Yuzuru Hanyu: “I wasn’t someone who succeeded from the very beginning. I learned that simply working hard doesn’t always result in success – you need methods that suit you personally.”
Yuzuru Hanyu about challenges he faced in his career.
original source: number.bunshun.jp dd. May 22d 2025 by Takaomi Matsubara: Part 1 and Part 2
Article from the documentary program NumberTV produced by Sports Graphic Number x Lemino delves into Yuzuru Hanyu’s story revealing challenges he faced during his sorts career. Here’s a translation of this article posted on Sports Graphic Number Web.
“From achieving two consecutive Olympic gold medals to building a glittering competitive career, Yuzuru Hanyu continues to shine even brighter as a professional figure skater today. While his skating career may seem glamorous on the surface, Hanyu reflects, “I’ve hit rock bottom countless times.”
“There were many occasions when I wasn’t sure if I could continue skating or not.”
He recalls that the most painful period was “when I was in elementary school.”
“I wasn’t someone who succeeded from the very beginning. From what I remember, I struggled to win when I first started skating. The first time I won a competition with ‘All-Japan’ in its title was when I was 9.” This was in October 2004 at the All-Japan Novice Championships. After delivering a perfect performance and claiming the title, he later went on to win his first international competition in Finland just two months later. “I was brimming with confidence,” Hanyu recalls.
Riding the momentum and fully believing in a bright future, Hanyu embarked on the next season with optimism. However, shortly after the competition in Finland, the skating rink in his hometown of Sendai, which had been his training base, shut down due to financial difficulties. He transferred to another club to continue skating, but with a new coach, extended travel distances, and reduced training time and intensity, his progress slowed significantly.
“At the time, I could barely manage a double axel or a shaky triple jump, but the kids around me were landing triples with ease. I started to feel like I was being left behind. No matter how hard I tried in such a limited training environment, I felt like I was slipping further down. It was frustrating, and honestly, terrifying. I began to despair, wondering if I had already hit my limit.”
His turning point came with a change in circumstances. The skating rink in Sendai reopened, allowing him to dedicate himself fully to training again. He also began working with a new coach, who had been a protégé of the coach who initially taught him skating fundamentals.
“I realized how important it is to take that extra step forward instead of settling for the status quo. The fundamentals I was taught as a young child and drilled into me through practice connected with my skills at that time. I learned that simply working hard doesn’t always result in success – you need methods that suit you personally.”
Another experience that Hanyu describes as hitting rock bottom was his battle with injuries.
“When you’re injured and can’t train, your muscle strength declines, and the injured area hurts even more. There were times when one injury would not only set me back to square one but actually push me into the negatives. I didn’t talk about it much, but I went through those experiences.”
He specifically referenced a major injury during official practice at the NHK Trophy in November 2017, later diagnosed as a “right ankle lateral ligament injury.” It was a serious injury that would deeply affect his career.
“How should I put it… it felt like the things I had worked so hard to achieve were crumbling before my eyes.” He had the Pyeongchang Olympics just three months ahead.
“After that, all I could really do was focus on doing what I could each day. The time I couldn’t be on the ice dragged on, so I had to get creative with how I cared for myself, how I received treatment, and how I did my rehabilitation. I poured all my energy into that.
But it was hard. As the feel of the ice slipped further away, my muscle strength declined, and I could feel my body getting weaker. Watching how other skaters were jumping and the scores they were putting up during that time filled me with nothing but fear.”
He returned to ice training at the start of the new year. However, the time off had taken its toll.
“Even when I didn’t know if I’d make the Olympic team, the idea of not doing everything I could wasn’t an option. Maybe the experience of living through the Great East Japan Earthquake and all the sorrow and suffering I saw gave me a higher threshold for enduring hardships than most people. Or maybe the challenges I overcame as a child — the training environment I lost and the difficulties I faced — served as mental training and gave me some kind of immunity to adversity.”
This resilience ultimately led to his consecutive gold medal victory at the Sochi Olympics and the Pyeongchang Olympics. But one striking fact emerges from his story: in interviews, press conferences, and post-competition media events, as far as can be recalled, Yuzuru Hanyu has never uttered the word “failure.”
When this was pointed out to him, he nodded without hesitation and explained:
“To me, the word ‘failure’ has the connotation of stagnation, of stopping entirely at that point. But in my case, if I hit a wall, I instinctively feel that I can’t continue living unless I overcome it. My mindset is to find a way past it rather than dwelling on calling it ‘failure.'”
Related topics: Yuzuru Hanyu
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