This is just so tough to watch actually
when you see a world-class athlete have to go through this
Oh no..
Figure skating is always improving
That girls, Alexandra and Anna just showed the whole world that not only men can do this
There are a lot of beautiful skaters all over the world
All of them are really strong persons inside
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Figure Skating | Most motivational redemption stories in each season to watch
Let's go back to 2014.
After Yuzuru Hanyu won his first olympic gold medal in Sochi Olympics 2014 and world champion title earlier that year
He was branded as the golden kid in figure skating
Just when everybody thought he was going to be invincible in the new season,
he was involved in an unfortunate on ice collision in his season opening, Cup of China Grand Prix Competition
We last saw Olympic Champion, Yuzuru Hanyu at the Cup of China
skating with a bandage around his head as a result of a collision in the warm-up
In the end, Yuzuru had 7 stitches in his chin, 3 staples in his head and suffered injuries to his ankle and his thigh
Cup of China is one of the 6 events of the ISU figure skating grand prix series,
which lasts from October to December each year
Skaters are either invited or seeded in each event.
Each seeded skater will get 2 event assignments
and the top 6 skaters emerging from the 6 competitions will qualify to compete in the Grand Prix Final.
The Grand Prix Final title is considered the third most glamorous title in figure skating,
after the Olympics and World Championships title.
It is also the most important championship in the first half of the figure skating season, before their nationals.
All their performances in the Grand Prix Series will be credited towards their ranking
In season 2014/15, Hanyu was assigned to the Cup of China and NHK Trophy
He won the silver in the Cup of China despite the injury
and therefore he was still in the running for the Grand Prix Final
After staying off ice for 2 weeks for recovery, he decided to participate in NHK Trophy
in the hope of qualifying for the GPF
The reigning Olympic Champ, Yuzuru Hanyu
quite a bit of catch-up though, after that really terrifying crash at the Grand Prix of China, the injury there
When I first got back on ice, I did think about giving up on NHK Trophy for awhile.
Hanyu did think about giving up for the NHK Trophy
It was reported the pain was so immense that he cried on his first on-ice practice session
But I didn't want to waste the results earned in the Cup of China
I want to jump!
His coach, Brian Orser said it was the thigh and ankle injury
that kept Yuzuru off the ice for well over a week
and Brian is concerned about the lost training time heading into Osaka.
Although I haven't recovered fully and feel a bit uncomfortable still
I was given the green light to skate from my medical and coaching team
I really want to participate in the Grand Prix Final
Firstly I need to do well in the NHK Trophy
In the Short Program
He fell on his opening jump, 4T
He made another major mistake in his jumping combo
He scored 20 points less than his world record scores earlier and landed in 5th after the Short Program
Truly the only feeling I have now is frustration
In the Free Skate the next day, he needed a strong performance
This was the first time he would skate to the entire free program since his disastrous crash a few weeks ago
Final group of men on the ice warming up , including the reigning Olympic Champ, Yuzuru Hanyu
Coming off a dangerous crash, he's trying to make it to the final
Right now he's sitting in fifth place, but only 1.5 points out of third
and while he may not be where he wants to be, he is motivated to finish in the top three
and earn one of the spots to the Grand Prix Final
Wonder if memories of what happened three weeks ago going through his mind
Well, deep breath everybody
To see him here is one thing
After the disaster.. So we do keep going on about
but it was a very significant thing
This is Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan
The reigning Olympic and World Champion
about three weeks ago in China
and to have him back, skating
It's a mind game as well
Can he do it all?
The 4S he landed in practice..
No.. He popped it into a 2S..
4T is next! You can! Yes you can
Totally lost his timing and the momentum
He rushed too much for his second quad jump and fell
Big mistake from the beginning
Now come on Yuzuru!
That's much better there on the 3Lz-2T
He then landed a huge 3A-3T which earned him a lot of points
Yeah you see something like that, the 3A-3T, it's amazing
Good elements in there, but it wasn't "Premium Yuzuru"
and into the 3Lo
hanging on to that 3Lz
It's not him firing on all cylinders
and of course the goal is to get to the Grand Prix Final
Could he get there?
Well just great to see him out there
Absolutely! I mean this has absolutely affected him
the accident that he had
you know, his legs hurt..
Well done! Well done for being here
The pressure on him being here of course he is national champion here
In japan, as Olympic champion, as world champion, absolutely huge!
The psychological burden
massive!
229.. he's had 293, that's way way way lower than what he's achieved in the past
Because he couldn't land any quadruple jump, he scored 40 points lower than his best scores..
Those were the jumps he did in practice and warm-ups
But he couldn't land any of these jumps in the competition
Many people might think that this is due to the lack of practice
But that's not the case..
Failure like this probably had nothing to do with the injury
I could do it in practice, I just couldn't do it in the competition
Something is missing. It's probably my weakness
In the end 2 other Japanese skaters won the NHK Trophy
Hanyu had to watch the podium from the side of the rink..
I'm happy for the winners from Japan. But at the same time I felt really frustrated and regretful
Despite finishing 4th, Hanyu qualified for the Grand Prix Final as the last qualifier, barely made it into the top 6
I was so frustrated that I couldn't sleep and kept thinking about how to be stronger and show my strength in the competition
I really don't like seeing myself becoming weak. I truly hate it.
But I think being weak means there's a chance of becoming stronger
Next time, I want to deliver the performance of the Grand Prix Final Champion
Welcome back to our special holiday edition of sports weekend!
Today a first for figure skating, the Grand Prix Final comes to Barcelona
That is Yuzuru Hanyu from Japan about to take to the ice for his short program
and just to see him here, I have to just take a moment of pause to think
Wow! After that collision, he refused to give up at all and he's determined to get through this
Right here, huge jump for him
4T!
Beautiful!
Great way to start
and so fabulous to watch the beautiful stroking
the effortless speed he gets! he's going from zero to 90 in no time
He skates as a purist on the ice
An athlete and artist
And bringing these jumps out of nowhere
And taking a pause like that! Nice! Beautifully done!
Cut! just cut the 3T! As it went back to pick in
barely visible but enough to throw him off
That wasn't his best but
you can consider what he's been through
but I wasn't even thinking about the injury or collision that he had at Cup of China
I was just saying that's good skating!
Great job of regaining his composure after the fall!
Yuzuru Hanyu! Very very well done
Look at this! 94.08!
Yes! Surprise between skater and coach even with that fall!
Well let's take a look at what things look like after the short program
and Yuzuru had a seven plus point lead over the other five skaters
Well this man has had great success since winning the Grand Prix Final a year ago
Can Yuzuru Hanyu make it back-to-back wins and take another title today?
We welcome you back to the PNG ISU Grand Prix of figure skating
the Olympic and World champion
no doubt the man to beat
He skated well in the SP earlier
Yeah after that collision earlier in the season, it's nice to see him back on his game
fans want him back
Up next! The men take the ice
the world and Olympic champion
and as you said, according to the SP, he's back!
and his great season started last year with this competition, the Grand Prix Final
4S, 4T, 3A, the first three jumping passes
4S! Marvellous
4T! It's perfect
His landing is incredibly beautiful
4S, 4T, absolutely beautiful!
beautiful! perfect execution!
Upper body absolutely basically at rest.
No tension and then 3F, perfect
he's actually almost the perfectly designed figure skating machine
I don't think I've ever seen anybody who's so naturally gifted on the ice
the right amount of height from the right amount of distance
3A-3T! How fabulous! No flow is lost
And I can't get over how calm his upper body is when he jumps and lands
Jumps like that possibly are dropped from heaven
you know, there are good skaters and there are great skaters, and then there is Yuzuru Hanyu
3Lo! We already know who will be the GPF Champion at this point
Small mistake there. Smile and splash!
We will allow that for the moment
The spin, the steps and those jumps are ridiculously good!
And his interpretation of the music is just precious
Marvellous! And this is Yuzuru Hanyu! Yes sir! This is the Olympic and World Champion
Well, he skated like the reigning world and olympic champion today
Yuzuru hanyu was good in the SP, but brilliant in the FS today
and look at the technical score
great representative of our sports
He was so brave in Cup of China! And he made it into GPF from NHK Trophy with just 0.15 point margin
GPF could go on without Yuzuru Hanyu. But with him, it becomes something extraordinary
that's the second highest free program score of all time!
Sorry say that again? Second highest free program score and that's with the deduction for the fall
and room for the planned third quad jump
that may come in later
Well he wins this competition by almost 40 points over Fernandez
And he's thanking the fans
Yuzuru: My English is not good! Fans: Your English is perfectly fine!
I wanted to ask you, Yuzuru
Can we say that you're fully recovered after your accident in the Grand Prix of China?
I want to be perfect today and
not yet
but I did it! i did it almost perfect
so I'm so happy today
that takes a lot of courage
I'm really impressed
So.. Yuzuru, in Japan, the figure skating is really famous
What would you say to the Spanish crowd, to the Spanish people to come
and join the figure skating world?
Looks like it's more than Japanese people
Everyone crazy here!
crazy for Javi and me
So I'm happy and then I think Javi is happy too
Thank you Yuzuru!
Thank you very much! Gracias
Wow! this win by Yuzuru makes it three straight Grand Prix Final titles for Japanese men
and it's great to see this moment
and the friendship that exists between Javier Fernandez, all the way from Spain
and Yuzuru, all the way from Japan that both come together in Toronto and train under Brian Orser
and the respect, the camaraderie, the sportsmanship, it's pretty darn good
They fall many many times. Yet they never gave up
And more inspiring figure skating stories to be told
They never cease to inspire
Redemption Stories | To be continued
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