Yuzuru Hanyu, the Japanese figure skater that has taken the world by storm for the past 10 years, arrived at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics with fans sitting on the edge of their seats. The two-time Olympic gold medalist in Sochi 2014 and PyeongChang 2018, at only age 19 and 23, respectively, was expected to make his third Olympic appearance to defend his gold, but he had another goal in mind.
Yuzuru Hanyu has broken 19 figure skating world records as of 2021 — often his own, one after another — and is considered one of the greatest skaters of all time without even reaching retirement yet. Not only has Hanyu’s skating success skyrocketed but also the tremendous fanbase he has cultivated around the world. His skating has been compared to ballet and he, himself, has been called a “rockstar on the ice,” proving that, along with his technical qualities, he has the ability to put on a show for the audience rather than just the judges.
The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics was expected to be Hanyu’s most difficult Olympics yet as the once-young and upcoming skaters he was up against were now more experienced. All eyes were on him as the two-time champion. After the first event called the Short-Program, he missed a critical jump due to a hole in the ice, which landed him in eighth place. This meant, for him to place on the podium, he would have to give an almost perfect performance in the Free-Program.
Despite knowing the risks, Hanyu still aimed to reach the initial goal he had set for himself this Olympics: To successfully land the quadruple axel jump, which was never done before in the history of figure skating. The jump consists of four-and-a-half revolutions, making it one of the most difficult jumps in the sport. This jump would require a height so great that the skater would land with a force five-to-10 times their body weight, pushing the boundaries of human physics and making the feat nearly impossible.
Hanyu has been chasing this jump for years, citing it as his childhood dream. Having withdrawn from multiple competitions in the 2021 season due to a ligament injury on his right ankle, he was never planning to compete in the 2022 Olympics. Yet, he returned for the main goal of attempting the quadruple axel.
“I know full well that right now, I don’t have enough to win [the gold medal],” said Hanyu in December after qualifying for the Olympics. “Sure, I could drop the axel and look at other ways of trying to win gold, but the biggest reason I’m going to Beijing is because I want to complete the quadruple axel.”
Despite the knowledge that not perfectly landing the quadruple axel would cost him any chance at receiving a medal, Hanyu still went for it. His status in the figure skating community as an internationally-recognized and established athlete means he has reached a point in his career where he does not feel the need to chase a medal anymore. Using the biggest stage in the sport’s world as his playground, Hanyu chased his childhood dream in an attempt to make history.
In the end, his attempt at the quadruple axel was unsuccessful as Hanyu was unable to stick the landing. Doing almost 4.25 rotations in the air resulted in a fall to the ice, but it was the closest attempt in history. The rest of Hanyu’s performance continued seamlessly and had him finish in fourth place, behind his fellow Japanese competitor and the new gold medal holder, Nathan Chen of the United States.
Although he failed to make the podium this time, Hanyu is being applauded across social media for his astounding attempt and for being a trailblazer in the figure skating community. Yuzuru Hanyu has gained respect for breaking the athletic community’s norm of aiming solely for first place. Instead, he is pushing his sport even further, breaking boundaries and trying to accomplish the so-called “impossible.”