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50 free Yuzuru Hanyu trivia questions with answers — sports quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
This Yuzuru Hanyu trivia quiz covers the whole career of the two-time Olympic champion from Sendai: the asthmatic four-year-old who took up skating to stop being a nuisance at his sister's lessons, the spin battle with Stephane Lambiel at 11, the junior world title, the 2011 earthquake that struck while he was on the ice, the move to Brian Orser in Toronto, and the run of firsts: over 100 in a short program, over 200 and 300 in Nagano and Barcelona, the first quad loop, four straight Grand Prix Finals and the Super Slam. It also asks about the programs (Parisienne Walkways, Ballade No. 1, Seimei, Hope and Legacy, Origin), the rivals (Chan, Fernandez, Chen, Uno), the injuries and painkillers, the collision at the Cup of China, the fourth place and quad Axel attempt in Beijing, the July 2022 decision to turn professional, the solo shows Prologue, Gift at Tokyo Dome and the Repray Tour, Notte Stellata, the People's Honor Award and the Winnie-the-Pooh tissue box that started a tradition. Every answer is checked against Wikipedia's article on Hanyu, and each explanation adds one further fact. Good for figure skating fans, Olympic history buffs and quiz nights.
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Q 01In which Japanese city was Yuzuru Hanyu born and raised?
Sendai
He was born in Izumi ward on December 7, 1994; his given name means 'tie the bowstring', symbolising a dignified, straight life.
Q 02At what age did Hanyu start skating?
Four
Coach Mami Yamada suggested he try it rather than being a nuisance during his sister Saya's training.
Q 03Which chronic condition, diagnosed at age two, hampered Hanyu's stamina especially as a junior?
Asthma
Limited ice time in Sendai, schooling and asthma kept his training to one or two hours a day until he moved to Canada.
Q 04Which sport did Hanyu's father, a junior high school teacher, recommend to him instead of skating?
Baseball
His mother made his early costumes, including a 2010-11 free skate outfit designed by Johnny Weir.
Q 05Which Olympic silver medallist did an 11-year-old Hanyu challenge to a spin battle in 2006, and lose to?
Stephane Lambiel
He called the defeat an important lesson and resolved to improve his spins by learning from the best.
Q 06How old was Hanyu when he became the youngest male winner of the Japan Junior Championships in 2008?
13
He went on to win the 2010 World Junior title, the fourth and youngest Japanese man to do so.
Q 07What was Hanyu doing when the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami struck on March 11, 2011?
Skating at his home rink in Sendai
His house was damaged and the family spent three days in an evacuation centre; he then did 60 ice shows to get practice and raise money.
Q 08Which coach did Hanyu move to Toronto to train with in 2012?
Brian Orser
Orser had coached Yuna Kim to Olympic gold in 2010; Hanyu was drawn by the consistent quads of Orser's student Javier Fernandez.
Q 09At which 2010 event did Hanyu land his first quadruple jump, a toe loop, at an ISU competition?
NHK Trophy
It was his senior international debut, and he finished fourth.
Q 10How old was Hanyu when his 2012 Worlds bronze made him Japan's youngest world medallist?
17
He skated on a sprained ankle, climbing from seventh after the short program to third behind Patrick Chan and Daisuke Takahashi.
Q 11To which Gary Moore track did Hanyu skate the short program that brought his first world records in 2012?
Parisienne Walkways
Jeffrey Buttle choreographed it; the scores of 95.07 and 95.32 came at Skate America and the NHK Trophy.
Q 12How did the crowd react when Hanyu beat Daisuke Takahashi for his first national title in 2012?
They booed him on the podium
Orser told him: 'They will come around. Just give it some time and they will come your way.'
Q 13At Sochi 2014, Hanyu became the first skater to break which scoring barrier in the short program?
100 points
Q 21Which quadruple jump did Hanyu become the first to land in competition, at the 2016 Autumn Classic?
Quad loop
He landed his first quad Lutz in international competition at the 2017 Rostelecom Cup.
Q 22How many consecutive Grand Prix Finals did Hanyu win, a first for a singles skater?
Four
From 2013 to 2016; the fourth came in Marseille despite three jump errors in the free skate.
Q 23To which artist's song 'Let's Go Crazy' did Hanyu skate his 2016-17 short program?
Prince
His free skate that season, Hope and Legacy to Joe Hisaishi, is the performance he later named as the one that best represents him.
He scored 101.45, then won gold despite two falls in the free skate, with an Olympic record total of 280.09.
Q 14Whose 1948 record did Hanyu match by becoming the youngest men's Olympic champion since him at Sochi?
Dick Button
He was also the first Asian men's Olympic champion and only the second Japanese figure skating gold medallist after Shizuka Arakawa in 2006.
Q 15By what margin did Hanyu beat compatriot Tatsuki Machida to win his first world title in Saitama in 2014?
0.33
He became the first since Alexei Yagudin in 2001-02 to win the Olympics, Worlds and Grand Prix Final in one season.
Q 16With which Chinese skater did Hanyu collide during the free-skate warm-up at the 2014 Cup of China?
Yan Han
Bruised and bandaged, he skated anyway and finished second; that season also brought bladder surgery and a sprained ankle.
Q 17Which Chopin piece was Hanyu's short program for three seasons, including the 2018 Olympics?
Ballade No. 1 in G minor
Jeffrey Buttle choreographed it; Hanyu called his 111.82-point skate to it in Seoul in 2020 'the most perfect performance I've ever done'.
Q 18Whom does Hanyu portray in his free skate Seimei?
A Heian-era astronomer
Abe no Seimei is the hero of the films Onmyoji, whose soundtrack by Shigeru Umebayashi Hanyu used.
Q 19At the 2015 Grand Prix event in Nagano, Hanyu became the first skater to break which two barriers?
200 in the free skate and 300 overall
He scored 216.07 and 322.40, then broke all three records again two weeks later at the Grand Prix Final in Barcelona.
Q 20What was Hanyu's winning total at the 2015-16 Grand Prix Final in Barcelona, then a world record?
330.43
His 37.48-point margin over Javier Fernandez beat Plushenko's record for the largest Final win.
Q 24How many quadruple jumps did Hanyu land in his record free skate at the 2017 Worlds in Helsinki?
Four
He climbed from fifth to first with 223.20 points; it was the first time all three medallists topped 300.
Q 25How did Hanyu injure his right ankle in November 2017, forcing him out of competition until the Olympics?
A fall on a quad Lutz in practice
He arrived in Pyeongchang without a competition since October and still set an Olympic record of 111.68 in the short program.
Q 26Hanyu's Pyeongchang win in 2018 made him the first man to defend the Olympic title in how many years?
66
Dick Button had last done it in 1952; Shoma Uno took silver and Javier Fernandez bronze.
Q 27Which jump did Hanyu announce as his next goal immediately after winning in Pyeongchang?
The quadruple Axel
He had already spoken of wanting it back in 2011; his 2022 Beijing attempt was the first not to be downgraded to a triple.
Q 28To which two idols did Hanyu pay tribute with his 2018-19 programs Otonal and Origin?
Johnny Weir and Evgeni Plushenko
Weir had skated to Otonal in 2004-05 and Plushenko to Edvin Marton's music in his Tribute to Nijinsky.
Q 29Which title did Hanyu win in Seoul in February 2020 to complete the first men's singles Super Slam?
Four Continents Championships
He had taken silver there three times before; the Super Slam means every major junior and senior ISU title.
Q 30How many times did Hanyu break a world record, the most in singles since the 2003 judging system?
19
He was also the only singles skater ranked world number one for five straight seasons, 2014-2018.