Japan’s Yuzuru Hanyu qualifies for Beijing 2022, eyes third successive Olympic crown
- Reigning Olympic figure skating champion Yuzuru Hanyu returns after an eight-month injury absence
- The Japanese superstar will now fight for his third successive Olympic crown after qualifying for the Beijing Olympic Winter Games on Sunday.
Two-time Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu nearly became the first skater to land a quadruple axel while easily outpacing Shoma Uno and Yumi Kagayami to win the Japanese national championship on Sunday.
Hanyu tried the jump, which unlike other quads includes an additional half rotation, at the beginning of his free skate at Saitama Super Arena in Japan. He ultimately two-footed the landing and the jump was downgraded to a triple axel, but it still set the stage for a programme that included three more quads and left him with 322.36 points.
“I’m honestly relieved,” Hanyu told Kyodo News. “I felt as though I was about to cry even before the six-minute warm-up.”
Uno packed five quads into his free skate but barely hung onto his quad flip and quad toe and fell on another quad toe, leaving him with 295.82 points and the silver medal. Kagiyami finished with 292.41 points.
The trio of Japanese skaters are expected to be the toughest competition for American star Nathan Chen at the Winter Olympics in Beijing, which is set to begin in just under six weeks. Chen competes at US nationals in two weeks.
“It is good to be able to watch skating. Even if I wasn’t competing I would still want to watch,” Chen said last week, when asked about Hanyu’s return from an eight-month absence from competition due largely to an ankle injury.