Yuzuru Hanyū, known as “The Prince of Ice” and considered the legend of figure skating, announced his retirement from this sport on July 19. The news has taken the sports community and his fans by surprise, who showed him great appreciation and affection during his career.
At a press conference in Tokyo, Japan, Hanyū thanked the support received during all these years and confirmed that his retirement is the result of the ankle injury he suffered during the Beijing Olympics last February, the last one in which he participated. and in which he obtained the fourth position.
I was injured and it hurt so much that I couldn’t train. I thought I couldn’t go on like this as I wanted to feel better skating. For me, skating is living, it is something that I carry deep inside.
I will no longer be able to compare myself to other competitors, but I will continue to fight against my weaknesses and my old self. In terms of results, I have achieved as much as I can.
I made the decision (to stop competing) after Beijing… I thought about many things and felt that I no longer needed to be on the same stage and at the same time, I felt more determined to improve and become stronger.
– Yuzuru Hanyū, former figure skater
Hanyū, 27, started in the sport at the age of four and in his career he has won gold medals at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics (South Korea 2018) and Sochi (Russia 2014). In addition, he has been four times champion of the Grand Prix of figure skating (2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016), champion of the Four Continents of Figure Skating (2020), champion of the final of the Junior Grand Prix in Figure Skating (2009) and six times Japanese national figure skating champion (2012-2015, 2020-2021).
In 2018, he received the People’s Honor Award from the Government of Japan, making him the first athlete in this discipline to receive it. But that’s not all, because in 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2018 he received the Most Valuable Athlete Award from the Japan Skating Federation.
In addition, he is the first skater to perform a loop quadruple in a competition and is also the first skater to attempt to jump a 4A, being certified at the Olympics. And this is just to mention some of his achievements.
His retirement will leave a huge void in figure skating and the ice rinks will no longer be covered with Winnie The Pooh dolls, which fans used to throw after each performance.
Hanyū’s retirement marks the legacy of a young man who gave everything on the ice rink, both physically and emotionally, because each of his performances carried a piece of his heart.