Hanyu defends Olympic figure skating title, 1st in 66 years

February 18, 2018

Pyeongchang, South Korea- Japan's Yuzuru Hanyu won gold in men's single figure skating in the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics on Saturday, becoming the first man in 66 years to earn two consecutive Olympic golds in the sport.

Making a stellar comeback from an injury, Hanyu, 23, defended the title he gained in the 2014 Sochi Olympics in Russia. He also marked Japan's first Pyeongchang gold.

The previous winner of such back-to-back golds was Dick Button of the United States, 88. He won in the 1948 St. Moritz Olympics in Switzerland and the 1952 Oslo Olympics in Norway.

In the Pyeongchang event, Hanyu took first place in Friday's short program and ranked second in Saturday's free skate program. He won by tallying 317.85 total points.

Japan's Shoma Uno, 20, earned silver in his first participation in the Olympics. He finished with 306.90 points.

It was the first time for Japanese figure skaters to win multiple medals in a single Olympic event.

Overall, Japanese Olympians have so far won a total of nine medals in Pyeongchang--one gold, five silvers and three bronzes. The total is already the country's best for any Winter Olympics held overseas and only one medal short of its all-time high of 10 medals earned in the 1998 Nagano Olympics in central Japan.

The Pyeongchang Olympics will run through Feb. 25.

In Tokyo, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe praised Hanyu and Uno, telling reporters that he was "greatly moved" by their performance. Jiji Press