Hanyu writes another chapter in figure skating legend

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February 17, 2018 2:40 PM

GANGNEUNG, South Korea — At a figure-skating competition in Moscow last October, Yuzuru Hanyu was told that he resembled some heroic character, delicate but fierce, from the Japanese tradition of anime.

He did not see himself that way, the slender, long-legged Hanyu said in an interview. But with a smile, he added, “I like to win with some drama.”

He could have had no idea how much drama lay ahead.

Less than three weeks later, Hanyu suffered ligament damage to his right ankle while rehearsing a difficult four-revolution jump. Nearly four months elapsed before he could compete again, here at the Winter Olympics, but he showed little erosion of skill or victorious determination from the layoff.

Skating Saturday, Hanyu, 23, did not perform flawlessly before what was essentially a home crowd, in an arena where fans waved dozens of Japanese flags.

But he displayed sufficient stamina, jumping ability, elastic spins and ethereal grace to win a second consecutive gold medal, becoming the first men’s repeat Olympic champion since Dick Button of the United States in 1948 and 1952.

The ankle is not completely healed, and Hanyu said he worried at times before the games whether he would be able to skate again. But the injured joint held up enough to support another winning performance, with 317.85 points. Afterward, Hanyu said playfully, “I’d like to thank my ankle, you did a good job.”

He prevailed with a strategy of restraint, avoiding the riskiest quadruple jumps in his 4 1/2-minute routine and relying on the completeness of his ability. His countryman, Shoma Uno, 20, took the silver medal with 306.90 points.

And Javier Fernandez, 26, a training partner of Hanyu’s, won Spain’s first Olympic skating medal, taking bronze with 305.24 points.

Even though Nathan Chen of the United States, who was among the early favorites, did not reach the medal podium, he did find some measure of redemptive satisfaction — and perhaps some sting of regret — with a performance of audacious ambition that brought him fifth place overall. Vincent Zhou of the United States finished sixth, and Adam Rippon, also of the United States, was 10th.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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