Original article
The hope for men’s figure skating made his debut at this year’s senior competition. We looked at the true face of the 15-year-old.
◇
Takeuchi: You are very skinny. Your face is also small. How tall are you?
Hanyu: About 170cm. I am still growing a bit. My shoe size is 25.5cm. However, my skates are a bit bigger, 27cm. Since Italian made shoes are narrow.
Takeuchi: Figure skating is a sport to “show”; do you do anything with your hair?
Hanyu: Since I was little, my mom cuts it for me. I don’t have any preference, so she just cuts it for me.
●Debut competition, 4th place
Takeuchi: You made your debut last month at the NHK Trophy.
Hanyu: I was very nervous. There were many people in the audience, a number unthinkable for a junior, and the skaters around me were amazing.
Takeuchi: There, you landed a quad jump.
Hanyu: I saw many skaters’ quads during official practice, and I was able to get an image. I was a bit confident. When I landed the jump, I thought “Yay~” but at the same time I thought, “It’s from here that counts. I can’t miss my other jumps.”
Takeuchi: Winning or losing depends on being able to land a quad or not.
Hanyu: I think the quad has a great appeal to it. It’s dynamic, and the fast rotation draws you in. The young generation like me has to jump more, since we can’t win in terms of career or expression to the veteran athletes.
Takeuchi: You ended in 4th place.
Hanyu: Since it’s about winning or losing, I am frustrated, but at the same time I was able to learn a lot. I have no regrets.
Takeuchi: Were you jealous of Murakami, who is 15 like you are, being on the podium?
Hanyu: I wanted to get a medal. When I saw the medal ceremony, my performance was the next day so I thought “The podium is so nice, I want to get on it too.” I guess I was a bit jealous.
The hope for men’s figure skating made his debut at this year’s senior competition. We looked at the true face of the 15-year-old.
◇
Takeuchi: You are very skinny. Your face is also small. How tall are you?
Hanyu: About 170cm. I am still growing a bit. My shoe size is 25.5cm. However, my skates are a bit bigger, 27cm. Since Italian made shoes are narrow.
Takeuchi: Figure skating is a sport to “show”; do you do anything with your hair?
Hanyu: Since I was little, my mom cuts it for me. I don’t have any preference, so she just cuts it for me.
●Debut competition, 4th place
Takeuchi: You made your debut last month at the NHK Trophy.
Hanyu: I was very nervous. There were many people in the audience, a number unthinkable for a junior, and the skaters around me were amazing.
Takeuchi: There, you landed a quad jump.
Hanyu: I saw many skaters’ quads during official practice, and I was able to get an image. I was a bit confident. When I landed the jump, I thought “Yay~” but at the same time I thought, “It’s from here that counts. I can’t miss my other jumps.”
Takeuchi: Winning or losing depends on being able to land a quad or not.
Hanyu: I think the quad has a great appeal to it. It’s dynamic, and the fast rotation draws you in. The young generation like me has to jump more, since we can’t win in terms of career or expression to the veteran athletes.
Takeuchi: You ended in 4th place.
Hanyu: Since it’s about winning or losing, I am frustrated, but at the same time I was able to learn a lot. I have no regrets.
Takeuchi: Were you jealous of Murakami, who is 15 like you are, being on the podium?
Hanyu: I wanted to get a medal. When I saw the medal ceremony, my performance was the next day so I thought “The podium is so nice, I want to get on it too.” I guess I was a bit jealous.