Good Loser Yuzuru Hanyu's attitude of "good loser" February 24, 20:21

Yuzuru Hanyu finished 4th in the Beijing Olympics figure skating and did not win the gold medal for the third consecutive tournament.

Still, her unprecedented challenge to a four-and-a-half-turn jump and the words she spoke after the competition caught the hearts of many.

There are ex-Olympians who saw the attitude of "Good Loser", a good loser who is sought after by Hanyu who praises the winner gracefully, killing regret even if he is hit by an undesired result.

Words from Hanyu in an unexpected accident

Hanyu was a short program in the first half, and the jump at the beginning got stuck in a "hole" and became one rotation.

This mistake echoed and I was far behind in 8th place.

After the performance, Hanyu, who was interviewed, organized his confused feelings and began to talk.

Hanyu

: "I think I was doing something wrong. I've been interviewed for a long time thinking that I was disliked by such ice."

I understand his words well

Miyazaki City is about 1500 kilometers away from Beijing.

There was a man who watched Hanyu's live interview on TV.

Hiromi Taniguchi (61), a former runner who won the 1991 World Championships in a marathon.

Although he was expected to receive a gold medal, he was in the position of 8th place at the Barcelona Olympics.

Mr. Taniguchi:

"It must be regrettable. Athletes are betting everything on the Olympics once every four years. But accidents can't be prevented and I don't feel like blaming anyone. I understand it well. "

Taniguchi is the day of the race 30 years ago.

When he stood at the starting point where the strong sunlight was shining, he instinctively said, "I can go with the atmosphere."

Furthermore, the race started at 6:30 pm, and it was a slow pace development that was convenient at the beginning.

After that, that accident happened at the water supply point over 20 km that was running in the lead group.

He was stepped on the heel of his left foot when he grabbed a bottle of water on his desk.

He fell sideways after his shoes were taken off and he stepped out one step and two steps.

Taniguchi still clearly remembers what happened at that moment.

Mr. Taniguchi:

"Until you step on your foot and fall, you have to do well so that you don't break your bones" or "Where is the place of the shoes you stepped on and took off?" I did. "

The true meaning of "I'm crazy" is ...

It takes about 30 seconds to put on the shoes again and start running again.

The lead group should have already been over 150 meters away.

Still, Taniguchi did not give up the game and chased the runner running in front of him, inspiring his feelings, "Now restart."

It is said that when he overtook the runners who dropped out of the lead group one by one and entered the stadium, he saw the lead cut the tape.

"Oh, it's such a difference."

Taniguchi thought so when he finally moved up to 8th place and managed to win the prize.

In the interview immediately after the race, he smiled in front of the camera.

"I got sick on the way. Well, this is also luck, I did my best." He

looked back on his feelings at that time.

Mr. Taniguchi:

"I thought everyone didn't know that I had fallen. I'm sorry and regrettable that I couldn't respond to the gold medal, but I felt a sense of relief when I was able to win the 8th place, and various thoughts were mixed. It was just a word to explain the situation. "

Taniguchi accepted the result, not making an excuse for missing the medal that he had stepped on and fell.

That year he won an award for fair play.

"I just explained the situation, but it was evaluated strangely. I was a little embarrassed."

I want you to make use of it next

An accident on the big stage of the Olympics.

It wasn't just his remarks that overlapped with his appearance.

Mr. Taniguchi:

"Hanyu also performed perfectly after the first mistake. It's amazing that ordinary players can recover from there even if they feel tired. I think I got the result of 8th place because I entered the race without losing my concentration. "

Taniguchi, who speaks in the same soft tone as at that time, infers Hanyu's thoughts.

Mr. Taniguchi:

"The real regrets gradually come after a while. I wonder why I didn't reach that one lap of the track. That regret will lead to the next. So Hanyu will surely follow this regret. I think I'll make use of it. "

Taniguchi continued to compete and participated in the Atlanta Olympics four years later.

After he retired from active duty, he worked as a director of a business team and now conveys the wonderfulness of running as a special professor at Miyazaki University.

Face unrewarded efforts

Hanyu took part in a free performance in the second half in anticipation of a comeback from 8th place, and challenged a four-and-a-half-turn jump.

Although he was allowed to jump four and a half turns, he lost his balance and fell after icing.

He moved up to 4th place, but failed to win the Olympics for the third time in a row.

Hanyu

: "To be honest, I thought that I wouldn't be rewarded for my efforts. No matter how much I tried to do the right thing, if it wasn't rewarded, I wouldn't be rewarded."

Still, I connected these words.

"Honestly, I've done everything. I think I was able to fully open the gear from the beginning without really forgetting it, and I was able to succeed. It's already my property."

The true intention that can be said only by doing everything

Aiko Uemura (42), a mogul skier who participated in the Olympic Games for five consecutive tournaments,

read the inside of Hanyu's chest as follows.

Mr. Uemura:

"When I reach the level of Hanyu, I think I was thinking about what I would say when I won, but I wasn't expecting the results I expected. I think you can see the anguish that he had so far. "

Uemura also has a bitter memory.

His fourth appearance at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics was a medal candidate with results such as winning the world championships in the previous season.

He attacked from the beginning on a speedy turn in the final, but at the landing of the final jump, the board spread and slightly short of the medal, finishing in 4th place.

After the race, Uemura cried, "I wondered why this (ranking) is one step one step," based on the fact that the ranking of the Olympics was 7th, 6th, and 5th from the time of the first appearance. ..

Mr. Uemura

"It was a word that came out in a mess of heads due to unacceptable results. However, I think that word came out because there was something that had been accumulated for four years since the previous Olympics."

Uemura says he can understand Hanyu's words, "I've done everything."

And about his remark, "I wonder if I did something that the ice hates."

Mr. Uemura:

"I'm so grateful for figure skating and ice rinks, so I'd like to hear what you said in the depths. He's a person with a world view, so he's thinking differently even if he imagines it. Maybe "

"I also believe in the god of skiing. I wonder if skiing is possible because of the snow and the fact that there were few injuries. Maybe it's just a strong ligament, but I'm a little too. I wonder if he was liked. I can't say that he is the same as Hanyu, but I think he is loved by skiing. "

Impressed by the attitude of praising the winner

4 days after free acting.

At the beginning of the press conference, Hanyu raised his hand and asked for his remarks.

Hanyu

"Nathan Chen, who won the gold medal. I think it was a really wonderful performance, and the Olympic gold medal is really amazing. He had the regret of four years ago and now he has overcome it. I think it ’s really great. ”

And continued.

"I would like to thank the people who made the ice. I was a little unlucky because I got caught in the ice during the short program, and of course I was disappointed, but it was really slippery and jumped. It was an easy and pleasant venue, and it was a pleasant link. "

Saburo Kawabuchi (85), who was the first chairman of the J League and the chairman of the Japan Football Association.

He is now the chairman of the Japan Top League Alliance.

He felt that Hanyu's press conference showed his dignity as an athlete.

Mr. Kawabuchi

"At the beginning of the press conference, Hanyu expressed his praise for his opponent and his gratitude to those around him. This was exactly the spirit of fairplay, the normative statement of" Good Loser. "

Kawabuchi learned this value about 60 years ago from German coach Dettmar Cramer, who was called the "father of Japanese soccer."

Kawabuchi, who was a player of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics Japan National Team, still vividly remembers the words of Kramer at the meeting.

Mr. Kawabuchi

"I have listed three items in creating a team that Kramer should aim for as a leader. The first is fair play, the second is a good game, and the last third is Win. I was a player and I won. I was surprised that it was the third one. "

The instruction that valued the human power of Kramer had a great influence on my life after that.

I have met many foreign leaders since then, but no one is as talented as he is.

Communicating the spirit of Good Loser as the head of the organization

Kawabuchi also raised the spirit of fair play when the J-League was founded, and has been preaching his behavior as a player.

However, he was uncomfortable with the attitude of the runner-up team at the awards ceremony after the final.

He even felt angry at the players who expressed the regret of losing the game and responded to the handshake.

Kawabuchi:

"Athletes can move on to the next battle or step by showing their hearts and showing the loser. That's why Hanyu was the" Good Loser "that Kramer once advocated. I think we listen to his words. "

Kawabuchi says that the spirit of Good Loser is also linked to the way we think about life.

Kawabuchi:

"I think there are many unreasonable events and things that go wrong in life. At that time, the words and attitudes left by Hanyu and former athletes should give us the courage and motivation to look forward. Sports I believe in that power. "

At the Beijing Olympics, Japan won a record 18 medals.

Hanyu couldn't reach the medal, but the attitude of Good Loser this time will continue to be handed down in various ways.

Yuki Matsumoto

, reporter of the network news department

, has been covering sports all over the country.

He believes in the power of sports.