Yuzuru Hanyu, an ice skater, claims an American Olympian beat him because of a hole on the ice.
Yuzuru Hanyu Hole in the Ice
Yuzuru Hanyu, a two-time Olympic gold medalist from Japan, was aiming for a third consecutive medal at the Beijing Winter Olympics, but the ice rink was not up to par.
The 27-year-old Japanese skater took on the ice on Tuesday for the men’s short programme, but he botched a quadruple Salchow jump within seconds of taking to the ice.
Japan’s “ice prince,” Hanyu, claimed he lost points and didn’t even place in the top three because he got stuck in a hole on the ice.
“When I took off, I was [over] some hole [in the ice], maybe from some other skater’s toe loop or flip [jump] or anything,” he explained to the media. To make matters worse, I was standing on a hole and so unable to launch myself off the ground for my initial attempt at a leap.
On Tuesday, he scored 95.15 out of a possible 100 points, which put him in eighth place because of his Missed leap.
And yet, “I didn’t feel horrible,” Hanyu remarked. “Okay, I told myself, this is clearly not working. Thus, I concentrated on moving on to the subsequent section. Skating to this music is a joy, and I enjoy listening to it even more.”
American skater Nathan Chen, winner of the previous three world championships and silver medalist at the 2022 Olympics, set a new world record with a score of 111.82 in the short event to take home the title.
His perfect skills and spins during his jumps at the 2018 Winter Olympics earned him the nickname “Michael Jackson on ice.”
Despite his disappointing start in Beijing, the Japanese skater appeared optimistic, admitting that he did feel he made a mistake, as reported by the Olympics website.
Again, I don’t feel like I did Anything Wrong.
The way I was holding myself was ideal. During those six minutes, he felt “razor sharp,” and “could perceive everything down to the centimetre, millimetre,” he added.
I probably swung out ten centimetres further than usual to avoid hitting a hole in the ice, which is why this happened. It’s like, ‘What can you do?’ he continued.
Though he got off to a rough start, Hanyu concluded his programme with a near-perfect performance, earning him kudos and respect from the audience.
After his show, Hanyu became a hot subject on Weibo and received positive feedback from viewers.
I saw him finish the show with brave determination to the music and faith in his story, and then offer the ice a soft grin afterward. A Twitter user named Lae expressed gratitude to Yuzuru for “skating” and “fighting the struggle that only you can fight.”
A Weibo user commented, “He messed up but was still placed the second, this already indicates how brilliant he is.”
On Thursday, Hanyu will attempt a quadruple Axel in his free skate routine titled “Ice Fantasy.” “God’s realm and ours.
