Japan's Yuzuru Hanyu lands 1st-ever quad loop in competition
Figure skaters have now landed all quad variations except the axel
Yuzuru Hanyu has added his name to the record books (again).
The Japanese figure skater landed the first clean quad loop ever in competition on Friday during the men's short program at the Autumn Classic International in Montreal.
Referee Jean Senft congratulates Yuzuru Hanyu for making history with the first quad loop in competition! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ACI16?src=hash">#ACI16</a> <a href="https://t.co/tIsf8VMFlO">pic.twitter.com/tIsf8VMFlO</a>
—@SkateCanadaHanyu is no stranger to raising the bar. He is the current record holder for highest score in combined total, short program and free skate, and became the first Asian man to win Olympic gold in the men's event in 2014.
Though his program on Friday wasn't perfect, Hanyu's impressive feat gave him a high enough score to take first in the competition.
Men’s medallists: <br>1. Yuzuru Hanyu (JPN) 260.57<br>2. Misha Ge (UZB) 230.55<br>3. Max Aaron (USA) 226.13<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ACI16?src=hash">#ACI16</a> <a href="https://t.co/PvwJG0srUp">pic.twitter.com/PvwJG0srUp</a>
—@SkateCanadaHanyu joins a list of other international figure skating competitors who have landed record quad jumps of their own.
Canada's Kurt Browning was the first to officially land any kind of quadruple jump in competition, his being a quad toe loop in 1988. American Brandon Mroz holds the record for first successful quad lutz and Japan's Shoma Uno was the first skater to land a quad flip.
Only the quad axel remains, which carries a higher level of difficulty because it would require four and a half rotations rather than just four.
Yuzuru Hanyu's quad loop means the figure skaters of the world now have landed ALL quads except the Axel. Unbelievable! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ACl16?src=hash">#ACl16</a>
—@FilipStillerYou can see Hanyu's short program in it's entirety below. He lands the quad loop at about the 40 second mark.