Brian: This is Yuzuru Hanyu. We adopted him six years ago. Heās a two-time Olympic champion with roots in the golden age of figure skating. We only feed him white rice and powdered electrolytes.
Why he did it: he popped his second triple Lutz, which was supposed to be in combo (3Lz+2T+2T).
Why it was awesome: this triple Salchow was the last jumping pass in his program, and in Romeo and Juliet 1.0, that pass came really late (preceding only the final spin). To pull off a combo at that point, and with the very limited stamina he had back then, that took some serious guts.
2011 Rostelecom Cup SP: 3Lz+3T
Why he did it: he stepped out on the opening 4T, which was planned to be a combo (4T+3T).
This 3Lz combo was more of a plan B, since throughout this season, Yuzu struggled quite a bit with the quad toe in Etude (itās the first season he included a quad in his SP) and kept having to resort to putting the 3Lz in combination instead.Ā
Why it was awesome: this plan B worked for Yuzu because both of his jumping passes in the SP had connecting steps leading in (yes, even the quad toe, which, remember, was a jump / jump combo that he had never attempted in an SP before that season), so it didnāt matter which jump he chose to put in combination.Ā
2015 World Team Trophy FS:Ā 3A+2TĀ
Why he did it: this was an on-the-spot change of plan. He popped his quad toe into a triple earlier in the program, so in order to avoid Zayak-ing, he switched the planned 3A+3T combo into this 3A+2T.
Why it was awesome: he was remarkably clear-headed in recognizing the need to change his layout and then executing it (also I have a thing for his Rippon 2T so I just like gif-ing it any chance I have).Ā
2015Ā Autumn Classic International FS: 3Lo+1Lo+3S
Why he did it: he stumbled on a triple Axel (yep, you read that right, a triple Axel) and failed to put it in combination (3A+1Lo+3S).
Why it was awesome: very good job of nabbing that opportunity to put the 3Lo in combo. Itās also impressive because this happened towards the end of the program when he didnāt have a lot of stamina left (worsened by the fact that he had to deal with a fall earlier), plus it was not an easy combo, and one he didnāt even practice often.
2015 Grand Prix Final EX: 3A
Why he did it: he popped his first Axel and decided to get instant revenge by immediately doing another one.
Why it was awesome: he did this 3A with no entry speed, almost from a standstill, ended up over-rotating it (how? dark arts?) and promptly saved it like a pro. Also, it.was.a.frigging.exhibition. Why on Earth does he feel the need to YOLO stuff in an exhibition? Scientists canāt tell.
2017 Four Continents Championships FS: 3A+3T / 4T+2T / 3A
(instead of 3A+2T / 3A+1Lo+3S / 3Lz)
Why he did it: he popped his second 4S, and he was pissed off from having committed the same error in his SP, and he was super salty about not having the 4CC title on his resume.Ā
Why it was awesome:Ā
This one was a plan B. All season long, anytime he failed to put the second 4S in combo heād switch his 3A+2T into a 3A+3T to get back some BV. Itās nice only because no other skater in the world would consider 3A+3T a combo easy enough to be produced in a pinch, on demand.Ā
This quad was absolutely not planned.Ā
This one came out of nowhere and almost gave Brian a heart attack. Also, itās a triple Axel, out of a layback Ina Bauer, as the final jumping pass in a long program. Itās the definition of #YOLO.
Plus, overall, exceptionally quick thinking on his feet: his layout for this performance was structured on the spot, and yet he managed to pull it off pretty damn well without Zayak-ing anything.
2017 World Team Trophy FS: 4T+1Lo+3S
Why he did it: he was, again, pissed off because his SP the previous day was a mess. Apparently, before going into the free, heād already decided he was going to try 5 quads. In the end he got 4 of them landed, 3 of which in the second half.
Why it was awesome: He couldāve gone with something easier, like a 4T+2T, but no, of course when Yuzuru Hanyu YOLOs stuff, he has to always pick the more ridiculous option. Also, Iāve no idea how he managed to stay on his feet throughout that combo because he was all over the place on the landings of both the quad and the triple.Ā Ā
And, finally, just throwing in this combo again because it deserves to be gif-ed from another angle:
Woke up today to this piece of news and Iām both sad and happy for Patrick. We all knew this was coming but to see it officially is quite another thing.
Iām glad that Skate Canada referred to him as a legend, because I remember in a CBC article right after the Olympics, he had hoped that he could be considered as one of the legends. He has moved so many people with his passion, talent and skills.
Hereās a snippet from the official announcement.
āIt has been an honour and a privilege to skate for Canadaā, said Patrick Chan. āIt has given me memorable experiences and has taught me lessons I will carry throughout life. I have fulfilled my dreams and aspirations in competitive skating and it is now time to move on to new challenges and opportunities. I hope to have inspired many young skaters that with hard work, perseverance and dedication anything is possible.ā
On a night before the weekend, when thereās no work the next day, I can do a personal project that is more involved and that I can spend many hours onā¦If I can stay awake. š Hereās a Yuzu painting in watercolor that took about 10 hours to doā¦including the sketching. I had a lot of fun painting it. Enjoy. Reference
Plume de Lynx 