A nation awaits
Here he is, comfortable winner of the short
A "nailed-in" (certain) favourite to win the free
but it's how he wins it that they're interested in, that we're interested in
The reigning Olympic champion
Still only 21 years of age
This is "Hope and Legacy" for this superstar from Sendai
Yuzuru Hanyu
Now Yuzuru has 4 quads scheduled, here's the first, the loop
Yup, got back on axis and landed it
First time a quad loop has been successfully landed at Grand Prix level
Amazing
Now for the salchow
Oh yes, no problem at all
Triple flip
Now he lines up for two more quads
Down on the quad sal' it should have been in combination
Straight down the other end of the rink for a quad toe loop
No problem at all
Oh yes, triple axel triple toe loop
Triple axel, just a double salchow
"But who's counting"? (nobody cares)
And a triple lutz "for good measure" (in addition)
Well it's not just the Japanese who adore him
And yes it did have a mistake or two
But he is so adorable that I think people by now have forgotten that he made the mistakes
And just concentrate on the magnificent skating that we've seen
There isn't a bigger star in Japan than this guy
Not should there be
He is...well... I mean you said it a couple of days ago Simon...
...Probably the best male skater there has ever been
I'm sure some would argue with that, but it's difficult to
He is extraordinary
Justr look at the number of teddies and flowers being tossed onto the ice
It's going to take them a bit of time...
Yeah
...to clear all that up, they're going to need all the young skaters out there
Look at them, all of their hands full
I'm glad to see him really lapping this up (enjoying it)
I do like that he occasionally shows us that he's human...
Just throws in the odd fall here and there...
...because we need to be reminded occasionally...
Yeah, it's true
...that he is a human being
I mean, the quad loop... I can't tell you how difficult that quad loop is
And it's a very brave thing for him to do, to spend time working on the quad loop
Because it's going to be so difficult to ever put that in combination
So it's actually not a very efficient jump for him to invest his time in
But it is so spectacular, and he is so good, why not?
I mean obviously there was the one big error on the quad salchow
when the fact that he was unable to get the combination on that, means that he performed the quad salchow on its own twice
so he will get actually very few marks for that second quad salchow
But it's not really about marks is it?
It's not about marks
Haha, you see Brian Orser there in the background, delighted
This... the quad loop, the first time ever landed at this level of competition
He's done it before, just not at Grand Prix level
Just OK on the rotation, does so well, such strength to get that free leg back and into the "check" position
There the first quad salchow
And the transitions in and out of them, there's no huge "wind up" (preparation)
He's doing these enormous elements and there's no huge "build-up" to them
And that's just amazing
His spins, always fantastic, he's got great flexibility
This the quad toe loop, I mean that's just so easy for him, isn't it?
It looks it
Wonderful landing position, deep in the knee
He doesn't look strong, but he is, he is so strong
Yes, he looks delicate
He does, and that.. it's just such a winning combination
To have the subtlety and the grace and the elegance through the choreography...
But the strength, the core strength...
Good in all positions in the spins
This very difficult
And just lovely touches like this
We had an Ina Bauer before the triple lutz, thrown in right at the end of the program
Fantastic distribution of elements
He'll get 10% uplift for a couple of the quads, because he threw them in near the end of the routine
Just amazing
So he's going to be in the Grand Prix final, and you can of course watch that exclusively on Eurosport
Only got 2nd place in Skate Canada, it seems incomprehensible, but that was the reality
Patrick Chan beat him
But he'll be the favourite going into the Grand Prix final
Trains alongside of course, Javier Fernandez who himself has won two Grand Prixs this year
Well his best ever 219, so he's "off" that
But that's what he'll be aiming for
Really good marks for presentation, of course there would be
And still Nathan Chen to go, but he (Hanyu) has won, that's for sure
And a celebration for the crowd here in Sapporo
He's adorable, isn't he?
He is
But he doesn't have to "work at it" (he is naturally adorable)
Orser: that's awesome
53 points in front of the rest of the field