170218 Pyeongchang Olympics Press Conference for Men’s Figure Skating- YUZURU HANYU
“Becuase it’s been a lot of hard work, the journey here [from Sochi to Pyeongchang] is no easy feat. If I were to reflect on these 4 years, those who have supported me [since Sochi], those who supported me even since the Juniors, my most important family, the team and the coaches and teachers who nurtured me till today, and finally all those around the world who have supported me -- all these emotions and thoughts gushed up to my mind.”
2. Today’s Programme Structure
“I’ve been thinking about it ever since I woke up this morning. Luckily I had a lot of options. Under these circumstances and being able to compete in this state has a lot to owe to my injury -- that’s what drove my thinking. You can also say that due to the period of time when I was unable to go onto ice, I was able to learn how to strategise, like how I worked hard for this victory.”
3. Regarding his Performance
“It was a careful first-half, because I was quite uneasy regarding the Salchow during the 6-minute warm-up session. And based on the feeling the first-half gave me, I was able to complete the jumps in the second-half. And most importantly, as I mentioned yesterday, be it the salchow, the toe loop or the axel, all these triples have been with me over the years so [my body] has already remembered them.
“Because it is really tiring to jump the Lutz using the right leg. My right leg worked hard -- such a thought was really strong.”
(sorry I am a bit unsure of what they meant here^)
5. The Moment the Performance Ended
“I felt that I won. But during the Sochi Olympics, my entire mind was filled with unease from the doubts on whether I could win, so the most important thing here is that I felt that I conquered myself.”
6. When did you decide on the programme for the FS?
“This morning, myself. It was before practice. There’re a lot of reasons for this.”
7. Did you have the thought of wanting to jump the 4Lo?
“Before considering whether I should include it, the most important thing here is to win. If there’s no victory, there’s no meaning behind it anymore, which is even more so for this competition, considering that the results will follow me for the whole of my life. [I] really really value [this competition], so I only came with the sole goal to win.”
8. Pressure of Winning the Olympics Consecutively
“There’s not a lot of pressure. I didn’t think of whether I can win it consecutively or not, I just want to win the next competition.”
9. Comparing to the Sochi Gold Medal
“I can’t just compare them. What comes to mind now, is the dream that I had since childhood, or the journey of my life -- I am, in a sense, nearing the end goal now. With consideration to this, I would like to say this to the young self who just started learning how to skate, who watched Evegeni Plushenko thinking “I want to get a gold in the Olympics!” -- “Although many things have happened, I am still practising really hard!”
10. Surpassing Plushenko?
11. Comparing the FS to Sochi
“Back then I was immersed in it and worked desperately towards it, and I thought that I presented a good performance for a few years back. Regarding that [Sochi] performance, I was neither regretful nor ashamed. However, the fact still remains that there were mistakes, so it’s really good that mistakes were cleared during this performance.”
12. Did you practice the entire FS in Toronto?
“A couple of times. However, I was still quite wary of my ankle’s condition. Although I did not intend to make any comments regarding the state of my ankle, the condition is really serious, more than what I have expected. Not only did the initial diagnosis showed that there was ligament damage, other body parts were affected as well, and the off-ice period was really long. Hence, in a sense, rather than the issue of stamina, my unease towards being back on ice was greater.”
13. Rasing the benchmark in Figure Skating
“I do not think I raised the standards. The first skater to open the doors to the 4Lz was Jin Boyang, and I have tried my best to overcome my limits to chase after him ever since. As a result, everyone became stronger -- Nathan Chen entered the arena, and even Shoma, such a skilful Japanese skater, also appeared. I deeply feel that I, as a skater, am the one benefitting from this era.”
Every time I finish his interviews, I am once again reminded that Yuzuru is really such a humble, strong and inspiring individual.
