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BSP-06
OLYMPIC-CHAMPION-HANYN
Two-time Olympic champion Hanyu wins Japanese figure skating title
TOKYO, Dec. 27, 2020 (BSS/Xinhua) – Japan’s two-time figure skating Olympic
champion Yuzuru Hanyu won his fifth Japanese national title on Saturday.
Hanyu, who had been out of action since February, delivered a graceful free
skate which netted him 215.83 points for a total of 319.36 at Nagano’s Big
Hat arena.
It was Hanyu’s first national title since he won four in a row from 2012 to
2015. The win also earned the 26-year-old a place at the 2021 World
Championships in Stockholm.
“Last year was very frustrating for me, and a part of me is happy that I
was able to take revenge,” said Hanyu, who finished second at last year’s
nationals.
Dancing to “Heaven and Earth”, Hanyu began with a quad loop and a quad
salchow, before landing a quad toe loop into a triple toe loop, a quad toe
loop-single euler-triple salchow combination, and finishing with a triple
axel.
In his dynamic short program to Robbie Williams’s “Let Me Entertain You” on
Friday, Hanyu landed all of his jumps, including a quadruple salchow, quad
toe loop-triple toe loop combination and a triple axel.
Hanyu has been training by himself this year, with his Canadian coach Brian
Orser unable to join him because of travel restrictions.
“I’ve been working on my own for a long time and that’s meant I’ve had more
worries and anxieties to deal with,” said Hanyu.
“But I haven’t really been alone. Training on my own has made me appreciate
the connections I have. Of course I’ve been getting advice from afar, but
I’ve taken more strength from the goodwill people have sent me.”
2018 Olympic silver medallist Shoma Uno took second place with 284.81
points.
Yuma Kagiyama, who won the NHK trophy last month in his senior Grand Prix
debut, was third with 278.79.
BSS/Xinhua/MSY/0914 hrs