For the last 4 world championships, If the champion wasn’t Yuzuru, it was Javi. If the champion wasn’t Javi, it was Yuzuru. I’m gonna miss them two this year.
During April 13-15, Yuzu will be hosting an ice show called “Continues With Wings”. He will not be skating as he is still going through rehab, but he will feature skaters who have influenced him throughout his career, and will be interviewing them. Yuzu will also have his own talking segments.
Interviewer (I) “Congratulations on your amazing results!”
Yuzu “Thank you.”
(I) “How are you feeling, the medal has the weight of something you wanted from the bottom of your heart, I assume?”
Yuzu “Yes I am feeling the weight of it. But this is not the weight that only I can carry around. It was achieved by the effort of everyone. So I want to share this 'weight’ with them.”
(I) “I am sure there are many people who were happy for you. Please, take a seat”
Yuzu “Thank you.”
(I) “We had you and Shoma in this show after the 2017 World Championships. You won the gold and you were smiling. Yet you looked like you were still in a fight towards the Olympics. Compared to back then, you now look that you are finally freed.”
Yuzu “Yes, I actually feel being released now. It was like facing a dead end with no luck left. I cornered myself, and it was quite a difficult situation. I bet and sacrificed so many things. So I am fulfilled as all my sacrifices and work paid off, in a way.”
(I) “Would you summarise that the past 4 years was all for the gold medal?”
Yuzu “Well, it was not just for the Olympics. However, everything was done for skating, for sure. Of course, everything was linked to the Olympics but I put my best effort in all competitions one by one. The consequence of all effort led me to the Olympics.”
(I) You spoke of sacrifices, so there were a lot of hardships…
Yuzu: Yes… for the sake of skating, I had to choose what to take and what to give up a lot. But given the consequence that brought me this happiness and the happiness to all my supporters, I am glad (I did what I did)“
(I) "So you think you received massive support?”
Yuzu “That’s right. Of course I had big support to recover from my ankle injury. But I have never felt, not even once, that I could skate only with my own strength. I really think it was all due to the support.”
<chart of past 4 years>
(I) “Here is the brief history of your last 4 years. Were you thinking about winning the next Olympic gold medal straight after Sochi in 2014?”
Yuzu “Yes, I was thinking about it.”
(I) “Was your next goal the gold in Pyeongchang already?”
Yuzu “Yes”
(I) “(scrolling down the screen) Look at this. There was the accident, sickness, injuries. How do you describe your last 4 years?”
Yuzu “Well…It was long. So many things happened and it was a meaningful time. But I always had a life with big ups and downs anyway, the earthquake, closing of the rink. I have been living a life of many obstacles all the time. So looking back now I’ve come to understand that’s how my life goes.”
(I) “You pick Seimei which you scored the world highest record with in 2015 to reuse. Was it a part of your gold winning plan?”
Yuzu “Yes. Since that season when I broke the world record many times, I have already decided to use this programme in Pyeongchang. It is my masterpiece and the one I can perform really well.”
(I) “And on your road to Pyeongchang, the injury happened in November last year. How did you feel when it happened?”
Yuzu “Yes it was a rough time… (watching the scene of the fall) ohh ouch…. It’s really painful….”
(I) “Ahh does it hurt by watching it, oh I’m so sorry…”
Yuzu “It was a hard time for sure, but people who cheer for me continuously cheered for me. And the skaters I respect and admire kept on raising the voice that they believed in me. So I strongly felt that I had to believe in myself.”
(I) “I assume that you felt fear, panic, frustration during the injury time?”
Yuzu “I certainly had frustration. When I resumed practise, I decided to take painkillers as I could not jump due to the pain. I was panicking after the decision as there was not much time left.”
(I) “Did you feel pressure that you cannot betray your fans and supporters?”
Yuzu “I did feel a sense of responsibility, but it was not a feeling of betrayal or not. It was more like a duty. Knowing people whom I admire believe in me. Because I could believe in them, it was not so much about if I could believe in myself. Their words naturally sank in me. So I always had a confidence to win”
(I) “How did you train in Canada when you could not skate?”
Yuzu “The training for figure skate actually does not have many options for that situation. For example, there is a training called rotation practice which we jump and do rotations on the ground. Or we practise in front of a mirror as we do some ballet-like moves. But this time I had some training tips and ideas from short track and speed skating to keep my cardio. I also used a stationary bike.”
(I) “Did you feel prepared and confident when you landed in Korea?”
Yuzu “On the day before I flew into Korea, my condition finally reached the level that I aimed for. I was feeling disappointed until that day, thinking 'Oh no, I can’t win when my jumps are so bad’…but on the previous day of my departure I finally could jump alright. So I was confident.”
<9:06>
(I) “How do you look back on your SP and FS?”
Yuzu “SP was good. Even FS, I did everything I had to do.”
(I) “We all cheered 'yes Hanyu is back’ in SP. Did you feel calm to go back to the competition after a long while?”
Yuzu “No I wasn’t calm. It could have been different if it wasn’t the Olympics, but fortunately I had a confidence as the gold medalist in Sochi. I experienced it, and I let myself admit my confidence from that experience. It eventually worked well for the good result.”
(I) “People talk about artistic quality of the performance. How do you think about the balance of technique and artistry of figure skate?”
Yuzu “Artistry is only possible if you have technique.
[t/n. then he says it’s just like artists who paint….] [we are not sure how to best translate his analogy, so it’s omitted.]
(I) "So you need to build up technique for the beautiful artistic performance?”
Yuzu “Yes. Technique itself IS the artistry.”
<Pooh rain >
(I) “The Pooh rain was bigger than usual. Did you feel the cheers of your fans more than usual?”
Yuzu “Yes, especially for the last lutz jump, I was fighting with some anxiety and pain, and I almost fell. I think the fans literally 'supported’ me.”
<about the scores>
(I) “Let us talk about a little more technical stuff. The GOE of your SP. Your 3A got +3. How do you, the skaters, read those?”
Yuzu “The jumps. 3A, 4S, 4T, their max GOE is +3. So I check them first. But please also look at the spin and the step sequence. You might think the spin only got 1.4 but the max GOE of spin is 1.5. And the max for step sequence is 2.10. So it is huge that I could get good GOE in those elements.”
(I) “let’s look at your FS. Your 3A got +3 in SP, 2.14 in the 3A combo in FS. And you mentioned 4A in the press conference. Does it mean the axel jump is so special to you?”
Yuzu “Well, when you look at the score, 4S, 4T, and 4S of the 2nd half all got high GOE. I think it was the reason I could win. As for Axel, yes I have special feelings for it. The first jump I did after the earthquake, when I resumed my training on the ice, was 3A. So it was like my new start line. So yes, 3A is very special to me.”
(I) “Now Pyeongchang is over. I understand your next motivation is 4A. What about other goals, such as breaking the world record score again?”
Yuzu “No, I am not thinking about that. We have been told for a while that the rules would change (after the Olympics), we have no idea how the new rules will affect the scores, including the world highest score. For the last 4 years under the current rule, I could achieve the world highest score in all three, SP, FS and the total. I think that is the result of all my hard work.”
(I) “Regarding 3 consecutive Olympic golds that no one has done before, how much feeling do you have for it now?”
Yuzu “None. (Hosts: None??? Hahaha. ) Before I talk about if I can do it or not, my answer to the question if I want to become a three consecutive gold medalist, is NO. But um… if I could go, I will win. That’s how I feel.”
(I) “It can be said, you have become a 2-time gold medalist that even Pluschenko whom you admire could not reach. Do you feel like that?”
Yuzu “Not at all.”
(I) “He participated the Olympics for 4 times”
Yuzu (pointing at the sign 'withdraw’ for Sochi) “It would be Gold if he could compete.”
Yuzu “He had to withdraw from his single event but he still skated amazingly in the team event. I was in the same competition field with him and I somehow won. But he is still a legend after all and I could come this far because his words always motivated me.”
(I) “Could you please write your current motivation or your goal as a figure skater? You don’t feel burnt out, do you?”
Yuzu “No, I am not burnt out.”
[Yuzu writes the words 'Perfect package’.]
(I) “Maybe you mention that all the time but please explain to us.”
Yuzu “I’ve never said this before.”
(haha…..)
Yuzu “My coaches always talk about 'total package’. It means you are good in all aspects of skate. 'Perfect package’ means you are perfect in all elements and aspects. I know 4A will get a lot of attention from now. But within me, to me, I want to aim at becoming a skater who is perfect in everything. Everything is perfect, on my scale. That’s what I want to be.”
——-
Translated by Rena Moriguchi in YHIFG; video thanks to pino16.17. (for the hosts’ words, only the main points are translated.)
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