The Winter Olympics: Looking Forward to 2026

[PeterRS]

I never used to take much interest in the Winter Olympics until those held in Nagano in 1998. Even then, what sparked my interest was less the various events but the Japanese cross country skiers. I thought they looked quite wonderful! In 2026 the Games take place in Milan and Cortina in the amazing Dolomite mountains throughout February which will have me in front of the television most days.

My favourite is now the men's ice skating. What sparked that interest was another Japanese, the amazing 19-year old Yuzuru Hanyu who took the Gold Medal in the Men's Figure Skating Competition in Sochi in 2014, the first Asian to win Gold. Like many, I began to follow his career. Like quite a few other Asian skaters - and those of Asian descent who skate for other countries - he was not merely a superb skater, he is extremely good looking! And then he did what no other men's skater had done for decades, he took the Gold Medal again in the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Games. His short programme (men's skating has a short and a long programme) in 2018 was stunning, skated to the music of Chopin, broke the world record for points. These programmes are now increasingly packed with triple and quadruple jumps - feats that not so many decades ago were considered impossible.

A day or so after the winners have been announced, the skaters perform an Exhibition programme. Rather than include that 2018 short programme video, this is from that Exhibition. Apart from one single and one triple jump, the rest is pure artistry, an extraordinary tribute not only to that artistry and how he interprets the music, but on this occasion it was dedicated specifically to those hundreds of thousands who had been so badly affected by the horrendous 2011 tsunami off Japan's East Coast.  

Hanyu comes from Sendai which was very seriously affected by the tsunami. During his amateur career he went on to skate in many events to raise funds for those who had lost almost everything. Since turning professional in 2022, he has personally donated US$3 million and continues raising money through guest appearances. He is massively popular in Japan. Each year he produces his own ice show, again specifically to raise funds.

It has often been suggested that he is gay. All we know is that he announced on social media in early August 2023 that he had got married. And then the shock. In mid-November he announced he had got divorced! He never gave any information about his partner. The "maybe gay" label will inevitably stick with him, partly because in 2014 he had moved to train in Toronto with coach Brian Orser. A former Olympic skater, Orser was openly gay with a partner. Rumours also flew around that he had formed a relationship with the Mexican skater also in Orser's training camp, Javier Fernandez. Whatever the gossip, his artistry has been universally praised worldwde. In 2022, the New York Times said, "we may never see another skater like Yuzuru Hanyu." In 2024 ESPN listed the 25 greatest Olympic sportmen of the 21st century. Hanyu placed #10. He has now reached the status of legend.

Even though we will no longer see him skate at the Olympics, there are many others close to his skill and artistry, many of them Asian. Will another Asian win Gold this time?