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Yuzuru Hanyu 2017-18 Media Day: Master Post

This post consists of excerpts from news outlets and TV wideshows as information from TCC media day came through from 8.09-10. Magazine reports & longer broadcast specials that come out later will have their own posts with links added in this post for organization––last updated 2017.8.29.

Feel free to repost with credit and link - gladi.

URL: https://wherespacepooh.tumblr.com/post/163950208929/yuzuru-hanyu-2017-18-media-day-master-post

Long Program: SEIMEI (8/09 7:50 Sponichi Annex)

Layouts & other notes (last updated 8/11 4:42 Japan Time)

Perfect SP (4Lo // 3A, 4T3T), all jumps landed. (8/09 10:29 Jiji) 📺: SP footage from 02:14 on 8/09 TBS N Sta (cr. to yuzu_pino@twi)

LP:

5 quads planned

SEIMEI was done in separate parts to music on Day 1. Landed opening 4Lo and 4S. For second half, landed 3 quads including the 4T combo cleanly. (8/09 10:29 Jiji)

“has not done musical arrangement” (8/10 Kahoku, see Q&A 4 below)

📺 TRIPLE FLIP shall not be ignored (cr. pon91491240@twi)

📺 All five quads in SEIMEI starting at 05:31 in the video from 8/10 News Every (cr. yuzu_pino@twi)

📺: 4T-lo-3S, some choreo (cr. spread_wing0217@twi, Tokudane)

📺: 4T3T, spins, etc (cr. anipooh1@twi, Tokudane)

📺: SEIMEI 3A-2T into SE, 3A (cr. yuzu_pino@twi, FUJI Mezamashi)

Misc

Brian Orser: Hanyu in best ever pre-season condition (8/09 Yomiuri)

approx 80 people (update: 95!) attended Media Day (8/09 9:00 Sankei)

David Wilson was sick from fever and did not attend (8/09 BBMook)

📺 Video message on ANA SNS [1] [2]

📺 4T3T(rippon) from NTV Sukkiri (cr. yuzu_pino@twi), 📺 different angle from 8/13 Fuji Heros’ (cr. anipooh1@twi)

📷 A great set of photos from Day 1 Seimei session by Taketazu Atsushi from Yomiuri Shinbun

📺 Day 2 footage (in red UA) from 8/13 Fuji Heros’

Translation of interviews, articles and news clips:

Emphasis mostly on word from Yuzuru and his team, plus other miscellaneous tidbits. Loosely reverse chronological order.

Shae-lynn Bourne Interview

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ARTICLE: Yuzuru Hanyu: I am at 20% right now (Number 934-5)

Despite still trolling with one single 3A, the brat (you’ll see) shows his tender side (you’ll also see) in his pursuit of figure skating mastery and ideals…This is quintessential Hanyu––calm, confident and thoughtful as he discusses the Olympics, his programs and the significance and meaning of skating itself.

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ARTICLE: The Secret of Prestigious Champion Maker (TCC) where Hanyu Yuzuru Trains (2017.08.18 Yomiuri)

In-depth look into the Cricket Club as a training environment and what the team, the grounds, the rivalry all mean to Hanyu. Plus, a quote from Shae-lynn implying, perhaps, some new choreography? *-* *-* *-*

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ARTICLE: Yuzuru Hanyu’s legendary masterpiece. Reason for challenging SEIMEI once again in Olympics (2017.08 Number Web)

An in-depth look into the thought process behind SEIMEI as an Olympic strategy and an unflinching take on the season’s challenge, focusing on the performance itself. Plus a more extended quote from Tracy Wilson \o/ - gladi

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ARTICLE: Hanyu. Evolution. Confidence without conceit (2017.08.18 Kahoku)

A really, really nice read with good detail and perspective. Quite poetically written. - gladi

“This time around, withSEIMEI, ‘[he] will bring out every detail with movements of his hands, his legs, his upper body, all the way down to the character’s background.’”

“In his bid toward a successive victory for the first time in 66 years [of Olympic history], there is no conceit. Only self-confidence.”

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ARTICLE: Brian Orser speaks about Olympic prospects (2017.08.18 Kahoku)

Hanyu is in great shape, team communication is stellar. Men’s figure skating, watch out! - gladi

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📺 Special: Fuji HERO’S (Day 2 footage, exclusive interview) Hanyu section

8/13 (cr. to yuzu_pino@twi), 03:49 - 07:43 Hanyu’s section

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ARTICLE: “Who will be the protagonist in Pyeongchang?” (Snippets from Hanyu section)

8/12 Nikkei (Print edition, apologies no link to source available)

- Coach Tracy Wilson: “Hungry. That’s a personal trait of Hanyu’s. When [skaters] get the gold medal, there’s a period of respite, but Yuzu only looks forward.”

- Coach Brian Orser and choreographer Shae-lynn Bourne on the change in Hanyu over the past three years: “He has grown up, and is more open now.”

- “Hanyu has his own strong views about skating and there are also cases when he disagrees with the coaches. “Should we say I have gotten used to the environment? When Brian said ‘do this, do that’, I would add only a little bit extra (t/n literally "plus alpha,” a Japanese English term that has its roots in baseball was used, eg. the “change” part in “1000 and change”) of my own thoughts on top of his—-that was [how it was] around Sochi Olympics. Now, we discuss, bringing both our opinions to the table. 1+1 now yields 3 and 4.“

- Regarding the music choices, Brian was initially hesitant: "Chopin was an immortal masterpiece, so Brian agreed. The music for the free program has such strong personality, in the world of the figure skating, it is not a ‘warhorse’. A program that is prominently Hanyu-esque, and ‘the fact of skating to two familiar programs’ would be tricky, according to Orser. After discussion and coming around to the choice, Orser now says this, 'this free program has been well evaluated by many, and the program itself means a lot to [Hanyu]’. On top of performing it, the performance must be on a level of a complete different dimension.”

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ARTICLE: Hanyu Yuzuru on his Olympic strategy. To choose “programs where he can be himself.” (Full trans linked)

Web Sportiva 2017/08/11

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📺 Special: NTV Sukkiri (Seimei Shrine special, 4T3T rippon, comments from Aya Kawai, FS commentator + Nagano ID representative)

8/10 8:00 (cr. yuzu_pino@twi)

04:21 -

4T3T rippon \o/ (yuzu_pino@twi also clipped it out here)

04:29 -

Hanyu visited Seimei Shrine on 6/04 and left an ema: “May I bring performances as I’d envisioned, and, may happiness come to everyone, through my performances. 2017.6.4. Hanyu Yuzuru” (04:29 in video)

04:30 -

The production team visited Seimei Shrine on 8/09. According to Chief Priest Yamaguchi, Hanyu visited to give thanks as he had used Abe no Seimei as theme in his performances the season before the last, to express gratitude that he was able to do it. Thinking back, Yamaguchi thought he might already have held the thoughts of using the music of Seimei in his chest, and had come before the altar to report these thoughts to the gods. (04:30)

05:53 -

When Hanyu visited two years ago in July, he had gone to see the portrait of Abe no Seimei (usually made open to the public once a year in September). Yamaguchi recounted that for around ten minutes, Hanyu was silently looking at the portrait, in seiza (kneeling with tops of feet flat on floor and sitting on the soles) with his back very straight, tauter than the usual. Seemed to have many thoughts. Yamaguchi thought perhaps Hanyu had at that point been practicing with the image of “Hanyu” and wondered if, seeing the portrait, that image had become something new. (05:53)

07:21 -

Many fans came to wish for his health and a gold medal in Pyeongchang Olympics. The production team interviewed a (male) fan: “He is really amazing, isn’t he? I hadn’t watched much figure skating, but when I saw his performance, I began to find figure skating interesting. So I hope he’ll be in perfect condition in face of the Pyeongchang Olympics.”

10:32 -

Aya Kawai (Nagano Olympics Ice Dance representative, FS commentator): Because the sense of novelty is lost when music is reused, it makes it hard to impress the viewer. He got many 10s in his components two years ago, but there’s the possibility that 10s won’t come so easily. So in order to get 10s, he must put out an amazing performance, clearly superior to the last time.

11:07 - (Narrator/caption: About bringing 5 quads into the program this season)

Isn’t it exactly Hanyu’s figure skating that always evolves and goes beyond the current limits?

11:21 - (Narrator/caption: The evolution seen in the practice footage is…)

The opening Loop gives off such an increased sense of stability. It’s the newest quad to him and the most difficult. But for a second, I thought it was a triple––it looked that secure. It was such a good jump that, if I were a judge, I would want to give him all the GOEs.

12:10

Reporter at media day: What’s your goal at the Olympics?

Hanyu: First... first... I have to be chosen as Olympic representative...*laughs* I think *laughs more*

Reporter prompting: And beyond that?

Hanyu: Well. If I’m chosen as representative, the gold medal... of course I want to aim for it. *giggles* I [made the quote] difficult [for you] to use >”<

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ARTICLE: Perfect jumps at [8/08 EST] open practice, no mistakes, [programs with] competition-ready finish...as witnessed by assigned reporter

8/10 8:00 Sports Hochi

(Skip opening paragraph because you all know he is skating to SEIMEI)

The familiar sounds of taiko and flutes reverberating in the rink alone brought back the sense of exultation. It was that music, the one that twice-renewed the world’s highest score in successive competitions. Powerful jumps, graceful movement and supple limbs. I was immediately drawn into the world of Hanyu Yuzuru’s SEIMEI. “There are many people who think ‘I love this program’. In my opinion, certainly everyone wanted to see it again.” These are Coach Brian Orser’s words.

On the eve of the 15-16 season, Hanyu had asserted, “Amongst the current Japanese men, I alone can bring out a wa-themed program to such extent. [Senses of] delicacy and strength that are brought out because it’s me. Then, a program precisely as described was completed. “I would like to bring performances that don’t make people think ‘this again?’ in competition.” Hereafter, how would he proceed to weave the five quads into the fabric of the program? A new challenge has begun.

Although it has been the same way each year, Hanyu only holds open practice once a year. Since it is the last chance before the Pyeongchang Olympics, a press corps of around 80 people from Japan rushed over. Responding to questions from TV stations and news outlets combined for over thirty minutes, he spoke with a smile throughout. Cutting a different, more relaxed figure than in competition venues.

At the two open practices, each an hour long, he opened by landing a perfect 4T without warning, right at the start. The SP run-through was deftly clean. “The most important thing is to skate clean. If I can do that, results will come.” His first competition is Autumn Classic International (Opens 9/20 in Montreal).

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ARTICLE: (Hanyu Q&A4) Wants to defend title. Can exceed world’s highest scores. (repeated ones are skipped)

8/10 06:32 Kahoku

(Skipped opening paragraph)

–––– You will be repeating both SP and FP. (t/n additions bolded) "I have been warming up for the season. Have not done musical arrangement. People may think ‘this again?’ right now, but I [aim to] show performances that won’t make you think this way in competitions.” "With Olympics, there is no time to skate and get into a new piece of music. I want to be at a good place right from the starting line, and gain further mastery from there.”

–––– Isn’t it difficult to work with the possibilities of giving viewers a sense of deja vu? "Even with the same music, the content is completely different. It feels like I am doing something completely different. So I think everyone’s sense of discomfort will gradually fade away.”

–––– There are expectations of [you achieving the] world’s highest combined score? (t/n additions bolded) “I don’t feel much pressure. With this piece, I am confident that I will be okay. Skating to it feels pleasant. I think the world’s highest score can be exceeded.”

–––– You carry the burden of expectations from your hometown, Miyagi. “Toward the disaster areas of the Tohoku earthquake, I carry these thoughts of ‘let’s take on new challenges!’ and ‘let’s go hand in hand from now on!’ And that overlaps also with skating. Because I have experienced the earthquake, I was able to overcome even during tough times. I want to produce results that bring encouragement to everyone.”

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ARTICLE: Hanyu resurrects Onmyoji for Olympics! “[Will] of course [aim to] defend title” (Partial)

8/10 05:05 Sanspo Page 3

- There is a reason for such confidence. Off-season. Hanyu continues to be in face of skating [in his university courses]. Ergonomics, Medicine, Ethics––he reached out in all directions seeking hints for [further] evolution. Sometimes applying his own jumps into mathematical expressions, analyzing their “moments”––the turning effects of forces. “I aim to be a skater whom, any way they slice it, [people would have to say], ‘Hanyu is just so good.’” The ambition to aim for the top of the podium drives the 22-year-old.

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ARTICLE: (Hanyu Q&A3) There was a lot on my mind at Sochi, but my direction is clear now.

8/10 05:32 Sports Hochi

(Skipped opening paragraph)

–––– Unlike in Sochi Olympics, you are in the position of being chased. “I don’t especially think I am in the position of being chased. Compared to Sochi, the competition for a medal is much fiercer. Everyone right now has their own attributes, and we encounter and clash as fellow [competitors], so it’s a lot of fun. My identity is as an all-rounder, with high quality in everything, and I would like to properly leverage my own weapons and fight.

–––– What is the difference in approach? “At Sochi it was a lot on my plate, but my own path [that I should take]––something like that––has become very clear now.

–––– What is the difference in approach? “Recently, I was looking at videos and articles of interviews before and after Sochi. ‘So that was what I was thinking back then’, ‘Oh, I was trying not to be bound by my past self” and so forth. These are all my own experience, so it’s quite advantageous after all.

–––– As for the 4Lz? (t/n: repeats Hanyu QA2 from Sanspo except for a little addition in bold) “I’m able to jump [4Lz] and practice is going fairly well, but I’m not considering it for now. [First] settling everything nicely with the current layout, attacking each [element] properly and completing it is what I want to do.”

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ARTICLE: (Hanyu Q&A2) Strategy of “exception” is “to dispense with unnecessary thoughts”

8/09 18:44 Sanspo

(Skipped opening paragraph)

Hanyu, who announced his programs for the Pyeongchang Olympic season, responded to questions from the press with a sunny expression.

–––– Both the SP and the FP are repeats from the past. Were there any doubts regarding your choices? “I may have been a little hesitant with the SP, but for the FP, I’ve thought to use it before last season started.”

–––– About bringing 4Lz into your program(s)... “I’m able to jump [4Lz] and practice is going fairly well, but I’m not considering it for now. I'll [first] settle everything nicely with the current layout.”

–––– Both SP and FP were programs with which you got the world’s highest scores. [Do you feel that] you must go beyond that? “I don’t feel too much pressure. [The programs] are extremely pleasant to skate to. Jumps, spins, steps––it is a program where I can skate like myself with all of these elements, and not have to think about unnecessary things.

–––– What is necessary in order to defend an Olympic victory? “The most important thing is to skate cleanly. If I am able to do that, the results will come. I want to power up.”

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📺 NEWS CLIPS (8/09 Evening Round)

8/09 17:49 FUJI Minna no News (cr. to yuzu_pino@twi)

- Reporter, “What is your forte?” Hanyu, “Everything.” at 2:37

8/09 18:48 TBS N Sta (cr. to yuzu_pino@twi) has Chopin footage from 2:14 onwards, SEIMEI before that, loud Brian laugh sandwiched in between.

8/09 18:12 EX J-Channel (cr. to yuzu_pino@twi)

- Hanyu: “Although I seemed to have debuted [being known for] jumps, originally my specialty was spins. When I was young, I trained with a great emphasis on skating. So, perhaps I can say with confidence that everything is my specialty. I want to be the kind of skater where people say "Hanyu is just so good" no matter what part [of my skills] they look at, even in isolation. In that sense, I take pride in that everything is my weapon.” (02:25)

8/09 16:59 NTV news every (cr. to yuzu_pino@twi)

- BO: “There will be some critiques about this decision. I know it’s the right decision. Because, again, that piece deserves to be at the Olympics.” (04:16)

- Hanyu speaks about the technical side to this program: [The current layout] is definitely several cuts above the layout at the time, so, well, if I properly deliver on the current layout with this program, 100% I should be able to exceed [that score] (slight laugh)––that’s what I really think. (04:33)

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This is a transcript of the “mixed zone style” Q&A. Probably 70% of the content has been covered in the SEIMEI announcement section below, but this gives a better sense of what was asked and what was answered.

ARTICLE: (Hanyu Q&A1) Determination and Challenge toward Reenactment. “To achieve performances that don’t make you think ‘again?’” (QA translated in full)

8/09 12:27 Daily Sports Online

–––– Your programs?

“SP is Chopin’s Ballade No.1, the same as I have skated during the summer ice shows. As for FP, I was thinking let’s do SEIMEI once more. The [decision] process was that I had decided that I wanted to reuse this program in the Olympic season ever since I was able to achieve great performances with SEIMEI in the 2015-16 season. I decided almost without any hesitation. I might have been a little hesitant about the SP, but as for the FP, I had decided right from the start, before I even started last season. I feel like I have warmed up for this season.”

–––– What are the new challenges?

“Doing three quads in the second half, so it’s a total of five. Actually, although I popped a first-half jump into a single at World Team Trophy back in April, I had gotten a sense for putting 3 quads into the second half, and I also gained confidence that you could only get after having succeeded in competition. I consulted with Brian, but for me, I felt like I could put 3 into the second half without any hesitation.”

–––– Apart from jumps, what were other things you had brushed up?

“What do I want to show? How do I want to perform this piece? How do I feel?––I’ve come to dig deeper [in these questions]. Ballade No 1 is for the third time, so after listening [to the music] countless of times, I’m in the stage of training where I’m dealing with how I want to express this piece, how I want to do the jumps, and so forth. Maybe you still think ‘this again?’ at the moment, but I want to achieve performances such that you don’t think so when you see them at competition.”

–––– August 9th (local time is 8th) will be six months before the Pyeongchang Olympics. What are your thoughts on the Olympics?

“Of course I have the desire to defend my title. When I utter words such as “defend title,” I think that there are some sort of bindings from the past, from having won the Sochi Olympics. But, my own sense is that exactly because there was the past, that I have come to practice this way right now. I was thinking I’d like to have it all work together right from the first half of the season, and so that’s how I trained.

The important thing now is to first be chosen as representative in a condition where I am healthy, without injury, and capable of bringing out my true abilities with the best effort possible. If I am chosen, I would like to do my best, and aim for gold.”

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ARTICLE: Hanyu’s Specialty 3A will be a “contingency plan just in case” (Full apart from opening para)

8/09 13:20 Daily Sports Online

(Skipping introduction paragraph)

Although it was the same music, the content was different. When he got the highest ever (at the time) free program score of 219.48 at the 2015 GPF, he did 4S and two 4T, for a total of 2 types and 3 times. But this time, he is planning to do 3 types and 5 quads in total, including 3 in the second half where the Base Value is multiplied by 1.1.

“What I currently have in mind is to jump the 4Lo and the 4S in the very beginning, followed by the 3F in the first half. Spins and steps. The first jump in the second half will be 4S3T combo. After that, 4T1Lo3S combination, and then 4T from a little steps. At the end of the second half, I’ll enter and exit a 3A combination with spread eagle, and in the very end, it’s okay if I do 3A for recovery, or 3Lz normally,” Hanyu explained as if reciting an incantation.

The big change from last season would be to reduce the number of 3A down to one, and increase the number of 4T up to two. Hanyu’s 3A has even been said to be the world’s most beautiful, and is a strong weapon that Hanyu himself has said he has deep sentiments towards.

Probably, the reason he decided to take it out nevertheless is that, as a contingency plan, there is nothing as reassuring as the 3A. For figure skating, there is a rule that the same type of jump may only be repeated once, and only two types of jumps may be repeated [in one program]. When skaters fail, they have to consider things like type of jump and number of rotations, making corrections while performing. Because Hanyu’s 3A garners many GOE points, even if he messes a quad up, he can make up and “recover” with this “quad-equivalent” jump.

Providing is preventing. Behind the challenge is risk management––assumption of various situations at each phase of training.

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ARTICLE: Hanyu on Full Gear toward Pyeongchang. Perfect SP (Partial)

8/09 10:09 Daily Sports Online (missed this little one, about the SP)

- “It’s a level of completion unthinkable at pre-season. At the runthrough of the SP “Ballade No 1″, after he landed the opening 4Lo, he also successfully landed in the second half the 3A, followed by the 4T combo. Although certainly he is familiar with the program, having had it for two seasons, the jump layout at the time was 4S, 4T3T, with a 3A in the second half. Even as he raised the difficulty by a lot, Hanyu landed all the jumps in the program and showed us a perfect performance. According to Hanyu, ‘I was thinking I’d like to have it all work together right from the first half of the season, and so that’s how I trained.’“

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📺 NEWS CLIP (SEIMEI announcement)

8/09 9:31 FUJI Tokudane (Interview already in articles below) - Clip of SEIMEI 4T-lo-3S, some choreo (cr. spread_wing0217@twi) - Clip of SEIMEI 4T3T, spins, etc (cr. anipooh1@twi)

8/09 7:58 FUJI Mezamashi - Video clip of SEIMEI 3A-2T into SE, 3A (cr. yuzu_pino@twi)

ARTICLES (SEIMEI announcement) (Partial)

8/09 10:29 Jiji (missed out a paragraph, bolded) - “[SEIMEI] practice was done in separate parts, to music. For quads, he landed the opening 4Lo and 4S, and landed three (including the 4T combo) cleanly in the second half as well. - “Together with the SP using Chopin’s Ballade No 1, a reenactment of two seasons ago when he got a combined 330.43 points. Hanyu stated, ‘How do I want to show, how do I want to express––I’ve come to dig deeper [than before]. I want to achieve performances that, when you see them in competition, don’t make you think, ‘again?’”

8/09 10:04 Sankei (some photos :D but no extra content) 8/09 10:15 NHK (another photo but no extra content) 8/09 7: 55 Asahi Shinbun (Interesting last paragraph added. Bolded) - “Riding upon the melody of Japanese flutes and taiko, Hanyu began to skate. He showed a born-again onmyoji as he easily landed 4T three-jump combo, 4S two-jump combo and more.” - “The reason to Hanyu’s choice is that ‘it is a program that is very much like himself no matter in the way of breathing, or jumps, or steps.’ And, when asked what his forte is, declared decisively, ‘Everything.’”

8/09 7:50 Nikkan Sports, 9:15 Nikkan Sports (Similar. New bolded.) - To Hanyu, [SEIMEI] is a program that “allows him to be himself, and skate comfortably.” - “Regarding concerns over a familiar program, Brian Orser who coaches Hanyu disagrees. ‘Not only is it a program that wows no matter who sees it, the choreography has also been updated. But, there is a need to raise the level.’ Hanyu too, ‘without any extra prompting, still wants to skate to it again.’”

8/09 9:00 Sankei - Around 80 people came from Japan to report on Media Day - First quad [in the LP performed today]––a quad loop––was landed, and adjustments has been smooth as well. - Hanyu: “desires to repeat his [Olympic] victory.”

8/09 9:06 Daily Sports Online - “Although he uses the same piece [with SEIMEI], Hanyu’s ‘consistently practicing at a high level’. And as he says, he plans to bring 3 quads into the second half of the program, for a total of 5 quads in his layout.” - “[Hanyu] expresses his determination to “first be chosen [to represent Japan in Olympics] in a condition that is healthy, without injury, and capable of bringing out his true abilities with the best effort possible. If [he] is chosen, he would like to aim firmly at the gold medal.”

Mako Hara from Nikkei (nikkei_haramako@twi) - [Hanyu] said clearly, “The difficulty is different, I will show a different performance.”

8/09 Daily Sports Online - Hanyu, firm and clearly: “Since the time when I achieved good performances in 15-16 season, I’ve decided that I wanted to skate to it in Olympic season. I decided without any hesitation.”

8/09 7:50 Sponichi Annex - BO: “Both jumps and skills are going up. It’ll become a high level program” displays confidence at performance that exceeds two seasons ago.

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ARTICLE: Hanyu is fully prepared for five quads: With half a year left, [Brian Orser] speaks about strategy and the field (Full trans)

8/09 Yomiuri Morning Post (Chiba) (cr. takarahako@twi)

I’m going into my sixth season as Yuzuru’s coach. He is naturally talented technique-wise. He jumps 3A’s and quads perfectly, as if he were superman. But he is never satisfied [with the status quo]. In order to bring good skates, in order to live up to expectations surrounding him, he continues to aim high with all his might. In that sense, I feel that he is a special existence.

During the three years after the Sochi Olympics, although there were two seasons where he wasn’t World Champion, he has grown exponentially. Thirsty for victory, wanting to improve, he has pushed forward in training. Having regained the world title after three seasons, there is no doubt that he has regained confidence that his past efforts were in the right path. It’s the best condition to be in, facing the Olympic season.

For the men’s, the age of however many types of quads being attempted left and right have come. This development is probably going to continue this season as well. During the off season, we have done many runthroughs, and worked hard to increase his stamina. That is in order to do five quads––one more compared to last year––for the free program. But, it is not just about the number of quads, we also hope you’ll pay attention to the high quality of the skating and the jumps.

Sochi Olympics was a one-on-one battle between Patrick Chan and Yuzuru, but this time more faces have surfaced to compete for medals. Beginning with Javier Fernandez who he trains with, youngsters such as Nathan Chen, Shoma Uno, and Boyang Jin have come to the fore. I am looking forward to the existence of rivals leading to even further growth from Yuzuru.

I know he is looked upon to repeat his win at the Olympics. He wants to meet every expectation, and is devoting his full effort towards it. In terms of pre-season condition, it’s been the best ever. There is still half a year, and I am looking forward to see how far he’ll grow. (fin)

#yuzuru hanyu #hanyu yuzuru #羽生結弦 #figure skating #2017

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