2011-12 Season: Pushing Forward
After a grueling off-season, having skated 60 ice shows and tried to recover from the devastation the Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami wrought, Yuzuru started his season with the 2011 Nebelhorn trophy, an international competition that is a part of the ISU Challenger Series, which holds arguably lower stakes than many other international competitions.
For the 2011-12 season, Yuzuru skated his short program to Scriabin's "Etude in D-Sharp Minor," a piece that's very Russian and very dramatic. For the first time in his career, he included a quad in his short program, the quad toe loop. In this competition, he flipped out of the jump and had a hand down, but he made all of the rotations. He landed a beautiful triple Axel and a clean 3Lz+2T. He also included a position in one of his spins called the "doughnut" in addition to his Biellmann, both of which are not seen often in the men's field because of the flexibility required to do them. This new short program has depth and drama that Yuzu's skating doesn't quite live up to yet, but it's his first competition of the season; there's always room for growth. See his first short program of the season, for which he earned 75.26 points, below.
Yuzuru skated his free program this season to a Romeo & Juliet compilation--something, I will admit, that is seen very, very often amongst competitive skaters. I think, though, that this is a really good program for him--he very clearly puts a lot of heart into it, and the step sequences have much more character than they did last season. As for the jumps during this competition, he landed the flipped out and put a hand down on the 4T, but landed two incredible triple Axels, one in combination with a 3T. (How amazing is it that his most consistent jump so far seems to be a triple Axel, a jump which most skaters spend the majority of their careers struggling with?) His flip didn't get an edge call from the technical panel, but the edge did look a little questionable to me. He popped one other jump, but the rest of them were rotated fully and landed cleanly. Overall, not a bad first outing for the season. He earned 151.00 points (see below), very close to his highest score of the last season from 151.58.
At his next competition, the 2011 Cup of China (a qualifying event for the Grand Prix Final), he scored a personal best by several points with a successful quad in his short program arsenal. He landed a clean 4T, a clean 3A, and a less pretty but still clean 3Lz+3T. He was second after the short program with 81.37 points (his first ever short program score past the 80-point mark!), just 0.27 points behind first place.
During the free skate, Yuzu started off his program strong with a nearly flawless 4T, a beautiful 3A straight out of a spread-eagle, and an unquestionably clean 3F for the first time. However, past the halfway point of his program, he fell twice and had two more shaky landings on jumping passes. His last spin, though, had speed and was beautifully centered, a nice way to end his program. As he struck his ending pose, he struggled for breath and his lips were visibly blue. He earned 145.16 for the free program, and ended the Cup of China with a total of 226.53 points and in 4th place.
His second assignment for the Grand Prix series was the 2011 Rostelecom Cup (or Cup of Russia). After a messy landing on the 4T but a clean 3A and combination, he earned 82.78 points, less than one point behind first place. Going into the free skate (see above), he needed to score at least 158.86 points to place first and qualify for the Grand Prix Final, higher than he has ever scored in the senior field. After putting his hands down after the 4T, he landed the rest of his jumps cleanly. However, he did make a somewhat strange mistake in that he slipped and fell in the middle of his first step sequence, something rarely seen during competitions. His last step sequence, though, was full of character and energy. With only two mistakes made, Yuzuru scored 158.88 points, winning first place and qualifying for the Grand Prix Final by just .02 points.
At the 2011 Grand Prix Final, Yuzuru flipped out of the 4T during his short program but otherwise skated cleanly for a score of 79.33 points, 4th place after that segment of the competition. During the free skate, though, Hanyu skated beautifully, only making one mistake on his last jumping pass (the 3S) and earning a personal best score by 8 points, 166.49. At his first ever GPF, he placed fourth overall, less than two points from bronze and 13 points from gold. Despite placing 4th (out of 6) here, this was a great achievement for him and he was clearly very happy after completing his free skate to Romeo & Juliet. He made this adorable face after striking his ending pose:
During All-Japan Championships, Yuzu didn't quite pull out of the 4T rotation in time to land a clean 3T, so he nearly overrotated it and had to stop the rotation abruptly with his left toepick to prevent falling. He skated an otherwise clean short, except he only completely a 2T after the 3Lz in his combination instead of a 3T, finishing the SP in 4th. During his free skate, Yuzuru landed all of his jumped, but got his first edge call of the season on his 3F and popped his 3S into a 1S. He placed first in that segment of the competition, but due to his score in the short program he placed 3rd overall, qualifying for both the Four Continents Championships and the World Championships.
He decided not to compete at the 4CC in order to focus on training for the World Championships in March.
At the 2012 World Figure Skating Championships, Yuzuru was the youngest competitor there at 17 years old. In the SP, he put his opening 4T in combination with a 2T, but unfortunately popped his 3Lz into a 1Lz. He was seventh after the short program with a score of 77.07.
When he went into the free skating (see below), his previous personal best was 166.49. He landed a perfect 4T and 3A to open his program, and the rest of the program went quite similarly. One of the most common themes among broadcasted commentary is "never knowing what to expect from Hanyu," or "even when he falls, he falls spectacularly." He did fall once, but not on any of his jumps; Yuzu has a habit of throwing himself into choreography a little overzealously, and he tripped in the middle of his first step sequence. Overall, though, he landed one quad, two triple Axels, 6 more triple jumps, and 3 double jumps for a total TES of 99.01 (!!!) and combined score of 173.99, 7.5 points higher than his previous personal best. He pulled up from 7th place to 3rd place, and won the bronze medal at his very first senior World Championships.
For the 2011-12 season, Yuzuru skated his short program to Scriabin's "Etude in D-Sharp Minor," a piece that's very Russian and very dramatic. For the first time in his career, he included a quad in his short program, the quad toe loop. In this competition, he flipped out of the jump and had a hand down, but he made all of the rotations. He landed a beautiful triple Axel and a clean 3Lz+2T. He also included a position in one of his spins called the "doughnut" in addition to his Biellmann, both of which are not seen often in the men's field because of the flexibility required to do them. This new short program has depth and drama that Yuzu's skating doesn't quite live up to yet, but it's his first competition of the season; there's always room for growth. See his first short program of the season, for which he earned 75.26 points, below.
2011 Nebelhorn - Yuzuru Hanyu Short Program
Yuzuru skated his free program this season to a Romeo & Juliet compilation--something, I will admit, that is seen very, very often amongst competitive skaters. I think, though, that this is a really good program for him--he very clearly puts a lot of heart into it, and the step sequences have much more character than they did last season. As for the jumps during this competition, he landed the flipped out and put a hand down on the 4T, but landed two incredible triple Axels, one in combination with a 3T. (How amazing is it that his most consistent jump so far seems to be a triple Axel, a jump which most skaters spend the majority of their careers struggling with?) His flip didn't get an edge call from the technical panel, but the edge did look a little questionable to me. He popped one other jump, but the rest of them were rotated fully and landed cleanly. Overall, not a bad first outing for the season. He earned 151.00 points (see below), very close to his highest score of the last season from 151.58.
2011 Nebelhorn - Yuzuru Hanyu Free Skate
At his next competition, the 2011 Cup of China (a qualifying event for the Grand Prix Final), he scored a personal best by several points with a successful quad in his short program arsenal. He landed a clean 4T, a clean 3A, and a less pretty but still clean 3Lz+3T. He was second after the short program with 81.37 points (his first ever short program score past the 80-point mark!), just 0.27 points behind first place.
During the free skate, Yuzu started off his program strong with a nearly flawless 4T, a beautiful 3A straight out of a spread-eagle, and an unquestionably clean 3F for the first time. However, past the halfway point of his program, he fell twice and had two more shaky landings on jumping passes. His last spin, though, had speed and was beautifully centered, a nice way to end his program. As he struck his ending pose, he struggled for breath and his lips were visibly blue. He earned 145.16 for the free program, and ended the Cup of China with a total of 226.53 points and in 4th place.
2011 Rostelecom Cup - Yuzuru Hanyu Free Skate
His second assignment for the Grand Prix series was the 2011 Rostelecom Cup (or Cup of Russia). After a messy landing on the 4T but a clean 3A and combination, he earned 82.78 points, less than one point behind first place. Going into the free skate (see above), he needed to score at least 158.86 points to place first and qualify for the Grand Prix Final, higher than he has ever scored in the senior field. After putting his hands down after the 4T, he landed the rest of his jumps cleanly. However, he did make a somewhat strange mistake in that he slipped and fell in the middle of his first step sequence, something rarely seen during competitions. His last step sequence, though, was full of character and energy. With only two mistakes made, Yuzuru scored 158.88 points, winning first place and qualifying for the Grand Prix Final by just .02 points.
At the 2011 Grand Prix Final, Yuzuru flipped out of the 4T during his short program but otherwise skated cleanly for a score of 79.33 points, 4th place after that segment of the competition. During the free skate, though, Hanyu skated beautifully, only making one mistake on his last jumping pass (the 3S) and earning a personal best score by 8 points, 166.49. At his first ever GPF, he placed fourth overall, less than two points from bronze and 13 points from gold. Despite placing 4th (out of 6) here, this was a great achievement for him and he was clearly very happy after completing his free skate to Romeo & Juliet. He made this adorable face after striking his ending pose:
Yuzu strikes his ending pose after his free skate at the 2011 Grand Prix Final.
During All-Japan Championships, Yuzu didn't quite pull out of the 4T rotation in time to land a clean 3T, so he nearly overrotated it and had to stop the rotation abruptly with his left toepick to prevent falling. He skated an otherwise clean short, except he only completely a 2T after the 3Lz in his combination instead of a 3T, finishing the SP in 4th. During his free skate, Yuzuru landed all of his jumped, but got his first edge call of the season on his 3F and popped his 3S into a 1S. He placed first in that segment of the competition, but due to his score in the short program he placed 3rd overall, qualifying for both the Four Continents Championships and the World Championships.
He decided not to compete at the 4CC in order to focus on training for the World Championships in March.
At the 2012 World Figure Skating Championships, Yuzuru was the youngest competitor there at 17 years old. In the SP, he put his opening 4T in combination with a 2T, but unfortunately popped his 3Lz into a 1Lz. He was seventh after the short program with a score of 77.07.
When he went into the free skating (see below), his previous personal best was 166.49. He landed a perfect 4T and 3A to open his program, and the rest of the program went quite similarly. One of the most common themes among broadcasted commentary is "never knowing what to expect from Hanyu," or "even when he falls, he falls spectacularly." He did fall once, but not on any of his jumps; Yuzu has a habit of throwing himself into choreography a little overzealously, and he tripped in the middle of his first step sequence. Overall, though, he landed one quad, two triple Axels, 6 more triple jumps, and 3 double jumps for a total TES of 99.01 (!!!) and combined score of 173.99, 7.5 points higher than his previous personal best. He pulled up from 7th place to 3rd place, and won the bronze medal at his very first senior World Championships.
2012 Worlds - Yuzuru Hanyu Free Skate
About a month after closing out the season with a World Bronze, in April 2012, Yuzuru moved coaches from his long-time coach Nanami Abe to a coaching team based out of Toronto, Canada headed by Brian Orser. Yuzuru Hanyu later cites Javier Fernandez as one of the reasons he first considered moving his training to Brian Orser. For a while after moving his training, Yuzuru would make frequent trips between Sendai and Toronto in order to both train with his coach and attend high school him his hometown.
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