Japan Teen WINS GOLD Medal in Men's Figure Skating

Japan WINS GOLD Medal in Men's Figure Skating The 19-year-old Japanese star Yuzuru Hanyu has become the youngest skater for 66 years to take gold in the men's figure skating, despite falling twice in his final performance. After becoming the first skater to surpass the 100-point mark in the short programme on Thursday, Hanyu went into the free skate on Friday in the top spot. Hanyu made the rotation for the quad in the opening seconds, but slipped on the landing and lost his footing badly. After another fall on a triple flip, Hanyu finished crouched on the ice, his head bowed, certain he had lost the gold. The judges awarded him 178.64 points -- a good score, but one that left him vulnerable to three-time world champion Patrick Chan of Canada. But Chan, up next, fared worse, and made three errors. Hanyu's combined score of 280.09 was enough give him the gold. World silver medalist Denis Ten of Kazakhstan took the bronze. Hanyu is the Asian to take Olympic gold in the men's figure staking. "I thought the gold medal was not in my hands," Hanyu told reporters later. His routine over, Hanyu knelt on the ice, his hands spread out in front of him, contemplating a chance that appeared blown. "I was so nervous and I was so tired," he said. Asked if he thought he would win, Hanyu shook his head. "No, I was so sad." Chan was left to rue an opportunity lost. "I had that chance and it slipped out of my hands," he said. Yuzuru Hanyu won Japan's first Olympic gold medal in men's figure skating Friday, in a competition that showed how new countries are emerging as skating powers as the demands of the sport loop ever higher. For the past 30 years, the highest podium in men's skating has been owned mostly by skaters from the U.S. and Russia. But neither of those countries figured in the medals on Friday. Instead, Patrick Chan of Canada won the silver medal, and Denis Ten of Kazakhstan emerged as the surprise winner of the bronze—bringing his country its only medal of the Games so far. At 19, Japan's Hanyu is the youngest man to win Olympic gold in skating since American Dick Button won at age 18 in St. Moritz in 1948. The results came after a night of skating programs packed with big jumps—and some big falls, showing how the demands of the sport are rising and programs are becoming harder to pull off. A new international judging system incentivizes skaters to include quadruple jumps rather than not trying them at all—a change that some critics say has made skating less artistic and marred programs with stumbles and falls. Hanyu and Chan, the chief rival for the gold, made mistakes in their free skates. The race between the two turned into one of who messed up least. Hanyu fell on two jumps in his skate to "Romeo & Juliet," but Chan, skating to "Four Seasons" and "Concerto Grosso," made errors on a quadruple toe loop, a triple axel and on other elements. That made it impossible for him to overtake Hanyu and grab Canada's first men's skating gold. "Of course it's a chance missed," Chan said. The mistakes also reflected some Olympic-size nerves. "abc news" "cbs news" "ap news" "nbc news" "bbc news" "wall street digital" "rt news" "breaking news" "world news" "global news" "latest news" "scientific news" "24 hour news" "apocalypse news" "us politics" "white house" "us political news" "us senator" US election" "us congressman" "us senate" "us house of representatives" "president obama" "us healthcare" "health insurance" "American politics" "us news" ssi "social security" forex "us disability" retirement "mortgage rates" "mortgage quote" lawyer usa us uk London politics "campaign finance" sochi winter Olympics "2014 winter olympics" japan Japanese gold medal hanyu "We're all human," he said. "Even Shaun White makes mistakes. Unfortunately I made one too many." Chan's coach, Kathy Johnson, said he stumbled because he lost focus. "At this level, when something goes awry, it's not physical," she said. "It's a mental loss of focus." Hanyu said he had trouble shaking off negative thoughts after his early mistakes. "I was trying not to think about winning a gold medal, but I couldn't deflect the pressure, which was massive," he said. "I'm upset with the performance I had, but I left everything I had out there," he said. Despite the stumbles, Hanyu's win shows how Japan is emerging as a skating power. The country has a deep bench of top-ranked men and women's singles skaters. Three of the top six finishers Friday were Japanese men, and next week the country's top-ranked woman, Mao Asada, will challenge longtime rival Yuna Kim for the gold in women's singles' skating.