My Take
Okay, I'll just say it: Yuzuru Hanyu doesn't really move like a person on the ice, he moves like the music decided to grow a body. Two Olympic golds back to back, the first Asian man to do it, and somehow that wasn't the headline that stuck with me. What got me was a guy who'd already won everything still throwing himself at the quad Axel, the jump nobody had landed, like winning had stopped being the point and beauty had taken over. Then he goes pro and basically becomes a one-man theater, writing and producing whole shows, including the first-ever solo ice show in a baseball dome. Off the ice he's soft-spoken and careful with his words, this old-world politeness that just makes the obsession hit harder. The man fell a thousand times and got up every single one.
Overview
Yuzuru Hanyu is a Japanese figure skater born on December 7, 1994, in Izumi, Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture. He won gold medals in men's singles at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics and the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, becoming the first Asian skater to win the Olympic men's singles title and the first to defend it. In 2020 he completed the Super Slam — winning all six major international titles — a first in men's figure skating history. He turned professional in July 2022 and has since produced and performed in his own large-scale ice shows, including GIFT at Tokyo Dome in 2023, the first-ever dome ice show in history.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Yuzuru Hanyu
- Name (Japanese)
- 羽生結弦
- Reading
- はにゅうゆづる
- Born
- December 7, 1994 (age 31)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Sagittarius / Dog
- Origin
- Izumi, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan
- Blood type
- B
- Height
- 172 cm
- Agency
- Independent (advisory contract with Phiten Co., Ltd.)
- Agency history
- All Nippon Airways (ANA) affiliated athlete (2013–September 2023)
- Active years
- 2003–present
- Occupation
- Competitive Figure Skater / Professional Skater / Ice Show Producer
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Sendai City Nanahokita Junior High School
- High school
- Tohoku High School
- University
- Waseda University, School of Human Sciences (correspondence program, graduated)
- Debut
- Began competitive figure skating in earnest in 2003. Moved to the senior division in the 2010–11 season, and won his first Olympic gold medal at the 2014 Sochi Games — the first Asian man to do so.
Awards & achievements
- 2014 Winter Olympics (Sochi) – Men's Singles Gold Medal (first Asian man)
- 2014 World Figure Skating Championships – Men's Singles Champion
- 2014 Medal of Honor with Purple Ribbon (Japan)
- 2017 World Figure Skating Championships – Men's Singles Champion (2nd title)
- 2018 Winter Olympics (Pyeongchang) – Men's Singles Gold Medal (back-to-back champion)
- 2018 People's Honor Award (Japan, first winter sports athlete)
- 2018 Medal of Honor with Purple Ribbon (2nd time)
- 2013 ISU Grand Prix Final Champion (4 consecutive titles, 2013–2016)
- 2020 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships Champion – Super Slam completed (all six major titles, first in men's history)
Timeline
- 1994Born on December 7 in Izumi, Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture
- 1998Began skating at age 4
- 2010Moved to the senior division; senior Grand Prix debut
- 20112011 Tohoku earthquake damaged his home rink in Sendai; relocated to Toronto, Canada, and began training under Brian Orser
- 2013Won the Grand Prix Final (first of four consecutive titles through 2016)
- 2014Won Olympic gold at Sochi and the World Championships title
- 2016Became the first skater to land a quadruple loop jump in international competition
- 2017Won the World Championships for the second time
- 2018Won Olympic gold at Pyeongchang (back-to-back); received the People's Honor Award
- 2020Won the Four Continents Championships, completing the Super Slam — all six major international titles, a first in men's figure skating history
- 2022Attempted the quadruple Axel at the Beijing Olympics (first ever ratified in international competition); announced turn to professional skating in July
- 2023Held solo ice show GIFT at Tokyo Dome (the first-ever dome ice show); married in August and divorced in November
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Divorced (married August 2023, divorced November 2023; partner is a private individual)
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Father is a former junior high school teacher; mother is a homemaker
- Siblings
- One older sister (reported to have given up skating for her brother)
4. Personality
Hobbies
- Reading (Osamu Dazai, Kojiki, etc.)
- Collecting earphones and audio equipment
- Listening to music
Specialties
- Figure skating (all quadruple jump types)
- Choreography and program composition
- Scriptwriting for ice shows
Motto
Private
5. Works & records
| Category | Title | Role | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ice Show | Prologue | Performer & Producer | 2022 |
| Ice Show | GIFT (Tokyo Dome – first-ever dome ice show) | Performer & Producer | 2023 |
| Ice Show | RE_PRAY | Performer & Producer | 2024 |
| Book | Yuzuru Hanyu: Soul of a Champion (Official Photo Book) | Subject / Author | 2016 |
| Competition Program | SEIMEI (based on Onmyoji) | Performance | 2015 |
| Competition Program | Hope & Legacy | Performance | 2017 |
6. Links
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.