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Yuzuru Hanyu, who received the gold medal for men's figure skating at the Sochi Olympics in February, is working towards the new season.
Last season, including the Olympics, Hanyu won the Grand Prix Final (Fukuoka) in December of last year and won the World Championships (Saitama) in March, achieving the triple crown. On June 27, after he performed for the first time his short program for this season at Dreams on Ice, he made a comment.
"I think, probably, I was burned out after the season ended. But, because there was an ice show only three days after the Worlds, (including other events) and I had other work as well, I did not realize that I was burned out.
At ice shows, everyone in the audience would welcome me as the Olympic champion..... After experiencing this, motivation to 'work hard' started to boil. For the first time, I felt I was able to show my true self."
Being with other top skaters such as Evgeni Plushenko (Russia) at shows was one reason why he was able to return to his true self. Hanyu, who stated "I want to focus on skating and put my all into it", has chosen Chopin's "Ballad No. 1" for this season's short program.
The choreographer is 2008 World Champion, Jeffrey Buttle (Canada). He was asked for "a piano piece", and what resulted was this program.
Completely different from last season's short program, 'Parisienne Walkways', the start is very quiet. With the opening jump of the program being Hanyu's sharp triple axel, to gain extra points, the quad toe-loop was planned in the second half. Furthermore, the final jump was a triple lutz+triple toe-loop combination, making it a very difficult layout. Hanyu comments about the reason.
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"I wanted to evolve. I think I was able to complete the short program I have used up to last season, so in order to evolve, I wanted to do something new. The idea of including a quad salchow was in my head, but for me at my current state, I don't think I can carry such a risk. I decided to include a quad toe-loop, which is must more consistent, in the second half."
Hanyu, who only began practicing in early June and has not done run throughs, said to be nervous and anxious, but with a strong skate, he landed the quad toe-loop cleanly.
"Although I got confidence, it is only confidence to skate the short program in a show. The rink is smaller (than at competitions) so there were many places were I could not skate my step sequences thoroughly. I am yet to skate at a larger rink, and competitions are competitions. There are still many places to work on, so I want to work hard to be able to land clean jumps and complete the program at a normal size rink. It is important to skate in front of an audience, so I think shows are a great place to practice."
On July 5 and 6, at Fantasy on Ice Toyama, Hanyu performed the short program in a much smaller rink of 41 meters by 19 meters, compared to the Olympics rink of 60 meters by 30 meters. He landed the triple axel, quad toe-loop, and triple lutz+triple toe-loop combination cleanly, and his strong decision to evolve this season was seen.
Hanyu has great frustration for not being able to skate both a clean short and free program in one competition last season. This is also a reason for him having strong feelings towards evolving. He comments about his goal for this season.
"I think this season will be a starting year in many ways. The Olympics is over, so one could think of it as an experimental year. However, as the Olympics champion, I know I am going to be challenged greatly with my future results and skills. I need to give the impression of an Olympic champion-level result and performance this season.
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The short program starts with a slow tempo, and he "needs to work on creating contrast with his body movement, and be aware of each finger to the fingertips and move them carefully." "To be able to land the quad toe-loop consistently, I need to understand what kind of condition my body is in, and I need to hone each and every nerve." He is fully aware of the points he needs to work on to improve.
He includes the quad loop and the quad lutz in practice.
"I am landing the loop in practice, but I won't include it in the program. However, if I look back at myself, I have always challenged myself and included it in the programs. Now, the most difficult jump I will include is the quad salchow. To raise the consistency, I need to raise my level of skill and limits. This is why I challenge the loop and lutz in practice."
Despite having many titles, there are no treats. Hanyu, who continues to be a challenger, performed his short program on July 12 at Fantasy on Ice Niigata. It was an important step towards the completion of the program in ice shows. From here, the real preparation towards the season begins.