Veteran Winter Olympians: Embodiments of the Olympic Spirit (6)

 Hanyu Yuzuru: "I went for it, and it's something I will cherish forever."

The 27-year-old Japanese figure skating legend Hanyu Yuzuru has added yet another entry into his practically peerless skating resume: two Olympics gold medals, two world championships, and a decade’s worth of spellbinding, record-shattering performances. During Beijing 2022, he nearly made history with an attempt at the quadruple Axel.

Hanyu said before the Games that his most significant motivating factor when arriving in Beijing, even bigger than winning a record-tying third gold, was to pioneer the quadruple Axel, the most challenging jump ever attempted in figure skating.

Last Thursday, Hanyu, the defending champion, attempted the most difficult jump in the history of men’s figure skating and the Olympics, which required him to spin four-and-a-half times in mid-air before landing. Twenty seconds into his free skate, he fell on his quadruple Axel attempt and a last-second jump. The mistake cost him a medal, and for the first time in his career, he left the Games empty-handed.

The star Japanese athlete may not have landed the first quadruple Axel in history, but he can walk away from the arena proud and with his chin up.

"I was at top gear right from the start, and I thought I rotated the Axel as well as I could. I went for it, and it's something I will cherish forever," he said.

"Sure, the result is disappointing, but I think I went all in," he remarked, after landing in the fourth place spot. "It is what it is. This Olympics was a challenge, and I gave it everything I have."