Yuzuru Hanyu: 2013-14 Season

[FTnoona]

Seems like world championships just aren't Hanyu's thing. That's 3 SPs in a row already. Maybe he's got his own curse going on. Oh well maybe 4th times the charm. He's still got time on his side since he's so young. The pressure from the fans is probably off, but will he end up putting too much pressure on himself to have a FS that makes up for his SP?

 

[Silvia451]

Seems like world championships just aren't Hanyu's thing. That's 3 SPs in a row already. Maybe he's got his own curse going on. Oh well maybe 4th times the charm. He's still got time on his side since he's so young. The pressure from the fans is probably off, but will he end up putting too much pressure on himself to have a FS that makes up for his SP?

I still dream of a perfect FS program and a gold medal without any"help" from Machida and Javi. It's not impossible. Yuzu with a clean program is at least 10p above Machida.

 

[Maria Victoria]

Haha I howled like a banshee when he fell. But for some reason I had expected it. He had a lot of speed going into that quad toe. More than usual, and it seemed like he lost control. But I think that's a good thing since speed will give him more power in the jumps. Now it's about him controlling it for the free program. He's had a history of doing poorly in the SP and then doing amazing in the FS just because he has something to prove. If the trend that we see with his past World Championships, he could pull in the gold.

But even if he doesn't, it doesn't invalidate his gold medal on any level at all. I hope he isn't too hard on himself, I read this interview (link below) and he just seems super perfectionist but very mature. It's all mind over matter at this point since we know what he's perfectly capable of.

http://hanyusan.tumblr.com/post/80800860310/yuzuru-hanyu-interview-after-worlds-sp

I think his mindset is one of the most interesting ones out there. He first and foremost competes with himself, but he recognizes talent and greatness in others as well.

Seems like world championships just aren't Hanyu's thing. That's 3 SPs in a row already. Maybe he's got his own curse going on. Oh well maybe 4th times the charm. He's still got time on his side since he's so young. The pressure from the fans is probably off, but will he end up putting too much pressure on himself to have a FS that makes up for his SP?

I agree with both of you re the pressure Yuzuru puts on himself. It's a much bigger burden on him than the expectations of others, even that from his entire nation. I read that he even said that he “could not forgive himself for standing here (the position of 3rd place),” (http://kuchibiru-devil.tumblr.com/).

But I guess that unflinching self-assessment and personal intensity is what made him an Olympic champion at 19; and also such a compelling figure to others. Hopefully it will motivate him to rebound and give his best performance of his Romeo and Juliet program in the free. His best should be more than enough I think. Go Yuzuru!

 

[lbc2138]

I was playing around with the numbers and it seems that even if Yuzu falls on the first salchow, he could be able to beat both Tatsuki and Javi just because his program is so monstrous in terms of the technical elements. This is with clean/pretty skates from Tatsuki and Javi.

And if Yuzu does skate the entire program cleanly, he's going to smash his own FS record and pull away from both Tatsuki and Javi.

 

[Meoima]

I was playing around with the numbers and it seems that even if Yuzu falls on the first salchow, he could be able to beat both Tatsuki and Javi just because his program is so monstrous in terms of the technical elements. This is with clean/pretty skates from Tatsuki and Javi.

And if Yuzu does skate the entire program cleanly, he's going to smash his own FS record and pull away from both Tatsuki and Javi.

Machida and Javi might get boost at PCS as well, especially now that Machida is the nearest to gold, if he skated clean, judge panel would give Machida 90 PCS I suppose. Part of home inflation effect. The score should just be Hanyu 90, Javi 94, Machida 96. I don't have any faith that Yuzu would take gold at this rate, free skate is always his week point this season. Nevertheless, I don't mind if he could not get the gold, as long as he skate cleans, no fall whatsoever, that is more than just enough. Time to say farewell to Weir's design with a high note.
Gold is impossible for him unless a miracle happens. Silver or bronze could be within his reach, not that bad for him, but he has to stand still and try his best.

 

[s9580]

Hi guys, newbie here! I've kept my eyes on Hanyu since his junior stage, but just got a crush on him for his JP National debut. Obviously we all know he consistently has better FS after disastrous SP, but the problem is that he has never performed an absolutely clean R&J-2 program, even the one in Finlandia Trophy was quite a shaky one (my opinion). I still think there's a chance for him to grab the world gold here IF he really has taken the control of the huge difficult R&J-2. I think the reality is that the jusges favour Hanyu more than Machida (sorry, Machida-san, i know it's unfair but...). Hanyu's PCS got kind of inflation in Sochi and even for his SP performance yesterday. Shouldn't too much, but I think the judges will give a higher score to Hanyu when both Hanyu, Machida and Javi are clean. The course is now definitely on Hanyu himself - a relatively clean R&J-2 is too hard to be defeated. 7 marks is not really a distance for a well-performed R&J-2 to catch up.

But somehow I will not be upset if Machida or Javi get the champ finally - they have waited for too long, esp. for Machida. Also, I expect the men to present spectacular shows tomorrow, but also get prepared to see falls and errors, provided that the top 3 men are all suffering from different kinds of huge pressure......

 

[Silvia451]

Hi guys, newbie here! I've kept my eyes on Hanyu since his junior stage, but just got a crush on him for his JP National debut. Obviously we all know he consistently has better FS after disastrous SP, but the problem is that he has never performed an absolutely clean R&J-2 program, even the one in Finlandia Trophy was quite a shaky one (my opinion). I still think there's a chance for him to grab the world gold here IF he really has taken the control of the huge difficult R&J-2. I think the reality is that the jusges favour Hanyu more than Machida (sorry, Machida-san, i know it's unfair but...). Hanyu's PCS got kind of inflation in Sochi and even for his SP performance yesterday. Shouldn't too much, but I think the judges will give a higher score to Hanyu when both Hanyu, Machida and Javi are clean. The course is now definitely on Hanyu himself - a relatively clean R&J-2 is too hard to be defeated. 7 marks is not really a distance for a well-performed R&J-2 to catch up.

But somehow I will not be upset if Machida or Javi get the champ finally - they have waited for too long, esp. for Machida. Also, I expect the men to present spectacular shows tomorrow, but also get prepared to see falls and errors, provided that the top 3 men are all suffering from different kinds of huge pressure......

Welcome!
Yeah, I also want to see a lot of clean programs tomorrow, the Sochi men competition was And mostly because of the pressure. All the stress and high expectations were unfair and the best skaters in the world, Yuzu, Patrick and Javi couldn't manage the situation. I want a great competition and I want a world champion with a fantastic performance
I somehow believe it's better for Yuzu to get the silver medal than to get the gold medal because he has only one mistake and the others more than 2 or something like this.

 

[Meoima]

His PCS has gotten higher from grand prix final, not from Sochi. I call that home inflation but he did deserve to win in GPF though. His SP at Sochi deserved that score, while the free program might not be that much. Both PChan and Hanyu only deserved 173 (not 178) mark for their performance there at most. But well, maybe because the rest was so tedious that the judge wanted to reward these 2 more than needed.

The things is, I don't think the judge will favor him this time in worlds, he got an UR call for a full rotation quad which costed him 10 point. They would likely to be on Javi or Machida's side because they were both clean in SP. If I were the judge I would do the same because you can't stay being the favorite one for the entire season if you were not PChan.

Personally, I think only a clean Hanyu with no fall and positive GOE can beat a clean Javi and Machida. But we all know that he has never delivered a clean FS this season. So, gold is out of his hand for sure. That is not a bad thing. He is still young and staying hunger is the perfect mentality for him. He will have to force himself to become a more complete skate next season. That is a good thing.

 

[HanDomi]

Personally, I think only a clean Hanyu with no fall and positive GOE can beat a clean Javi and Machida. But we all know that he has never delivered a clean FS this season. So, gold is out of his hand for sure. That is not a bad thing. He is still young and staying hunger is the perfect mentality for him. He will have to force himself to become a more complete skate next season. That is a good thing.

Machida never ever crossed even 176 points I think in free ? So how can you say than only clean Hanyu can beat him If Hanyu will bomb 4S but with rotation and rest perfect he still will be miles in front in free. Machida needs to be in 190-192 to be sure that he will win, because clean & perfect Hanyu can beat that .
Nothing is out of Hanyu's hand until his performance tomorrow, so please don't say this again Sometime it must be this first time with this fully clean free programme and now he is not under pressure, now he is angry and motivated to get it back in free

 

[s9580]

Welcome!
Yeah, I also want to see a lot of clean programs tomorrow, the Sochi men competition was And mostly because of the pressure. All the stress and high expectations were unfair and the best skaters in the world, Yuzu, Patrick and Javi couldn't manage the situation. I want a great competition and I want a world champion with a fantastic performance
I somehow believe it's better for Yuzu to get the silver medal than to get the gold medal because he has only one mistake and the others more than 2 or something like this.

I actually wonder how those men can ever win over the pressure at such a great stage. People are also saying that Hanyu was disturbed by the cheering yesterday so he fell but he denied that. Indeed I think Yuzu himself is right, he was not affected by crowd but just making careless mistake.

Yuzu's still young, there's a long way for him to go. To me, the gold is not necessary for him right now, right here. But of course, aiming to win and perform his best are always on the top of the list together. Still not a bad thing to take the top place, right?

 

[Meoima]

Machida never ever crossed even 176 points I think in free ? So how can you say than only clean Hanyu can beat him If Hanyu will bomb 4S but with rotation and rest perfect he still will be miles in front in free. Machida needs to be in 190-192 to be sure that he will win, because clean & perfect Hanyu can beat that .
Nothing is out of Hanyu's hand until his performance tomorrow, so please don't say this again Sometime it must be this first time with this fully clean free programme and now he is not under pressure, now he is angry and motivated to get it back in free

Machida's personal best is 174.20, but given the fact that he is on fire and the judges might be on his side tomorrow, He might be clean with a score higher than 180 (I am not a fan of his fire bird but he could be cleaner than Hanyu). While Hanyu at Sochi only scored 178, he is even under much much larger pressure now so I am not sure Hanyu could beat a clean Machida and Javi. Hanyu's best FS up to date worths 193 points, but I don't think they will give him that same score again with a fall on 4S. The judges are strict against him this time.

Let's just assume, the judge here will work like they did in Sochi, give the all medal contenders that performed well in SP even PCS (like Hanyu and Chan's PCS were both over 90). So with a close PCS, and a gap 7 points, and a notorious 4S, now even the 4T is unstable, Hanyu might need both Machida and Javi to bomb to get the gold, but I don't hope for any skater to bomb. I hope they all get clean. What I want to say is, not getting a gold is not the end of the world for him. For me he only needs to stay on the podium at the moment.

But of course, he must have wanted that gold very much, So if he can get it, I will be very happy for him. I also expect a clean FS from him for once. If he stands still with a clean FS, total clean, then I will shut up about his PCS for good.

I only hope he don't get so frustrated on himself. I want him to stay hunger but with a healthy mentality.

 

[HanDomi]

But of course, he must have wanted that gold very much, I also expect a clean FS from him for once. If he stands still with a clean FS, total clean, then I will shut up about his PCS for good.
I only hope he don't get so frustrated on himself. I want him to stay hunger but with a healthy mentality.

That what I am saying He needs to clear mind before start of FS. He landed all attempts of quad salchows here in practices, and made clean run in LP in practice so he can do it. I believe he will but if not it will not be tragedy. But for me he have nothing to loose, he will stay on the podium anyway if he will not bomb his biggest weapons

 

[s9580]

His PCS has gotten higher from grand prix final, not from Sochi. I call that home inflation but he did deserve to win in GPF though. His SP at Sochi deserved that score, while the free program might not be that much. Both PChan and Hanyu only deserved 173 (not 178) mark for their performance there at most. But well, maybe because the rest was so tedious that the judge wanted to reward these 2 more than needed.

The things is, I don't think the judge will favor him this time in worlds, he got an UR call for a full rotation quad which costed him 10 point. They would likely to be on Javi or Machida's side because they were both clean in SP. If I were the judge I would do the same because you can't stay being the favorite one for the entire season if you were not PChan.

)

Yep, I mean I think he got a little bit high for his FS's PCS in Sochi... ummmm PChiddy and Hanyu did the most difficult packs...... encouragement for taking the risk, fair enough... I still think skating should push the limit of human-being (though it sounds terrible) as long as it's a sport.

The UR... technically the judges can't skip that or it's too obvious for a bias I think Machida's SP performance was really impressive and a touching one to the judges so you are right that Machida might got an advantage for that. And I surely love you for this - if you were not PChan. Be frank, I really don't want Yuzu to be another Chiddy.

Fighting until the end for sure, I would love to see Hanyu makes the miracle happens. Com'on, surprise me kiddo~ But he definitely need to figure out the way to make it clean for both SP and FS in the coming season. I do think challenges like any kind of quads are brilliant but he has to improve his consistency.

 

[HanDomi]

Well, despite that fall yesterday he looked to me very strong. As he said this fall was a bit unexpected to him, maybe too much confidence. But for me, after the fall... it was his best skate ever with that program, it reminded me a bit of his FS at world 2012, where you could almost feel every emotion of his performance. Fall made him even stronger and no hesitation at all with the rest of the program. That 3lz was just HUGE

 

[s9580]

Let's just assume, the judge here will work like they did in Sochi, give the all medal contenders that performed well in SP even PCS (like Hanyu and Chan's PCS were both over 90). So with a close PCS, and a gap 7 points, and a notorious 4S, now even the 4T is unstable, Hanyu might need both Machida and Javi to bomb to get the gold, but I don't hope for any skater to bomb. I hope they all get clean. What I want to say is, not getting a gold is not the end of the world for him. For me he only needs to stay on the podium at the moment.

But of course, he must have wanted that gold very much, So if he can get it, I will be very happy for him. I also expect a clean FS from him for once. If he stands still with a clean FS, total clean, then I will shut up about his PCS for good.

I only hope he don't get so frustrated on himself. I want him to stay hunger but with a healthy mentality.

Don't worry, seems that he's still smiling in quite a relaxed way yesterday after the fall, I believe he is a bit upset to himself but in a positive way, which is good to him. I got used to his anger to himself as his revenge mode is on every world championship. When will his WChamp drama come to an end......

 

[s9580]

Well, despite that fall yesterday he looked to me very strong. As he said this fall was a bit unexpected to him, maybe too much confidence. But for me, after the fall... it was his best skate ever with that program, it reminded me a bit of his FS at world 2012, where you could almost feel every emotion of his performance. Fall made him even stronger and no hesitation at all with the rest of the program. That 3lz was just HUGE

Yeah, I thought the 3-3 combo was amazing, one of his best 3lz. So I think he just needs tiny adjustment, not really a bad one.

 

[Meoima]

Yep, I mean I think he got a little bit high for his FS's PCS in Sochi... ummmm PChiddy and Hanyu did the most difficult packs...... encouragement for taking the risk, fair enough... I still think skating should push the limit of human-being (though it sounds terrible) as long as it's a sport.

The UR... technically the judges can't skip that or it's too obvious for a bias I think Machida's SP performance was really impressive and a touching one to the judges so you are right that Machida might got an advantage for that. And I surely love you for this - if you were not PChan. Be frank, I really don't want Yuzu to be another Chiddy.

Fighting until the end for sure, I would love to see Hanyu makes the miracle happens. Com'on, surprise me kiddo~ But he definitely need to figure out the way to make it clean for both SP and FS in the coming season. I do think challenges like any kind of quads are brilliant but he has to improve his consistency.

Yes, people are still complaining his 91 score is generous for that all at 4T. But he is in 3rd place now so it would be less controversial than PChan. For me I think 91 is well-deserved because he was much faster than in Sochi where he made a world record. That speed at the second half of his SP is unbelievable. I have to download both version to compare and I am so awe at his speed yesterday, really crazy. I can't remember anyone else who was able to reach that speed.

And surely, not having too much favor on his side is good for Hanyu. Chaninflation has made people think badly of this sport already, we don't need another one.

Anyways, if he skates clean this friday, then I will have no reason to blame the ugly costume that Weir designed for him anymore. I've always been distract by that twinkling and blinking costume and couldn't appreciate his R&J 2 all this season. Maybe because of the unclean program, so I do hope to find a reason not to hate on that costume so much. Just saying I really want a high note for that costume to go. A clean program would be a good ending. No matter the color of medal he will get, just... Please stay clean for once, or for the Juliet costume.

 

[s9580]

Yes, people are still complaining his 91 score is generous for that all at 4T. But he is in 3rd place now so it would be less controversial than PChan. For me I think 91 is well-deserved because he was much faster than in Sochi where he made a world record. That speed at the second half of his SP is unbelievable. I have to download both version to compare and I am so awe at his speed yesterday, really crazy. I can't remember anyone else who was able to reach that speed.

And surely, not having too much favor on his side is good for Hanyu. Chaninflation has made people think badly of this sport already, we don't need another one.

Anyways, if he skates clean this friday, then I will have no reason to blame the ugly costume that Weir designed for him anymore. I've always been distract by that twinkling and blinking costume and couldn't appreciate his R&J 2 all this season. Maybe because of the unclean program, so I do hope to find a reason not to hate on that costume so much. Just saying I really want a high note for that costume to go. A clean program would be a good ending. No matter the color of medal he will get, just... Please stay clean for once, or for the Juliet costume.

Somehow it might be the high speed to make him fall on the 4T. His speed and steps are even better than Sochi. He nailed the second part also so I think 91-92 is certainly acceptable. People should understand figure skating is not all about "not falling down". We count the steps, transition, speed, posture and many more. Of course PCS is vague or being said as subjective, but it's reasonable since figure skating is something like a mix of sport and art. We do have objective scale for sport but artistry is subjective, we need to take that.

I will remember his UNIQUE costume FOREVER. It's just............. one of its kind, what else can I say. Just can't look at the close-up of that coloured bejeweled tight top for more than 2 seconds. I nearly got acculturation difficulty to shift my eyes and mind from PW's costume to the Juliet one.

Interesting thing, I'm dying to see the PCS and TES of a real clean R&J-2. Everyone knew the program is difficult but has not yet known how good it can be.

 

[Maria Victoria]

[QUOTE...Interesting thing, I'm dying to see the PCS and TES of a real clean R&J-2. Everyone knew the program is difficult but has not yet known how good it can be.[/QUOTE]

Me too. I am aware that there are those who think David Wilson's choreography doesn't seem to work for Yuzuru, but in fairness I think Yuzuru on his end still has to skate the programs David Wilson has choreographed for him (NDP, R & J2) both cleanly and with conviction.

I hope tomorrow he will be able to bring R & J 2 to its full glory. If he does, that will be a skate to behold and most probably will set a world record.

 

[Hanmgse]

Tbh I don't want him to win if he falls, If that happens I can already smell the complains and the hate just like happened many times
with Chan and like happened sometimes with yuzu too, wich is very sad because at the end these skaters just went and gave everything, just my opinion