Yuzuru Hanyu
Was on the ice when the 2011 earthquake struck, lost his rink, and won two Olympic golds
Yuzuru Hanyu was born in Sendai in northern Japan and started skating at four, following his older sister onto the ice. He had severe asthma and skating was partly meant to strengthen his lungs. He was a slight boy who fell a great deal, and his early jumps were more determined than elegant.
On 11 March 2011 he was training at his home rink when the Tohoku earthquake struck. He ran out onto the street in his skates. The rink was badly damaged, his family's home was uninhabitable, and they spent days in an evacuation shelter. With nowhere to train, he skated in dozens of charity ice shows around the country that year, using the shows as practice and thinking, he later said, that it felt wrong to be pursuing sport while people were still missing.
Three years later, in Sochi, he won the Olympic gold medal, the first Asian man to do so. In November 2017 he tore ligaments in his right ankle in a training fall and did not compete again before the Pyeongchang Games. He arrived with the injury not fully healed, taking painkillers, and won again, the first man to retain the title since Dick Button in 1952.
He retired from competition in 2022 and now performs as a professional, drawing crowds that fill arenas.