![]() But instead, he showed everyone what he was made of in these 2 minutes and 40 seconds. He could’ve under-delivered and we still would have applauded his bravery. Of course, the same thing can be said for his Olympic free skate, which many may have as their favourite, but I personally chose this program as the Program of the Decade because not only does it showcase Hanyu’s highly superior jump technique, transitions, skating skills, interpretation and presentation, it also shows us his inner strength and ability to deliver under the most impossible of circumstances. ![]() Whilst we all see his accomplishments, it is impossible to imagine the pressure that Hanyu was under, being the defending Olympic champion, watching as younger skaters learnt more quads and got gifted scores that took him so long to achieve all whilst recovering from a potentially career-ending injury. By the time Hanyu went into his step sequence, the crowd were ready to throw their Pooh bears onto the ice. The crowd finally burst into full-fledged celebration when he landed his final jump combination, a quad toeloop-triple toeloop. Quiet applause followed his first two jumps, a quad salchow and a triple axel. So on February 16th 2018, when Yuzuru Hanyu took centre ice for his Olympic short program, the world held their collective breath. ![]() Because of this injury, he opted to skip the team event and for so long, fans, commentators and sports media were left in the dark about his condition and even participation at the Games, where he was the defending champion. To set the stage, this was his first competitive skate after three months off with a major ankle injury. When you find out the context of this skate and Yuzuru Hanyu’s preparation for the 2018 Olympic Games, a skate like this seems even more magical and otherworldly. The pristine jumps, magnificent spins and entrancing steps with the musicality and interpretation akin to a professional dancer, this is a masterpiece. Without even knowing the story behind the skate, it is already one of the best skates ever. The figure skating performance of the decade is the 2018 Olympic short program by the GOAT Yuzuru Hanyu. Yuzuru Hanyu “Chopin Ballade №1” Short Program at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games.Whilst there are teams who may go on to win more competitions, the edge quality, performance, variety, chemistry and competitive results of Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, combined with the fact that Tessa Virtue suffered from chornic exertional compartment syndrome for most of their career, affirms that Virtue/Moir are truly the GOATs of ice dance. In fact, there are elements of the choreography that emulate the original performance by Gordeeva. According to various stories and sources, Zueva, who served as Virtue and Moir’s coach and choreographer for many years, saved this piece of music for them for the Olympic season as she believed that they had the same great chemistry that Gordeeva and Grinkov had. This piece of music was originally used by legendary pairs skater Ekaterina Gordeeva, in a solo skate choreographed by Marina Zueva as a tribute to her late husband and pairs skating partner Sergei Grinkov. There are so many facets of this program that make it legendary, from its conception to its execution. A performance that was done to perfection, despite the fact that Tessa Virtue could barely walk. The youngest ice dance team ever to win Olympic gold. The free dance that defined the decade and changed the sport of ice dance.
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