Yuzuru Hanyu is a versatile Japanese figure skater who is well recognized for being a two-time Olympic champion (2014, 2018), a two-time World champion (2014, 2017), a four-time Grand Prix Final champion (2013-2016), a Four Continents champion (2020), the 2010 World Junior champion, the 2009-2010 Junior Grand Prix Final champion, and a six-time Japanese national champion (2012-2015, 2020-2021). He started figure skating when he was 4 years old. He became the first Asian figure skater competing in men’s singles to win the Olympic gold and he was also first in singles at the 2010 World Junior Championships. Hanyu is the current record holder for the highest short program, free skating, and combined total scores, as well as the largest victory margin of 37.48 points. Besides, Yuzuru made his theatrical film debut in the comedy history movie, “Tono, risoku de gozaru!” in 2016. Moreover, he was assigned to represent Japan at the 2022 Winter Olympics and the 2022 World Figure Skating Championships.
Yuzuru Hanyu out to ‘complete’ himself with a quadruple Axel jump
With figure skating fans holding their breath to see if Hanyu will deliver a performance at the Beijing Olympics that could earn him a third consecutive gold – a first for the sport in almost a century – the stakes are higher than ever. But perhaps the biggest pressure for the two-time world champion comes from within. Over a long-spanning career, the 27-year-old has amassed a trove of medals but it is the childhood dream of landing the quadruple Axel that has kept him pushing ahead.
With a determination bordering on obsession, Hanyu has said he would sometimes spend all but 15 minutes of a two-hour practice session on the quad Axel, or “4A,” a taxing regimen that would include dozens of falls on the hard ice, not to mention the risk of injury. “I need to understand it,” he has said of the jump that no skater has ever landed successfully in competition. “I want to get to that place where I can confidently feel that this is the complete, perfectly formed version of Yuzuru Hanyu.
And part of that is the 4A.” After missing the Grand Prix series with a sprained ankle this season, Hanyu, whom Chinese fans affectionately call “Youzi” – Mandarin for the yuzu citrus fruit – included the jump at the Japanese championships in December but it fell short of qualifying as a 4A.s
Famous For
- Being a Japanese figure skater.
- For being a gold medalist in the men’s singles at the 2014 and 2018 Olympics.
Source: @instagram.com/yuzu_yuzuru
Where is Yuzuru Hanyu from?
Yuzuru Hanyu was born on 7th December 1994 in Sendai, Miyagi, Japan. He is of Japanese nationality and he belongs to the Asian ethnicity. Likewise, his religion is Christian and his race is white. Hanyu’s present age is 27 which he celebrated back in 2021 and as per his birthdate, his star sign is Sagittarius. He is the second and youngest child to his father, Hidetoshi Hanyu, who is a junior high school teacher, and his mother, Yumi Hanyu, a former clerk at a department store. He has one sibling named Saya Hanyu.
Source: @instagram.com/yuzu_yuzuru
Talking about Hanyu’s education, he studied at Nanakita Elementary and Junior High School. In 2013, he graduated from Tohoku High School then entered an e-school program on Human Information Science at Waseda University. He officially graduated from the university in September 2020 but was unable to attend the ceremony due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan. In March 2021, a bulletin paper summarizing his graduation thesis was published in the Waseda Journal of Human Sciences
Yuzuru Hanyu Career Timeline
- Yuzuru Hanyu began his career competing nationally as a novice skater in the 2004-2005 season where he skated and won gold at the 2004 Japan Novice Championships in the Novice B category.
- He won the bronze medal at the 2006 Japan Novice Championships in the Novice A category and then placed first at the 2007 Japan Novice Championships in the Novice A category and won the bronze medal at the 2007-2008 Japan Junior Championships.
- He moved up to the junior level and debuted at the ISU Junior Grand Prix in 2008 and was the youngest male skater to win the Japan Junior Championship at 13. This result also qualified him for the 2009 World Junior Championships.
- Hanyu placed 11th in the short program and 13th in his free skate, giving him a total of 161.77 points to finish 12th overall at the 2009 World Junior Championships.
- won both of his Junior Grand Prix events, in Croatia and Poland, and finished as the top qualifier for the Junior Grand Prix Final in the 2009-2010 season where he achieved a new personal best score of 206.77 points and won the event
- He then placed first on the junior level and sixth on the senior level in the event as well as became the fourth and the youngest Japanese man to win the junior world title.
- He moved up to the senior level at the age of 15 for the 2010-2011 season and placed 5th in the short program with 69.31 points in his senior debut at the 2010 NHK Trophy.
- He landed his first quadruple toe loop jump in an ISU competition and came in 4th with 138.41 points in his free skate, giving him a total of 207.72 points to finish 4th overall.
- He was also selected to compete at the 2011 Four Continents Championships, where he won the silver medal with a new personal best score.
- He was skating at his home rink in Sendai when the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami struck his hometown and the region and started the 2011-2012 season with a win at the Nebelhorn Trophy where he placed first in both the short program and the free skate, for a combined total score of 226.26 points.
- In his senior Worlds debut, he was seventh in the short program but placed second in the free skate.
- Then he began his season at the 2012 Finlandia Trophy, where he won the gold medal and his short program score at the Skate America, 95.07 points, was a new world record.
- He scored 95.32 in the short program, beating his world record, and went on to win the gold medal in his hometown at his second event, the 2012 NHK Trophy.
- He claimed his first national title at the 2012-2013 Japan Championships after placing first in the short program and second in the free skate in December 2012 and started his season with a win at the 2013 Finlandia Trophy.
- He was qualified for the 2013-2014 Grand Prix Final where he set a new world record in the short program with 99.84 points and won the title as well as he broke his world record at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi and became the first skater to score over 100 points in the short program in the men’s short program individual event with 101.45 points.
- Also, he completed the season with a victory at the 2014 World Championships in Saitama, Japan, and became the first skater since Alexei Yagudin (in 2002) to win the Olympics, World Championships, and Grand Prix Final in the same season.
- He competed in the 2014-2015 Japan Championships in December 2014 and placed first in both the short program and free skate with a total score of 286.86 points.
- He competed at the 2015 World Championships, where he scored a season’s best in the short program and entered as first into the free skate, and scored 175.88, for a total of 271.08.
- Later he competed for the first time at the 2015 World Team Trophy, in Tokyo, Japan, and scored first in both the short program and the free skate, receiving 24 points to help Team Japan win the bronze medal, behind Team USA and Team Russia.
- Subsequently, he skated to the soundtrack from the films Onmyoji and Onmyoji 2 in his free program, portraying natural philosopher and astrologer Abe no Seimei for the 2015-2016 season as he started his season by winning gold at the 2015 Skate Canada Autumn Classic, finishing 36 points ahead of the silver medalist, Nam Nguyen.
- At the 2015 NHK Trophy, he placed first in the short program with a world record score of 106.33 and broke the short program record which he had just set two weeks prior, totaling a score of 110.95 points, putting him in the lead at the 2015-2016 Grand Prix Final in Barcelona.
- In the free skate, he broke another new world record, scoring 219.48 points, giving him a combined total of 330.43 and his third Grand Prix Final title in a row. He is the first man to have won Grand Prix Final for three consecutive seasons.
- Hanyu’s assignments were the Skate Canada International and the NHK Trophy for the 2016-2017 Grand Prix as he competed at the Autumn Classic International, where he won the gold medal and became the first skater in history to successfully land a quadruple loop in a competition.
- He placed first in the short program with 106.53 points after a solid showing at the 2016-2017 Grand Prix Final in Marseille as well as he was selected to compete at the 2017 Four Continents Championships and 2017 World Championships.
- He later returned to Ballade No. 1 (Chopin) for his short program for the 2017-2018 season and broke the world record he set previously at the 2015-2016 Grand Prix Final with 112.72 points at his first competition of the season, Skate Canada Autumn Classic International.
- Hanyu was also assigned to represent Japan at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, and the 2018 World Figure Skating Championships in Milan, Italy.
- He was assigned to the Grand Prix of Helsinki and Rostelecom Cup for the 2018-2019 Grand Prix series as he started the season by competing at Skate Canada Autumn Classic International and received 97.74 points for his short program after one of his spins was invalidated.
- He placed first in the short program with 106.69 points, a world record score under the newly introduced +5/-5 GOE system at his first Grand Prix event, the Grand Prix of Helsinki.
- As well, he placed first in the short program with 110.53 points, a new world record at the 2018 Rostelecom Cup, and was assigned to represent Japan at the 2019 World Figure Skating Championships in Saitama, Japan.
- Subsequently, the Japanese federation announced he would not be participating in the season’s final event, the World Team Trophy, due to his injury.
- Competing at the 2019 CS Autumn Classic International, he placed first in both programs to claim the gold medal and went to his fourth Skate Canada International, having won the silver medal there on his three previous outings where he placed first in the short program with a clean skate.
- Hanyu placed first in the short program, 5.01 points ahead of Shoma Uno at his first Japanese championships since the 2016-2017 season, and was assigned to compete at the World Championships in Montreal, but these were canceled as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
- He announced on 28th August (2020-2021 season) that he would skip the Grand Prix series, citing the risk of COVID-19 for himself however he decided to compete in Japanese championships, which doubled as the final qualifier for the upcoming World Championships in Stockholm. He placed first in the short program (103.53 points) and the free skate (215.83 points) with all positive grades of execution on jumping passes and won his fifth national figure skating title with a total score of 319.36 points.
- The 2021 World Championships were to be the first direct competition between Hanyu and Nathan Chen since the 2019-2020 Grand Prix Final as Hanyu placed first in the short program with a solid performance, 6.02 points ahead of compatriot Yuma Kagiyama.
- His placement combined with Kagiyama’s qualified three berths for Japanese men at the 2022 Winter Olympics. He competed as part of Team Japan for the 2021 World Team Trophy and placed second in both the short program and the free skate, only behind Nathan Chen.
- He also achieved a personal season’s best score in both the short program and the free skate with 107.12 and 193.76 points respectively and earned a total of 22 points to help his team take home the bronze medal.
- He confirmed his plans to compete in the 2021-2022 Olympic season and was scheduled to compete at the 2021 NHK Trophy and 2021 Rostelecom Cup in November for the 2021-2022 Grand Prix series.
- The Japan Skating Federation announced Hanyu’s withdrawal from the NHK Trophy due to an injury in his right ankle ligament during a fall in practice on 4th November 2021.
- Yuzuru made his season debut at the 2021-2022 Japan Figure Skating Championships, placing first in both the short program and free skate, winning his sixth Japanese National title, tying Takeshi Honda’s record of most national titles in the last 50 years.
- Also, he was assigned to represent Japan at the 2022 Winter Olympics and the 2022 World Figure Skating Championships.
- Besides, Hanyu was appointed as the model for Miyagi Prefecture Police’s traffic safety poster aiming to encourage compliance with traffic rules and spread awareness of safe driving in 2013 and 2021. According to an official in March 2021, he was chosen because “he embodies sportsmanship”.
- Additionally, Hanyu has broken world records nineteen times -20 seven times under the current +5/-5 GOE system and twelve times before the 2018-2019 season.
- He also holds the current world record for the short program, in addition to the historical world records for the short program, free skating, and total score.
Source: @instagram.com/yuzu_yuzuru
Film and television
- Hanyu served as a judge on Japan’s popular New Year’s Eve music show ” Kohaku Uta Gassen” on 31st December 2015 whereas he made his on-screen debut as Date Shigemura, a samurai lord, in the 2016 movie, “The Magnificent Nine”.
- His first DVD/Blu-ray album “Time of Awakening”, which compiled his career before the 2014 Winter Olympics, was released on 221st May 2014, selling 21,000 copies.
- His first self-produced show “Continues with Wings” was live broadcast on TV Asahi CS in 2018 and live-streamed at 66 movie theaters throughout Japan.
- Furthermore, Hanyu also released some photobooks as his first photo book, “Yuzuru”, was released on 4th October 2014, selling over 23,000 copies
Awards and Achievements
People’s Honour Award
- Awarded in 2018
Japan Medals of Honor
- Purple Ribbon
Laureus World Sports Awards
- The comeback of the Year – nominated in 2019
International Skating Union (ISU)
- “Most Valuable Skater”
Japanese Olympic Committee
- JOC Sports Award – Newcomer Award (2009)
- Best Award (2013)
- Special Achievement Award (2015)
- Special Honor Award
- Olympic Special Award
Japan Skating Federation
- JOC Cup (Most Valuable Player Award)
Waseda University
- Azusa Ono Memorial Award (2021)
- Alumni Association Toukon Award (2021)
Media
- Asahi Shimbun: Asahi Sports Award
- Business Insider: “Most Dominant Athletes Alive”
- Chunichi Shimbun: 29th “Chunichi Sports Award”
- ESPN: “World Fame 100”
- Forbes: 30 Under 30 Asia
- Japan Newspaper Publishers and Editors Association: “Happy News Person Award”
- Kahoku Shinpo: 64th “Hebei Cultural Award”
- Mainichi Shimbun: 22nd “Daily Sports People Award” Grand Prix
- Marca: “The 100 Best Male Sportsmen of the 21st Century” #62
- Sports Graphic Number: 33rd “MVP Award”
- Oricon News: “Top 10 Favorite Athletes” Male category
- Tohoku Sports Press Club: Sports Award
- Tokyo Sports Press Club: Special Award (2012), Skater of the Year
- TV Asahi: “Big Sports Awards”, “Special Sports Broadcasting Award”
- Xinhua News Agency: “Top 10 Worlds Athletes/Sports Personalities”
- Yahoo! Japan: “Yahoo! Search Awards” Grand Prize & Athlete Category (2014), Special Category & Athlete Category
- Yomiuri Shimbun: “Japan Sports Awards” Grand Prix
Municipality
- Miyagi “Citizens’ Honor Award”
- Miyagi “Chairman of Prefectural Assembly’s Special Award”
- Sendai “Chairman of City Assembly’s Special Award”
- Sendai “Plaque of tribute”
- Sendai “Sports Awards”
- Sendai “Monument of Figure Skating”
- Tokyo “Honor Award” (2018)
- Tokyo “Sports Grand Prize” (2018)
Who is Yuzuru Hanyu Dating?
Yuzuru Hanyu is an unmarried man. There is not much about his personal relation and girlfriend as he always maintains a distance in his personal life and media. However, as he likes to keep his private life out of social media, he has not disclosed any regarding his love life. Respecting his decision, it can be said that Hanyu is currently living a single life. Concerning his sexual orientation, he is straight.
What is the Net Worth of Yuzuru Hanyu?
Yuzuru Hanyu has a net worth of $2 million as of 2022. He also earns a fine amount of salary which is also in thousands of dollars per year. In 2019, he became the ambassador for Citizen in China, Hong Kong, and Macau, as well as the global ambassador of the Sekkisei series by Kose. Hanyu was appointed as the ambassador of the world’s first official Paralympics game “The Pegasus Dream Tour” in June 2021. He also has been acting as the tourism ambassador of Sendai and featured in the city’s tourism posters as well as tourist guidebooks since April 2014. In addition, his major source of income is his figure skater career.
How tall is Yuzuru Hanyu?
Yuzuru Hanyu is a handsome guy who is 1.72 m (5 ft 7+1⁄2 in) tall. He has 65 kg or 143.5 lbs of body weight with an athletic body build type. He has black hair and dark brown eyes color. His physique combined with his perfect height and masculine look takes him to the top of the desired list in the young gen women.
Source: Gossip G
