Why fans showered Hanyu with Winnie the Pooh bears
Japanese figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu took gold in the men's singles competition on Saturday in an otherwise mesmerising program, becoming the first man in 66 years to defend his Olympic title and giving Japan its first PyeongChang gold.
Skating in front of a crowd of euphoric supporters at the Gangneung Ice Arena, the 23-year-old delivered a gold-worthy performance despite a gap of weeks in his training after injuring his ankle last November.
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Almost instantly after he'd finished his routine, dozens of stuffed Winnie the Pooh bears rained down on the ice from applauding fans.
Not just the flowers or stuffed animals that usually make the rink following a routine, but specifically Winnie the Pooh teddy bears.
They were everywhere.
When he was younger, Hanyu used to put a Winnie the Pooh tissue box cover on the scoring board on the ice rink for good luck.
As he kept skating, fans took the idea and ran with it. His bear even has its own Twitter account.
Now the bear follows him everywhere. His coach Brian Orser would sit the bear next to him during his routine, and Hanyu has even been seen hugging the bear for good luck before the routine.
His “good luck charm” isn’t allowed with him rink-side in PyeongChang, though, due to corporate sponsorship rules.
Even though his talisman couldn’t watch his routines, fans still made sure the bear's presence was felt.
The Pooh struggle. https://t.co/0JJcXmDvUW pic.twitter.com/krWFih3JQT
— Cork Gaines (@CorkGaines) February 16, 2018
Winnie the Pooh, anyone?#PyeongChang2018 pic.twitter.com/yUR5nh2nTX
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) February 16, 2018
But where does the obsession originate? Even Hanyu isn’t sure. He just rolled with it.
reporter: why this obsession with winnie the pooh?
yuzuru, laughing: i don't know how to say. winnie has been with me since i was a junior or younger. i always carried the tissue box, and fans started throwing them onto the ice. now my room is filled with winnie the poohs.— jardin (@michaeljardins) February 13, 2018
Hanyu, a two-time world champion, finished nearly 11 points overall ahead of compatriot Shoma Uno.
It was the first time Japanese athletes took two top podium places at a Winter Olympics since 1972.
"Getting to this place was really tough," Hanyu told reporters.
"Because I had time off from skating, I was able to do a lot of planning and thinking about strategy."
with agencies and Yahoo Sports
