Yuzuru Hanyu
Early life

Yuzuru Hanyu was born on December 7, 1994, in Izumi ward, Sendai, Japan, as the second child to father Hidetoshi Hanyu, a junior high school teacher, and mother Yumi Hanyu, a former clerk at a department store. Hanyu's given name 結弦 (Yuzuru, lit. ' tie the bowstring ') was chosen by his father, wishing that his son may "live a dignified life like a tightly drawn bowstring", symbolizing confidence, strength, and straightness. Hanyu's father was an advisor to the baseball school club and recommended the sport to his son, but Hanyu eventually decided to pursue a career in figure skating. His mother used to make the costumes in his early career, including the free skate costume for the 2010–11 season, which was designed by American figure skater Johnny Weir. In 2012, she moved with Hanyu to Toronto, Canada, and accompanied him during training, while his father and older sister, Saya, stayed in Japan.

At the age of two, Hanyu was diagnosed with asthma, a condition that gradually improved with time yet negatively affected his stamina, especially during his junior career. He began skating at the age of four at Ice Rink Sendai (formerly Konami Sports Club) in Izumi, after coach Mami Yamada had suggested he try the sport instead of being a nuisance during his sister's training. Yamada noted Hanyu's impatience when he first got onto the ice, but also praised him for his sincerity. Coaching him until the end of his second grade in elementary school, Yamada had to move to another prefecture and asked Shōichirō Tsuzuki, former coach of Japan's first World medalist, Minoru Sano, to train Hanyu and "not put his talent to waste". Hanyu described Tsuzuki's practice sessions as particularly strict and exhausting, tempting him to skip lessons at times, but he appreciated Tsuzuki's approach to build a solid foundation of skills and focus on basic training, noting: "He placed so much emphasis on skating and the Axel jump. Perhaps that made me confident to this day that the Axel is my forte."
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