Japan’s Yuzuru Hanyu — considered to be one of the greatest man figure skaters ever – has introduced his retirement.
Hanyu, twenty-seven, became the first guy in 66 yrs to win back-to-back singles titles on the Olympics – with Sochi in 2014 and Pyeongchang within 2018.
Struggling with injuries, he or she missed out on making it three in a row within Beijing, finishing 4th at the 2022 Video games.
“I’ll not be compared with other boarders as a competitor, ” said Hanyu.
The skater, known as the “Ice Prince”, is determined to carry on in his mission to land the quadruple axel in front of an audience, although.
In Beijing, he promised as the first to complete it in competition — but after declining to do so, has now promised to pursue their goal in displays instead.
An emotional Hanyu told a packed news conference: “What I would like is to remain somebody who continues to work hard towards dreams and goals.
“Ice displays tend to be considered some thing elegant and fun, but I want to remain more of an sportsman… I want people to observe me as I keep fight. ”
The particular people’s champion
Hanyu’s elegant skating style won on the fans as well as the judges.
Despite rarely giving interviews plus having no presence on social media, he amassed an army associated with dedicated followers, referred to as “Fanyu”, who showered the ice with Winnie the Pooh toys after their routines.
Since his fame grew, so did Hanyu’s haul of medals, as he also earned men’s singles titles at the world championships in 2014 plus 2017.
His status as being a national icon in Japan was underlined when, in 2018, he became the youngest recipient of their country’s prestigious Individuals Honour Award.
In recent years, Hanyu continues to be dogged by ankle ligament problems, that have curtailed his ability to compete on the tour’s biggest stage.
He tumbled two times attempting the quadruple axel in Beijing and said afterwards “it feels like every thing has gone wrong on this occasion around”.
