Yuzuru Hanyu announces retirement

[el henry]

 

[yuumagical]

I tried my best in Sota's fanfest, but I think I'm not much better than Google translate.

I checked out your translation and it's pretty good! There are a few minor things I would change if I translated it, but since you're a bigger fan of Sota than I am, I feel it would be best for you to post it here as well rather than translate it myself.

 

[twirlingblades]

Not surprising, his ankles have been held together by tape and faith in recent years.

 

[Arigato]

 

[Acirelk]

It is hard to convey with words how much Yuzuru meant for me as a competitive skater. Thanks to him, I started watching figure skating in 2015 and was a fan of the sport and other athletes ever since. Still, competitions where Yuzu participated gave me a completely different level of excitement. I have of course expected this to happen at some point (already after Pyeongchang) and I am extremely grateful that he stayed for four more years. I really hope that he manages to make the shows as exciting as competitions and that they won't be exclusively in Japan. Unfortunately, I have a really hard time imagining bright future for FS world in the near years. With so many athletes retiring, loss of Russian money and now, very likely, loss of Japanese sponsors with Yuzu's retirement, I fear there are some tough years to come. I just hope that the sport recovers from it and that there will be new athletes that will keep me interested in the sport.
PS: don't get me wrong, there are many athletes that I love, but more and more of my favourite skaters stop competing and I just pray that Yuzu's retirement won't be the last nail in the coffin.

 

[surimi]

I checked out your translation and it's pretty good! There are a few minor things I would change if I translated it, but since you're a bigger fan of Sota than I am, I feel it would be best for you to post it here as well rather than translate it myself.

haha, thanks!
Okay, here's my rough translation of Sota's tweet about Yuzuru's retirement: "Farewell and thank you for your active career! Thank you for the heaps of passion/inspiration as an athlete! I have admired him since I was a child, I was able to skate in the same era, he always talked with me in a friendly manner when we met, and all of that is an irreplaceable treasure to me. Let me keep looking up to you."
Sota is also going to be wearing a FS costume this season which is meant as a tribute to Yuzuru's 'Origin'.

 

[ana]

So sad news. One of the best skater ever. He'll be missed. Best of luck to him in retirement.

 

[yuumagical]

Translating Rika's tweet:

It was truly an honor to skate in the same era as Yuzuru Hanyu. I'd really like to thank him very much for showing me a role model for skaters and for his beautiful skating thus far. From this point forward, I'll always be cheering for him! (This one-handed cartwheel collaboration is a precious treasure.)

 

[Rikku]

It's a day we always knew would come eventually, and yet..

Thank You to Yuzuru for all the years of giving the world the pleasure of watching him skate and the best of luck and joy in all his future efforts.

 

[apgold]

While not surprising in the least to hear this news, it's still a big loss for competitive skating. On the positive side, he will continue to skate and tour (hopefully outside of Japan), on his terms without judges or pressure.

I'm glad I was able to see him compete live twice in 2016 - at SCI in Mississauga (where he lost to Patrick) and Boston Worlds (where he lost to Javi). Despite his runner up status at these events - he was always the draw, bringing in fans from all over the world and his devoted Japanese fans who followed him everywhere.

Here is a photo I took of him at SCI practice - whizzing by as his devoted fans watched his every move.

 

[Silvia451]

I knew this day would come soon, but it still makes me sad. It was a joy to watch him skating all these years and see the wonderkid who rocked R&J grow into one of the best skaters of all times.

 

[TallyT]

Yuzuru...

Thank you.

For everything.

 

[icybear]

So is this an actual retirement? Nowadays so many skaters "retire" and then come back before an olympics etc. Heck we are still waiting on Alina "retirement" announcement.

 

[Flying Feijoa]

While not surprising in the least to hear this news, it's still a big loss for competitive skating. On the positive side, he will continue to skate and tour (hopefully outside of Japan), on his terms without judges or pressure.

I'm glad I was able to see him compete live twice in 2016 - at SCI in Mississauga (where he lost to Patrick) and Boston Worlds (where he lost to Javi). Despite his runner up status at these events - he was always the draw, bringing in fans from all over the world and his devoted Japanese fans who followed him everywhere.

Here is a photo I took of him at SCI practice - whizzing by as his devoted fans watched his every move.

Indeed, I was more surprised at the fact he hung on for the past two years through some serious ankle injuries. I think stopping now is wise, if he'd persisted in competing another season or two he might not be able to have a show skating career.

He was still doing pretty well up to the 2019-20 season but things went downhill when the pandemic hit. I'm not sure what the situation was with Brian Orser (remote coaching or an amicable split) as other Japanese skaters returned to train overseas for the Olympic season. Orser (or any other coach) would have probably tried to convince him to focus on sensible competition strategies instead of a 4A. It's his choice as a skater to set his own goals and that's fine with me. Personally speaking though, my favourite performances of his* are when he was still focused on winning with clean skates. The most exciting periods were when he had close rivals (Dai and Patrick in his early years, then Javier, Shoma, Nathan).

*Namely: NHK 2015 LP, 2015 GPF SP, 2014 Olympic SP, 2021 Worlds SP, 2020 Japan Nationals LP. I find Japanese/rock/romantic-classical programmes worked best with his loose style and were easier for me to relate to. Also prefer the earliest clean renditions of each programme if it was repeated.

 

[gsk8]

Leaving a legacy: Yuzuru Hanyu (JPN) retires from competing - International Skating Union

Two-time Olympic Champion and Figure Skating super star Yuzuru Hanyu (JPN) has retired from competing. The 27-year-old announced at a press conference today in Tokyo (JPN) that while he plans not to compete anymore, he wants to continue to perform in ice shows and to pursue his goal of landing a...

isu.org

 

[Sai Bon]

It's interesting how some top athletes go a big strange towards the end of their careers. Patrick Chan had a main coach who was a dance instructor, not a skating coach (I recall many people of GS were critical of that decision). Mao Asada chose different renditions of the same piece of music for her SP and LP (I actually liked the music, but again, many people were against it). Yuzu probably gave up the chance to win a third Olympic medal by risking the 4A. I guess when you've been at or near the top for so long, it's not all about winning any more.

 

[el henry]

Brian and Tracy send video congratulations to Yuzu (go to last frame)

 

[el henry]

 

[Dr. Jenn]

It's so nice to see all the lovely messages from his fellow competitors, as well as coaches, other officials, and governing bodies. Yuzuru made a significant impact on the sport during his lengthy career, and I'm sure that he will continue to do so in other capacities henceforth. He was always a steely competitor and a humble, kind individual, despite his many achievements and accolades. He is an excellent role model for skaters.

 

[DancingCactus]

I still remember the first time I saw him back when I just started watching FS. I think it was the 2012 WC. I watched because of Daisuke and then saw this otherworldly Romeo and Juliet performance by this unbelievably passionate skater who made the jumps look so easy and light....
There are many skaters that I adore and admire and love watching but noone has ever touched me emotionally as much as Yuzu.