Yuzuru Hanyu: Multi Sport Possibilities

If someone says the name Yuzuru Hanyu, what’s the first sport you think of?  Figure Skating obviously, right??  Well, we are lucky that Yuzu made Figure Skating his sport of choice because he did have other options.  Being athletically gifted, and having amazing flexibility, Yuzu could have easily ended up in a different sport altogether!

Baseball:  Yuzu said that there was a period of time where he wanted to be a baseball player.  He made a decision when he was young to stick with skating.  Based on the pictures below, he’s got pretty good pitching form too!  Yuzu’s dad played baseball, and was an advisor of a baseball team so Yuzu was destined to be good at baseball as well.

Kurt Browning once commented that Yuzu had a wicked arm on him, and I believe it!!  It would be amazing to watch him throw out a ceremonial pitch at an Major League Baseball (MLB) game since his pitch would probably be in the strike zone, unlike other celebrities that have tried it!!  Maybe the former Japanese player, Hideki Matsui who played for the New York Yankees before could arrange this at a Yankees game?  Or maybe current Japanese player Masahiro Tanaka who currently plays for the Yankees could put in a good word for Yuzu fans??

  

  

In an interview when he was 15, he talked about baseball.

Takeuchi: Did you not have interest for baseball or soccer?
Hanyu: I liked baseball.  When I was in the 2nd grade, I didn’t want to skate.  The teacher was scary, and with so much to train, I didn’t want to go practice. I had this image in my mind that figure skating was a girl’s sport.  At school, my friends were doing soccer and baseball, so there was a period of time when I wanted to do baseball as well.
Takeuchi: What made you continue figure skating?
Hanyu: My mom and dad told me “Why don’t you do baseball.”  But when I was told that, it was hard to let go of figure skating.  On the outside, I said “I hated it” but deep down in my heart, I loved it.
Takeuchi: Do you watch baseball now?
Hanyu: Yes, I watch.
Takeuchi: What team are you a fan of?
Hanyu: Hiroshima Carps.
Takeuchi: But, you’ve been in Sendai all your life.
Hanyu: Of course I cheer for Rakuten Eagles, but I am a Hiroshima fan.  When I was little, I loved the color red, and I’ve since the days when Rakuten did not exist yet.  I became a fan when I saw the red Hiroshima Carps play.
Takeuchi: There are many great athletes, such as the pitcher Kenta Maeda.
Hanyu: Being able to pitch so gracefully with a skinny body; I wanted to do something like that with my own skating.

*Special thanks to nonchan1023 for the english translation above and the link to the full article is below.

http://yuzuru-hanyu-translations.weebly.com/articles/yuzuru-hanyu-figure-skater-15-years-old-going-for-the-quads

And just like in skating, here is Yuzu having fun playing catch backstage.

Soccer:  We all know that Yuzu is a pretty humble person, so I imagine that if he says he is weak at a sport, that he’s probably pretty decent at it.

Translation from a different interview on Goldenskate forum from 2012 (credit to kilyca).  Unable to provide the link to the youtube video since unfortunately, it has been removed from Youtube.

Caster Yuko) Hanyu, what are weak sports? 
Yuzuru) I am weak in soccer and basketball.
Caster Yuko) Even if you can play baseball?
Yuzuru) I can do the baseball all right, but cannot hit a basketball on the goal ring.
Caster Yuko) Is the baseball good than other ball games?
Yuzuru) Because my father played baseball. But my basketball play is terrible.

Yuzu was asked to perform a ceremonial kick at a soccer game a few years ago.  While he says he is weak in soccer, he definitely has the foot speed for it.  Soccer probably isn’t the best sport for him given his asthma but I’m sure he would excel in it if he put his mind to it.

Boxing:  Yuzu’s latest adventure.  His “All you need is you.  Try something new” quote in English is too adorable for words.

Since I have been learning to box from my own personal trainer, I do have to say that I noticed that while Yuzu’s form is ok, and he holds his gloves are nice and high, he looks down when he throws the 1-2, jab-punch combo.  Keep your head up Yuzu!  Eyes on the target!  : )

Here is the full video clip:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=9r6JTgpGbZU&list=FLVMzucO94bLbF9CWlmAIvFA&index=30

Pairs Figure Skating:  While Yuzu being part of a pairs team would be fun to watch, I think I prefer to see Yuzu out on the ice alone.  No distractions.  If Yuzu did want to skate pairs, the only girl I would want to see skate him with would be Mao Asada.  They would look wonderful together! They could do side by side triple axels!  What other female could keep up with him!

Gymnastics:  The Japanese team has been strong in recent years in the field of gymnastics.  Yuzu is certainly flexible enough for the sport of gymnastics and has the balance of a cat.  Since he likes to throw himself into the air and rotate and land jumps so much, can you just imagine Yuzu performing a routine on the floor exercise?

Well, there you have it.  Yuzu, the multi-sport athlete!!

Go Yuzu Go!!!  Doki Doki!!