World famous figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu announced his marriage late Friday in a message posted to social media.
In the post, Hanyu thanked his fans for supporting him through the 24 years of his ice skating career, during which he faced various hurdles, including natural disasters in Japan and the COVID-19 pandemic. He was forced to leave his home in Sendai at the age of 16 due to the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
He did not reveal the identity of his partner.
Hanyu, who has been dubbed the ¡°Ice Prince,¡± promised his fans that he will continue to skate to show the best version of himself going forward.
¡°I, Yuzuru Hanyu, have decided to get married. ... For the rest of my life, I will do my best to move forward with skating, along with everyone who supports me,¡± the 28-year-old said in his post on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter.
Hanyu is one of the world¡¯s leading figure skaters, having won gold medals in both the 2018 and 2014 Winter Olympics.
Last year, Hanyu retired from competitive figure skating and turned pro after a fourth-place finish at the Beijing Winter Games, missing out on capturing a third straight Olympic gold.
Hanyu narrowly missed becoming the first athlete to land the quad axel in competition during his free skate in the Games, falling on his attempt at the four-and-a-half-rotation jump.
Hanyu was the first figure skater not from Europe or the United States to win gold in the men¡¯s singles competition at the Olympics. In 2018, Hanyu became the youngest recipient of the Japanese government¡¯s People¡¯s Honor Award at age 23.
He also won four straight Grand Prix Finals beginning in 2013, and is a six-time national champion.
Since retiring from competition, Hanyu has focused on exhibition performances, becoming the first skater to perform an ice show at Tokyo Dome in February.
Among the countries where he has a passionate fan base, China has been particularly fond of him, with the country¡¯s media quickly reporting online the marriage announcement although it was made late Friday.
News of the announcement immediately became the top trending topic on Weibo, China¡¯s equivalent of the X platform.
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