Japanese male figure skater makes history by topping 330 points

Japanese male figure skater makes history by topping 330 points. December. 14, 2015 08:58. kini@donga.com.

He has suffered from asthma since age two, carrying breathing aid for nearly 20 years. He also must carry a facial mask all the time because he cannot breathe cold air. He is in the worst physical condition for a figure skater who must always spend time and work on the ice.

He had to change training site to the other in his hometown of Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture as the ice rink that he used to go with his elder sister from age four closed. But in 2011, due to the Great East Japan Earthquake, this rink had cracks on the floor and he lost his home.

He had no choice. Yuzuru Hanyu (21) participated in ice shows across Japan to make money. Perhaps the heaven helped him who helped himself. He won his first career (bronze) medal at the ISU World Championship in the 2011-2012 season. After the season’s end, he held an ice show to celebrate his winning of the medal at the rink that had closed due to the earthquake.

Three seasons have passed since then. Now, Hanyu only has himself as his rival, and for the first time in figure skating history, he opened the era of 300 points in overall score.

Hanyu’s strides are not over yet. He ranked first in men’s single free skating competition with a score of 219.48 at the 2015-2016 ISU Grand Prix Final of Figure Skating held in Barcelona, Spain on Sunday. As he earned 110.95 points in the short program the previous day, Hanyu recorded a combined total score of 330.34 points, beating world records in free skating and short program. Having swept the championship in four consecutive events, he has become the second skater in the world to win the championship for four times after Evgeni Plushenko of Russia.