Winter Olympics 2022 - ‘There's no coming back from that’ – Yuzuru Hanyu hits hole as three-peat dealt fatal blow

Yuzuru Hanyu’s hopes of claiming a third straight Olympic gold were dealt a fatal blow after hitting a hole in the short programme. The two-time reigning Olympic champion Hanyu, known as «the Ice Prince», had been tipped to three-peat in Beijing after picking up golds in Sochi and Pyeongchang. Ad/> However, Hanyu failed to complete his first element and Simon Reed on Eurosport commentary immediately pounced on the severity of the situation, exclaiming: “no!”.

Beijing 2022Chen sets magnificent world record after shocking Hanyu blunderAN HOUR AGO Hanyu would complete the rest of his routine with the elegance expected of the 27-year-old. However, he reportedly muttered “hamatta” as he left the ice, denoting the fact that his blade had fallen into a hole on the ice surface, thus preventing him from executing a quadruple Salchow. It was a fatal error and Hanyu confirmed after that a hole created by a previous skater had been his undoing, before adding that he resolved himself to focus on the rest of his skate.

“When I took off I hit a hole,” said Hanyu. “I was on a hole so I couldn’t take off for the first jump. “I thought, ‘okay, this is unlucky’, and I just focussed on the next part and I loved the music.” The two-time Olympic champion would finish with a score of 95.15 after executing a quad toeloop, a triple toeloop and a triple axel but Simon Reed on commentary detailed the issue.

“There is not coming back from what happened on that first jump,” began Reed. “He is looking down at the ice.” “Oh boy, he is not going to retain his Olympic title – that is for sure. Was it pressure? He has never really suffered from pressure but it was a huge mistake.” Chen sets magnificent world record after shocking Hanyu blunder Beijing