I hope he will build on his past experiences to express himself in a new world," Tsuzuki added.
Mami Yamada, 48, who coached Hanyu from the age of 4 until his second year of elementary school, congratulated her former mentee on his skating career, saying, "There are times you win and times you don't, but I believe you have done all you can."

 

[VALuvsMKwan]

So in a thread where we are discussing the impact Hanyu's retirement will have on skating, we aren't supposed to discuss the impact it will have on his most ardent fans? Well, alrighty then.

Yes, initially IIRC (ETA: which I apparently did not, as it was not Wyliefan to whom I was referring) at the request of an extremely prolific poster who has taken pains in the past to disclaim moderator status but certainly has a lot of requests about how and where threads should be located for someone who isn't.

The poster to whom I WAS referring made a statement that the Farewell thread should be in The Trash Can section - my comments about that poster stand.

 

[Wyliefan]

Some of Yuzuru's fans were getting upset about all the fanyu talk in a thread where they just wanted to celebrate his career. I could understand how they felt -- I'd feel the same way if it were a retirement thread for a favorite skater of mine -- so I made the new thread. It wasn't a big deal. If you want to talk all things fanyu, here it is:

Farewell, Fanyus

Or will they stick around for a while? This thread is to help keep discussion of the fanyus out of the Hanyu retirement thread, by request. So if you have any thoughts on fanyus past, present, and future, please put them here instead of there. Thanks.

www.fsuniverse.net

 

[Bouffantrex]

Yes, initially IIRC (ETA: which I apparently did not, as it was not Wyliefan to whom I was referring) at the request of an extremely prolific poster who has taken pains in the past to disclaim moderator status but certainly has a lot of requests about how and where threads should be located for someone who isn't.

I'd guess public, thinly veiled criticism like this is probably more of a distraction than the separate disordered Fanyu discussion.

 

[MAXSwagg]

Unbelievable as it may be to some, figure skating existed before Hanyu. It will exist after him.

Where in my post did I say or even allude that it didn’t?

 

[MAXSwagg]

If Fanyus bother your mental space this much, you should probably 1) create a separate thread to complain instead of attempting to derail a thread, 2) learn how to curate your social media, 3) get off social media altogether. Looking for bad fandom tweets on Twitter (of all platforms, lol) and then fixating about them is unhealthily obsessive behavior.

Hanyu is like the BTS of the skating world and there's a strong overlap between extreme parts of his fandom and the k-pop world (especially in recent years). The pearl clutching here is amusing and bemusing to see. It's like watching a bunch of people go on Parler and then running back to report breathlessly on what QAnon is saying and acting all scandalized.

It’s called boutique activism. Her post is a perfect example imo.

 

[MarieM]

I wish he had gone Bowie in his skating, his only program watchable to me being his SP from what, 2 3 seasons ago ?

 

[MacMadame]

I wish he had gone Bowie in his skating, his only program watchable to me being his SP from what, 2 3 seasons ago ?

When he started going for tech records esp the 4X, his programs started to either actually be repeats or might as well have been. It definitely lessened my fandom.

 

[Rob]

I feel fortunate to have witnessed Yuzuru Hanyu's skating career. A highlight of my 55 year long fandom.

 

[Willin]

When he started going for tech records esp the 4X, his programs started to either actually be repeats or might as well have been. It definitely lessened my fandom.

Yeah that's definitely when I lost interest as well, especially since the first time he did programs like Seimei they were so interesting, but then with each successive repeat more and more choreography was taken out...

(Also, personal opinion, but it's a lot easier to watch a high-tempo repeated program like Moulin Rouge or Rocketman than it is to watch a classical repeated program)