Commentary

Hanyu doesn't disappoint his devotees

Gold medalist in men's free figure skating Yuzuru Hanyu, of Japan, smiles during the medals ceremony at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Saturday, Feb. 17, 2018.
Gold medalist in men's free figure skating Yuzuru Hanyu, of Japan, smiles during the medals ceremony at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Saturday, Feb. 17, 2018.

GANGNEUNG, South Korea -- Japan's man of the moment had called it his dream stage.

"And I want to give my dream performance," he said.

Yuzuru Hanyu didn't disappoint 127 million Japanese and other devotees to a slender flash on the ice who has elevated men's figure skating to stratospheric heights.

Hanyu became the first man in 66 years to win back-to-back Olympic titles Saturday to leap into figure skating perpetuity by pirouetting with a muscular, yet delicate, grace despite carrying his country's hopes to Korea.

He fell backward after landing a quadruple toe jump and uncharacteristically leaned out of a triple lutz near the end. But otherwise, this celestial being floated among the gods of Olympus; Hanyu, 23, completed an artistic free skate where at times he seemed suspended above the competition, looking down on them as mere mortals.

Not that the champion would disrespect anyone, least of all his fellow skaters who came to the Pyeongchang Games as one of the best group of male skaters in Olympic history.

But Hanyu got his "Winnie the Pooh" moment after a brilliant performance as fans heaved toy bears on the ice of the character the skater loves in a show of affection.

He bowed to his coach Brian Orser after scoring a total of 317.85 points -- a whopping 11 points better than teammate Shoma Uno, who earned the silver medal. Spain's Javier Fernandez was third.

"This is the best day of my skating life," Hanyu said through an interpreter. "My tears were from my heart. I can find one word and that is happy."

On a day when the jumpers went big, perhaps none outside of Hanyu were as impressive as American champion Nathan Chen, who started in 17th place. Chen, 18, showed the world what might have been after the bold move to try six quadruple jumps and scored a season-best free skate to leapfrog into fifth place just ahead of teammate Vincent Zhou. Adam Rippon was 10th.

But this was Hanyu's crowning moment. The star entered the Pyeongchang competition as a mystery because he had not competed since October after a right ankle injury suffered three months ago during a practice.

Questions continued surfacing when the gold medalist skipped the team event last week to focus on becoming the first man since Dick Button, in 1952, to defend an Olympic skating title.

"I had a little bit of uncertainty," Hanyu said this week. "But I am here. I feel like I'm ready for the Olympics, and that's what matters."

The skater said Saturday that his injuries were worse than he thought, casting so much doubt.

"For sport, I wanted to have the courage to be bold enough to challenge myself," Hanyu said.

Four years ago, Hanyu became a Japanese megastar after winning his country's first Winter Games title since 2006. The victory at the Sochi Games was poignant because the skater dedicated the gold medal to the people of Sendai, his town that had been crushed by an earthquake and tsunami three years earlier.

Performing to the soundtrack "Seimei," Hanyu twice saved jumps without setting a hand on the ice. The performance reached a twirling crescendo and finally a bow to his adoring fans, thousands waving Japanese flags.

Japan had its first gold medal of the Winter Games. But the country also celebrated the silver medal with Uno, who skated last to slip past Hanyu's training partner in Toronto, Fernandez.

The skaters also gave Japan its first multiple skating medals in one Olympic discipline.

Hanyu also probably ended an American streak of winning an Olympic title in every Games in the year ending in 8, starting with Button in 1948. The trio of U.S. women is not expected to finish among the top three when the competition begins Wednesday with the short program.

Hanyu has been generous with crediting others for his success. On Saturday, he singled out Fernandez.

"Without Javier, the training would have been so hard I would not have been able to bear it," Hanyu said.

Sports on 02/18/2018

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