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The picture shows Japanese figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu (23) at the exhibition gala at the 2018 Grand Prix of Helsinki. photo by Phantom Kabocha –

Top 10 Facts about Yuzuru Hanyu

Yuzuru Hanyu is a former Japanese competitive figure skater. Hanyu and figure skating complement each other like peanut butter and jelly; although one may live without the other, they are far more effective when they work together. The figure skating GOAT announced his retirement from competitions on July 19, 2022.

While he has decided to continue his career as a professional skater, his absence from all big international competitions will be felt. He has left an incredible legacy since winning the Junior World Championship in 2010, which marked the beginning of his meteoric journey to the top. He is one of the most famous figures in Japan and the entire globe. Here are the top 10 facts about the figure skating legend.

1. Hanyu was born on December 7, 1994

Hanyu was born in Izumi-Ku, Sendai, Japan, on December 7, 1994, as the second and youngest child of his father, Hidetoshi Hanyu, a junior high school teacher, and Yumi Hanyu, a former department store clerk. Hanyu’s father was also an adviser of the baseball school club and advised him on the sport before he chose figure skating.

In his early career, Hanyu’s mother made all of his costumes, including those for his 2010-2011 season free skate, which was created by American figure skater Johnny Weir.

2. His name means 鈥淏owstring鈥�

The picture shows Japanese figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu (22) in the short program at the 2017 CS Autumn Classic International in Montreal, Quebec. photo by David W. Carmichael –

Hanyu’s given name was inspired by his father’s desire for him to “live a dignified way like a tightly drawn bowstring,” and it also represents confidence, power, and straightness. His name means “bowstring,” which represents certainty, power, and straightness. His father gave him this name because he wished for him to be an industrious man who lived a basic but respectable life.

3. Hanyu was diagnosed with asthma at two years old

Hanyu was diagnosed as having asthma at the age of two, a disease that progressively became better over time. Hanyu struggled with the condition well into his junior competition career, and according to Canadian choreographer David Wilson, it was not until Hanyu made the switch to adult competition that he was able to figure out how to deal with the endurance problems that his asthma had caused in the later portions of his junior performances.

4. Hanyu began skating when he was four years old

Yuzuru Hanyu (22) in the short program at the 2017 World Championships. photo by Phantom Kabocha –

When Hanyu was four years old, his sister’s instructor Mami Yamada advised him to try skating rather than disrupting his sister’s practice. As soon as Hanyu stepped onto the ice, Yamada saw his impatience. He leapt into the ice while jogging and landed hard, striking his helmet on the surface before getting back up and continuing to run.

Yamada, though, commended Hanyu for his capacity to convey sincerity. When Yamada had to go to a different prefecture and asked Minoru Sano’s previous coach Sh艒ichir艒 Tsuzuki [ja] to train Hanyu and “not put his skill to waste,” Tsuzuki agreed. Yamada had coached Hanyu until the end of his second grade in elementary school.

5. He was affected by the 2011 T艒hoku Earthquake and Tsunami

Debris and debris after the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami photo by Banzai Hiroaki –

Hanyu is from Sendai, a city in northeastern Japan that was close to the centre of the devastating earthquake that struck there in March 2011 and left more than 18,000 people dead or missing. Hanyu was practising on the ice back then as a young teenager when the 9.0-magnitude earthquake occurred.  Little Hanyu was forced to witness in terror as the walls fiercely trembled and the ice started to fracture beneath his skates.

The devastating earthquake and tsunami that occurred in Japan in 2011 only directly affected Hanyu, one of the country’s finest figure skaters. By being a survivor of the earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan, he is a proponent of several initiatives to aid earthquake victims.

6. He has won seven world championship medals in the post-war era

Yuzuru Hanyu(1st) and Tatsuki Machida(2nd) at the 2014 World Championships. photo by David W. Carmichael –

He has won two Olympic titles (2014, 2018), two World championships (2014, 2017), four Grand Prix Final titles (2013鈥�2016), the 2020 Four Continents title, the 2010 World Junior title, the 2009鈥�10 Junior Grand Prix Final championship, and six consecutive Japanese national titles (2012鈥�2015, 2020鈥�2021).

Along with Jan Hoffmann, he is the only male single skater to have won seven world championship medals in the post-World War era after winning bronze in 2012 and 2021 and silver in 2015, 2016 and 2019. He has also medaled at five additional World Championships.

7. He has broken world records nineteen times

Yuzuru Hanyu (23) in the free skating at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Gangneung. photo by David W. Carmichael –

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. He has been dubbed “one of the greatest figure skaters in history” by many sports writers, commentators, and skaters for his well-rounded skills, achievements, popularity, and impact on the sport. He has broken world records nineteen times, the most by a single skater since the ISU Judging System was introduced in 2004.

8. Hanyu became the youngest recipient of the People’s Honour Award

Hanyu was given the People’s Honour Award by the Prime Minister of Japan in honour of his accomplishments for “bringing dreams and thrills to the people and hope and bravery to society,” making him the award’s youngest winner. The people’s Honour Award is one of the commendations bestowed by the Prime Minister of Japan on people in recognition of their accomplishments in sports, entertainment, and other fields.

9. Hanyu was the first Asian men’s singles skater to win Olympic Gold

Yuzuru Hanyu (23) in the short program at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Gangneung. photo by David W. Carmichael –

Hanyu became the first Asian men’s singles skater to win the Olympic gold after taking home his first Olympic medal. Since Dick Button in 1948, he was the youngest male skater to win the Olympic gold medal at the age of nineteen. Since Button’s back-to-back victories in 1948 and 1952, he became the first man to win two consecutive Olympic gold medals in 2018.

Hanyu was the first skater ever to successfully land a quadruple loop in a competition during the 2016 CS Autumn Classic International. He is the first Asian male singles skater to have several World Championship victories.

10. He retired from competitive figure skating in mid-2022

After a 12-year senior career, Hanyu stated on July 19, 2022, that he will turn professional and “step away鈥� from competitive figure skating. This move, in the words of Nikkei Asia, “marks the end of an era.”

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