figure-skaters

"Everyday is a new day, and ultimately, I have to figure out what works each day."

"It's not always an upward journey; there are always ups and downs. But in order to maintain that passion, you have to maintain that dream and that drive, and the Olympics for me was that dream and drive. I'm certain that will be the same case for many other young athletes."

"Never give up. There are always tough times, regardless of what you do in anything in life. Be able to push through those times and maintain your ultimate goal."

"Looking back, it's like, wow, those few minutes just made such an impact. We have that much time to kind of prove yourself. I think that's one thing that makes skating so exciting, because it's just intense, and it's quick, and one little slip can mean the difference between placing or not placing."

"I’d never skated just to win a gold medal before; I’d never put that kind of pressure on myself."

"Now is really the time to raise more awareness of what’s going on and to demand that things change. This younger generation is not afraid to speak out, I think they’ve given a lot of us courage to really stand up to what’s right, and I think that’s what we need to follow"

"The reward of putting a smile on a child’s face, who has to deal with so many challenges in life, is just beyond words. It's incredible."

"In terms of my career, having the gold definitely changed my life. The Olympics are different, you know? They’re every four years and it’s such a small group. So for me, having achieved the gold, there’s a certain prestige that comes along with it, and responsibilities and things like that, you know, “master to your sport.”"

"Winning the gold opened up a lot of opportunities, other challenges that I wanted to take on and do in my life."

"Even as an athlete, I am constantly inspired and awed by the stories of Olympians. I was honored to have been asked to exchange ideas in the first charrette."

"There was always just that challenge of getting better, and every year having a new goal and getting a step closer to the ultimate dream. I really didn’t have the dream of the Olympics until I was maybe in middle school. And, at that point, it started to get a little harder. My life centered around skating—training before and after school. It was a huge time commitment for me and my family."

"My parents are super excited that they've produced an Olympian. I don’t think they ever would have imagined this would happen in a million years, so I hope I represent not only Team USA, but the Japanese-American culture and my family as well."

"There's... a stigma that says Asian Americans are more the nerdy type, so for me to be a part of this successful sports team... means a lot."

"But I think a failure like that is always a learning experience. I feel like I’ve learned a lot about myself, and how to apply myself going into my next competition. It’s hard to skate like that, but I can only get better from here."

"A long time ago, a sports reporter wrote that I wasn’t strong in the free-skate, that I was more of a short program skater. And that bothered me because I work so hard every day just for a person to judge me on a couple of bad skates and deem me a bad free skater. That's absurd!"

"It’s just skating, and I’ll survive, but at the same time, it’s hard because I’ve worked so long for this moment. It’s not the way I wanted it to go, but at the same time I’m telling everybody, you can fall and still get up and keep going."

"Every time I put myself on the ice I get nervous. And getting reps is really important to me when I feel under pressure. So even in exhibition I might not be as nervous as when I compete, but having the confidence that I can land it under the spotlights, and when I can see anything, is really important to me. So I just try to do it as much as I can."

"I had my dream Olympic skate [in the team event] and to me, I’ve been dreaming of that moment for such a long time, it made me feel like a superhero and superheroes save the day. And I wish I had said that we were all superheroes during the team event."

"If you really put your mind to it, anything is possible."

"For me, under-ice diving is like an energy boost, as if I was reborn. It is a sensation I can't compare to anything else, a very pleasant one. And I always long for it."

"This is not a world championship, this is not the Olympics, but I've never seen anything like this. [...] The maestro, the master, Yuzuru Hanyu, has won in Canada."

"There is no one like him. No one like Yuzuru Hanyu. [...] The rockstar does it again. And whatever it cost, the GOAT – the GOAT – delivers."

"He's his own mystical creature, that's for sure. [...] He also has this unmatched confidence that I think is very rare but also very prevalent in all the greats in the sport. Like that he knows he's the best and he wants everyone to know he's the best and he lives up to it."

"そこに音楽があるから、フィギュアスケートっていう表現だったり、芸術だったり、技術っていうものがそこに生まれてくるのであって、音楽とフィギュアスケートっていうのがほぼイコールだと僕は思ってます。で、僕にとっては… なんて言うか、生きがいです。フィギュアスケートをやる理由です。"

"Costumes are important tools for me to express the story in my program. I also think that costumes are one of the things that serve to highlight the uniqueness of Yuzuru Hanyu, the skater. [...] People who see it, will feel that it has to be Yuzuru, it has to be this program and costume."

"I've heard that his programmes this year are hommages or testaments to some of his favourite skaters. [...] And that's interesting, because that makes you believe that – perhaps – he's a little reserved in his own estimations of himself [...] Perhaps he's not quite aware that he's everybody else's inspiration, he's everybody else's motivation to improve."

"It's not only me, who is serving this sport. Figure skating is a sport. Yes, there are shows, but we're athletes and competitors. You can't compete with only one skater. There are so many amateur skaters, who gather to compete. This is how figure skating as a sport is made."

"女子と男子のスケートの違いについては、もちろん、その繊細さだったり、パワフルさだったり、いろんなものが違うとは思います。ただ、そのそれぞれのスケーターが素晴らしい個性を持っていて、その個性を出すことがフィギュアスケートのすごく魅力的なところだと思うので、全スケーターがみんな違うと僕は思っています。"

"振り付け1つ1つに、今回はお客さんがいないのでなかなかコネクトすることは難しいですけれども、1つ1つにお客さんとつながるような振りが多くあるので、それもまたこのプログラムの魅力かなと思います。"

"僕が見せたいスケートとか、僕が表現したいものとか、そういうものってやっぱり身体がないと何もできないので、まずは身体を大切に、そしてまわりも人も大切に、大事なものを僕は、スケートという大事なものを守れるように、しっかり胸を張って行動できることをやっていきたいと思います。"

"With one delayed single Axel, one triple Axel, Yuzuru Hanyu, double gold medalist, just gave a masterclass of what figure skating actually is."

"The mindset to overcome this injury, to deal with all of that pressure is what makes him a true champion."

"He's a two-time Olympic gold medalist, he's won the World Championships [...] He has everything. And what's all the more amazing that despite that he still [came] back and demonstrated improvement, not just sustaining his excellence but improving his excellence."

"Watch how he plays with the music. He is a master."

"With Yuzu, we are everything, we are friends, we are team mates, at some point we have to be rivals. It’s like having a wife, your wife is your friend, your wife is everything, but it depends on the time. When we are on the ice, we are competing against each other but when the competition is done, we are friends again and we work together again."

"Definitely agile like a freshly born kitten."

"I want to be stronger. Maybe I need to become a Yuzuru Hanyu who is more Yuzuru Hanyu."

"Very probably the best figure skate. Ever."

"実現するために苦労がたくさん必要だなって思えるようなものでした。"

"難易度と芸術 のバランスというのは本当はないんじゃないかな、芸術は絶対的な技術力に基づいたものである、と僕は思っています。"

"Yuzu skates in a place that most of us can only dream about."

"Sometimes I can't explain or speak with words. It really feels a little frustrating. But in skating I can use all languages, for all the people. I can do a part of the performance for every country, every people."

"I will never forget your performance. Thank you for allowing me to come to Toronto. I’ll respect you forever. Ganbatte, Javi, vamos!"

"特に自分からコメントを常に発信したいなとは思ってないし、何よりも、自分がたくさんの方々に愛してもらってるのはすごく分かってるので…うん…あのー、何だろう？ 特別自分から何かをしなくてもいいかなという風に思っています。"

"I managed to win twice, but the Olympics are something special. The Olympic Games are what every athlete and figure skater wants to win. Winning them makes you a true champion."

"I'd like to overcome more barriers. I'd like to be in the position where, no matter what happens - even if they skate their free skate clean - if I skate clean, I will win."

"It would be terrible, if no one expected anything from me. [...] Of course, I can't always deliver one hundred percent, but what I always try to do is: respond to their expectation at one hundred twenty percent level. That's why – when I fail to do so – the disappointment is huge, and when I [succeed], it's an amazing sense of achievement that no words can describe."

"なんか限界だなって感じはないです。ただ、この限界だなって思うかもしれない時期をどうやって乗り越えていくか。"

"他让我想起一句话。命运对勇士低语: '你无法抵御风暴。' 勇士低声回应: '我就是风暴。'"

"たとえばバレエとかミュージカルとかもそうですけれども、芸術というのは、明らかに正しい技術、徹底された基礎によって裏付けされた表現力、芸術であって、それが足りないと芸術にはならないと僕は思っています。"