Yuzuru Hanyu

Yuzuru Hanyu (羽生 結弦) is a Japanese figure skater, ice show producer, author, and philanthropist.

At nineteen years old, he was the youngest male skater to win the Olympic title since Dick Button in 1948.

Yuzuru Hanyu was born on December 7, 1994, in Izumi ward, Sendai, Japan, as the second child to father Hidetoshi Hanyu, a junior high school teacher, and mother Yumi Hanyu, a former clerk at a department store.

Hanyu's given name was chosen by his father, wishing that his son may "live a dignified life like a tightly drawn bowstring", symbolizing confidence, strength, and straightness.

Hanyu's father was an advisor to the baseball school club and recommended the sport to his son, but Hanyu eventually decided to pursue a career in figure skating.

He has broken world records nineteen times—the most times among single skaters since the introduction of the ISU Judging System in 2004.

He is the first man to have received over 100 points in the men's short program, over 200 points in the men's free skate, and over 300 total points in competition.

Upon winning his first Olympic title, Hanyu became the first Asian men's singles skater to win the Olympic gold.

Hanyu competed for the first time in the 2004–05 season, winning gold at the Japan Championships in the Novice B category, the lower of the two novice level categories.

His home rink then closed due to financial issues, forcing him to switch to the Katsuyama Skating Club in Aoba ward, Sendai.

In summer 2006, at 11 years old, Hanyu's confidence showed up when initiating a spin battle against that year's Olympic silver medalist, Stéphane Lambiel, who was known for his world-class spins.

Hanyu suffered a disarming defeat, which he remembered as an important career lesson: "After competing against him, I decided to improve my spins as well. You will definitely improve, learning from [the best]."

In the 2006–07 season, Hanyu won the bronze medal at the Japan Championships in the Novice A category, which earned him an invitation to the Japan Junior Championships, where he placed seventh.

His home rink in Izumi ward eventually reopened in 2007 after being closed for two years.

The next season, he placed first at the Japan Championships in the Novice A category and won the bronze medal at the Japan Junior Championships.

In 2008–09, Hanyu moved up to junior level and made his international debut in the ISU Junior Grand Prix at the Merano Cup in Italy, where he placed fifth.

The same season, he won gold at the Japan Junior Championships, becoming the youngest male skater with 13 years to win the event.

This result earned him an invitation to the Japan Senior Championships for the first time, where he placed eighth.

His national junior title also qualified him for the 2009 World Junior Championships in February, where he finished 12th with an ISU personal best score of 161.77 points in the combined total.

In that season, Hanyu had included the triple Axel, a jump with three and a half revolutions, in his programs for the first time, though receiving negative grades of execution (GOE) for all three attempts.

His mother used to make the costumes in his early career, including the free skate costume for the 2010–11 season, which was designed by American figure skater Johnny Weir.

He has also medaled at five other World Championships, taking bronze in 2012 and 2021, and silver in 2015, 2016 and 2019, making him the only male single skater along with Jan Hoffmann to win seven world championship medals in the post-World War II era.

Having been called one of the greatest figure skaters in history by many sport writers, commentators, and skaters for his well-rounded skills, achievements, popularity, and impact on the sport, Hanyu is the first men's singles skater to achieve a Super Slam, having won all major competitions in both his senior and junior careers.

In 2012, she moved with Hanyu to Toronto, Canada, and accompanied him during training, while his father and older sister, Saya, stayed in Japan.

At the age of two, Hanyu was diagnosed with asthma, a condition that gradually improved with time yet negatively affected his stamina, especially during his junior career.

He began skating at the age of four at Ice Rink Sendai (formerly Konami Sports Club) in Izumi, after coach Mami Yamada had suggested he try the sport instead of being a nuisance during his sister's training.

Yamada noted Hanyu's impatience when he first got onto the ice, but also praised him for his sincerity.

Coaching him until the end of his second grade in elementary school, Yamada had to move to another prefecture and asked Shōichirō Tsuzuki, former coach of Japan's first World medalist, Minoru Sano, to train Hanyu and "not put his talent to waste".

Hanyu described Tsuzuki's practice sessions as particularly strict and exhausting, tempting him to skip lessons at times, but he appreciated Tsuzuki's approach to build a solid foundation of skills and focus on basic training, noting: "He placed so much emphasis on skating and the Axel jump. Perhaps that made me confident to this day that the Axel is my forte."

The same year, Shōichirō Tsuzuki moved to Yokohama, and Nanami Abe became Hanyu's main coach and choreographer, guiding him until 2012.

On weekends, Hanyu travelled three hours from Sendai to Yokohama for additional lessons at Tsuzuki's new skating club.

He is a two-time Olympic champion (2014, 2018), a two-time World champion (2014, 2017), a four-time Grand Prix Final champion (2013–2016), the 2020 Four Continents champion, the 2010 World Junior champion, the 2009–10 Junior Grand Prix Final champion, and a six-time Japanese national champion (2012–2015, 2020–2021).

At the 2016 CS Autumn Classic International, Hanyu became the first skater in history to successfully land a quadruple loop in a competition.

He is the first men's singles skater from Asia to win multiple World Championships.

In recognition of his achievements, Hanyu became the youngest recipient of the People's Honor Award, bestowed by the Prime Minister of Japan for "giving dreams and thrills to the people and hope and courage to society".

In 2018, he became the first man to win two consecutive Olympic gold medals since Button's back-to-back titles in 1948 and 1952.

He is the first figure skater to be nominated for the Laureus World Sports Award and was named the Most Valuable Skater by the inaugural ISU Skating Awards in 2020.

Hanyu also has been featured in prestigious lists, such as Forbes' 30 Under 30 Asia as well as ESPN's World Fame 100 and The Dominant 20.

In 2022, Hanyu was ranked sixth in the list of most-searched athletes on Google Search worldwide.

The same year, on July 19, Hanyu announced his decision to turn professional and producing his own ice shows, which according to Nikkei Asia "marks the end of an era" in competitive figure skating.