On February 10, the men's single skating free skating field of the Beijing Winter Olympics, as the majestic and heavy music of "Heaven and Earth" fell, Yusheng Knot String stretched out his hands and raised his hands to the sky, at this moment, he seemed to release all of himself, this moment, he completed the challenge to himself.
The opening challenge of Axel's Four-Way Jump (4A) of epic difficulty challenges, and although he fell while falling on ice, he proved that the action of 4A exists in reality.
From the talented teenager who was recognized as "born for figure skating" as soon as he appeared on the figure skating field, to the figure skating "Devil King" who defended the Olympic champion and achieved the Olympic Games, World Championships and Grand Prix Grand Slams, everyone saw the success of the figure skating road of Yusheng String as if it had been hung. But in fact, the hardships behind it may not be known to others.
In 1994, Yusei Washi was born in Sendai, a small city in Japan, and his father named him "Knot String", hoping that his life would be as relaxed as a bow string. At the age of 2, Habu was diagnosed with asthma, weak and often ill. In order to exercise and overcome asthma, when he was 4 years old, he and his sister came to the Sendai Ice Rink near his home to skate, and were discovered by the enlightenment coach Masumi Yamada, who admired him: "I have never seen such a talented child, and I have never seen such a child who is not afraid of ice. ”
Since then, falling down and getting up on the ice again and again has become the daily life of Yu Yu, and has also become a true portrayal of him on the field.
Talented and diligent, Yusei soon made a name for himself on the ice rink. At the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, 19-year-old Yu Yu won the championship in one fell swoop, becoming the first Asian to win the Olympic championship in men's singles skating. Four years later, at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, Yusei successfully defended his title, becoming the first and youngest winter Olympic men's singles defender in the past 66 years.
Having achieved the highest honor on the figure skating field and passed the golden age of figure skaters, many people think that yusheng can "retire after Pyeongchang", but he did not, and he always had a dream of jumping around and half in his heart. This comes from what his childhood idol, Plushenko, said as he was approaching retirement – "Jumping around is the future of figure skating". This sentence deeply influenced Yu Yu, who was still in elementary school at the time, and regarded being able to perfectly complete all the four jumps as the highest goal of his entire career. Unwilling to retire with unfulfilled dreams may be the spiritual pillar that underpins his appearance at the Beijing Winter Olympics.
After the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, Yusei Yushin targeted 4A, and he has been working hard for nearly 3 years. For three years, plagued by injuries and his coach, Habu had to practice alone at the Sendai Ice Rink, where he skated as a child. In the past three years, he has experienced countless "darkest moments". After winning the sixth crown in the all-day championship, Yu Sheng once shared his feelings: "Honestly, no one has ever succeeded in 4A, no one knows how to succeed, and sometimes I think that maybe no one can succeed, I jump down, I don't know when I can succeed, I fell down and fell on the ice more, I sometimes think, I may have such a concussion, and then die." 」 ”
As the most difficult of the 6 jumping actions of the figure skating men's singles, 4A requires 1620 degrees of rotation in the air, which is half a week more than the other four-week jumping action, and "squeezing" more turns in the limited lag time, which is an extreme challenge to technology and body, and no figure skater has successfully jumped out of the 4A in the official competition before. Thin body, light posture, high jump, and steady landing on the ground, Yusheng is considered by many media to be the athletes who are most likely to complete this action in the competition. He once said in an interview: "If everyone thinks that only I can do this, then it may be my mission to complete it!" ”
This sense of mission prompted him to challenge again and again, and when everyone felt that he should seek stability for the sake of the game, Yusei took risks again and again for the 4A. Previously, at the all-day championship in December 2021, many people also believed that Yusheng would not challenge the 4A, after all, once the challenge failed, it would not qualify for the Beijing Winter Olympics, and even if the challenge was successful, it would not be internationally certified. But he jumped anyway. This spirit of self-challenge and self-sacrifice, which knows that it cannot be done, belongs to the heroism of Yu Sheng.
Standing on the field of the Winter Olympics for the third time, Yu Yusei lived up to expectations and challenged the 4A. Crossing barriers, challenging limits, and whether the action is successful or not, Yusei has become the best version of himself, making history for figure skating. After today's game, Yu Sheng leaned over to the ice and said "thank you", I don't know if this thank you represents a goodbye or a message to start again. But in any case, thank you for the fact that there is Yusheng in this era, and thank you for yusheng for being so elegant and moving.
Source Beijing Daily Client | Reporters Li Li, Zhao Xiaosong, Liu Shuang, Liu Ping
Edited by Meng Ziwei
Process Editor Liu Weili