Hanyus Unexpected Free Skate Errors

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Hanyus Unexpected Free Skate Errors

https://www.upi.com/Sports_News/201.../?utm_source=sec&utm_campaign=sl&utm_medium=2

emilyprox said:

I'm totally confident that he'll come back stronger than ever but oof what a bummer after how amazing that short program was

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He must be so disappointed... Poor boy

Don't get why it is so unexpected. The only reason Hanyu has ever looked consistent is because he is compared to an inconsistent skater who choked themselves out of Olympic gold and an another inconsistent skater who Zayak-ed themselves out of Olympic bronze.

I would in no way call this a choke. Choke implies that he was under great pressure to win and he wasn't. It's a challenger event in October. He had a bad skate. He's had them before and he very well might have them again.

Sheesh at this rate people will call my messing up making tea for my favourite people as choking. Over use of a term limits it's power. It's why so many people try to claim back words that have been used to hurt them in the past.

Nothing I saw changed my mind. Yuzuru will win the OGM if he stays healthy.

The reigning Olympic Champion choking at a local minor event? He had a bad day, or a bad knee, whatever, but there was nothing there to choke him.

I think a lot of fans has his WR Worls performance in the head. In reality, it takes months to get that level. So he had a bad skate at the first competition of the season. Big deal. In a few months I doubt we will remember this. It's just a bad skate. He's fine.

He had a bad skate- he's had them before. He's still arguably the best men's skater of all time. It's a challenger event at the start of the season and he was skating on a sore knee. If that's choking I give up on life...

Unexpected? Choke?

Hanyu popping and/or splatting a few times during one/both of his programs in an early season competition is to be expected, IMO. So him having a fabulous short and then making several errors in the long @ Autumn Classic is not shocking (especially considering the situation with his right knee that seems to have affected his training heading up to the competition).

If his season continues along the same lines like it usually does, next up is his first GP competition where he'll still be doing some splatting/popping but also show flashes of brilliance, then the NHK where he'll skate better (and probably gets the gold) and then of course his customary GPF win.

It's September, he popped the first jump, he got confused because he had changed his layout so much lately that he had no plan B (he probably didn't exactly have a plan A as well), and it all went wrong. No big deal here. He still would have won crazily enough, if Javi wasn't there.

This was his first debut of Seimei 2.0 and it fell well short of expectations. But besides that, "choking" refers to the fact that he should have won, after the massive lead following the SP. Though I also understand that "oh, he really was supposed to win silver anyways, lol" is merely a way of trying to find humour the wake of a disastrous outcome. But I'm not a fan of some of the flippant/sour grapes responses which diminish Javier's win (plus, statements like "oh, it's just a Senior B" trivializes the competition altogether). Let's be honest, it's the first event of the season. It's still somewhat important. Even in a pre-season basketball game, if a team has a 30 point lead going into the 4th quarter, and give it up, it's choking. Everyone's there to win, and if someone is poised to win easily but then fails considerably and a competitor capitalizes, that is "choking".

Although, really, we all expected:
1) Hanyu loses: "Meh. This was just a Senior B, so there wasn't any pressure. Essentially, the results of this competition are meaningless. Take it with a grain of salt.. etc."
2) Hanyu wins and scores huge: "He rose to the occasion, faced pressure to beat one of his main OGM rivals, and sent notice to the other guys. Essentially, the results of this competition are significant."

This might have been "only" a senior B, but this was a head-to-head... and Javier came out on top. I don't imagine fans would be freaking out if Hanyu won this competition and were like "Oh no! He won in Canada to start the season! This means the rest of the season will be a disaster!" Regardless, they'll both skate better next time... certainly Hanyu. It's better that Hanyu gets freeskates like this out of his system now. Silver lining, indeed.

nocturnalis said:

Don't get why it is so unexpected. The only reason Hanyu has ever looked consistent is because he is compared to an inconsistent skater who choked themselves out of Olympic gold and an another inconsistent skater who Zayak-ed themselves out of Olympic bronze.

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Well, if you recall correctly, Hanyu didn't exactly skate well himself. And was already ahead of Chan after the SP, which isn't quite the same situation as, say, Chan having a massive lead and then blowing it.

Also, Hanyu isn't immune to choking himself... see: 2016 Worlds where he blew a huge lead -- losing to said "inconsistent skater who Zayaked themselves out of Olympic bronze". He was also slated to win Worlds 2015 after leading after the SP and being the fave to win, but lost there too. And can't exactly say, "those were just Senior Bs".

Obviously there were mental issues to Hanyu's spectacular under performance, mostly put upon himself by himself, likely related to the WR SP. He admitted as much when he said he thought too much - don't they all with bad performances? It's a scenario we've seen over and over again, a ruined program after an early failed jump. But this is not choking. There simply wasn't that much extrinsic pressure even with Javi there, who was far behind after the SP, as evidenced by Hanyu winning the Silver medal with the "choked" LP.

for an experienced and hugely successful skater like Hanyu, choking may happen only at the biggest event with much to prove.

Eh... Hanyu didn't do well in the previous 2 SCAI either. It was just Fernandez or Chan were not there to win.

Hanyu messes up his early competitions after a long break is something very typical. Hanyu has had many bad skates like everyone else.

I don't get why people forget that he messed Skate Canada and WC 2 years in a row. It's his usual state. When he is on he is brilliant. But he has to deal with much internal pressure and pressure from his own country too. It's tremendous. But he has overcome it several times.

I agree with some comments above. He will be fine as the season goes.

For me this wasn't unexpected at all. Hanyu has good days and bad, like any other skater attempting so many quads. But when he's on no one can match his brilliant skating.

Violet Bliss said:

Obviously there were mental issues to Hanyu's spectacular under performance, mostly put upon himself by himself, likely related to the WR SP. He admitted as much when he said he thought too much - don't they all with bad performances? It's a scenario we've seen over and over again, a ruined program after an early failed jump. But this is not choking. There simply wasn't that much extrinsic pressure even with Javi there, who was far behind after the SP, as evidenced by Hanyu winning the Silver medal with the "choked" LP.

for an experienced and hugely successful skater like Hanyu, choking may happen only at the biggest event with much to prove.

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Yeah... If I had to get some mental issues to be an Olympic champion, 2 time WC champion, 4 time GPF champions... I would pretty much want that.

Could Hanyu give me that, he can have my serenity without any mental issue.

But I don't think I can stand the pressure and attention he is suffering though. I wouldn't want literally 50 reporters following me around in one competition. They said some stalkers followed him and made a fuss at SCAI backstage. I think it's quite normal to break down once in a while.

Nope, I am fine being an ordinary folk.

SkaterX said:

For me this wasn't unexpected at all. Hanyu has good days and bad, like any other skater attempting so many quads. But when he's on no one can match his brilliant skating.

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Exactly. He's just human, and like any of the competitors is prone to having bad days, which he can and will bounce back from.

Probably hearing the music for the first time in competition brought back bad memories. If only Boyang was there then it'll be like OMG deja vu!

icybear said:

Probably hearing the music for the first time in competition brought back bad memories. If only Boyang was there then it'll be like OMG deja vu!

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I'm sure he didn't choose to repeat the program for bad memories. Moreover, I seriously doubt he's that fragile.

It's better than on the great competitions..He is a human.

Violet Bliss said:

I'm sure he didn't choose to repeat the program for bad memories. Moreover, I seriously doubt he's that fragile.

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I want to be that fragile and win as much as he has won... mah... without all the pressure following me though.

Violet Bliss said:

I'm sure he didn't choose to repeat the program for bad memories. Moreover, I seriously doubt he's that fragile.

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Also, some of his best memories should be associated with Seimei. Otherwise he wouldn't have brought it back. Hello, world record scores and his 2 personal best total scores!

There might not have been as much pressure being a minor competition. But there is a lot of external pressure too. Shoma lit it up at Lombardia, as did Nathan (with watered down technical elements). There were tons of Japanese fans and media. People were intrigued to see how he'd fare against Javier.

It is sorely an understatement to say that he doesn't face any pressure or expectations -- no matter the competition. Even at the minor competitions, he is so scrutinized by media and fans, and I can't imagine the mental wear that must have on him. Especially in an Olympic season, a competition like this compounds pressure... as now he knows everyone will be eager to see how he bounces back.