Figure skating icon Yuzuru Hanyu announces divorce, says troubled by slander

TOKYO (Kyodo) — Japanese figure skating icon and two-time Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu announced his divorce on social media Friday, only three months after his marriage was publicized, saying the couple has been troubled by slander, stalking and overheated media reporting.

“When I thought about the future, I decided to divorce because I wanted my partner to be happy, to be happy without any restrictions,” Hanyu, 28, said in a statement posted on X, formerly called Twitter.

Hanyu, who has drawn avid fans from around the world, announced his marriage on Aug. 4. But he did not reveal the identity of his partner, who he said was not a celebrity.

Hanyu said in the latest statement that his partner and their respective family members and associates have been targeted in stalking incidents, slander, and unauthorized coverage attempts by various media outlets publishing reports based on such acts.

“Because of my limited experience of life, it was extremely difficult to keep my partner and myself safe under these circumstances, and I found it unbearable,” he said.

His management company also asked the press to refrain from following them in a separate statement on the same post.

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.

A native of Sendai in Japan’s northeastern region, Hanyu began the sport at age 4.

He won the men’s singles competition in the 2014 Sochi Winter Games, becoming the first figure skater not from Europe or the United States to claim the Olympic title in the event.

In 2018, he achieved a historic repeat at the Pyeongchang Games, becoming the first skater to successfully defend his gold medal in the event since American Dick Button, 66 years earlier.

Hanyu became the youngest recipient of the Japanese government’s People’s Honor Award at age 23 that year.