Although his quadruple Axel (阿克塞尔四周跳) challenge in Olympic free skate fell short, Yuzuru Hanyu still somehow made history.     1     a last-ditch attempt to save a medal, the “Ice Prince” took on figure skating’s most difficult jump－the 4 1/2-rotation quadruple Axel. Unexpectedly,     2     27-year-old under-rotated and stumbled upon landing. He fell again attempting a quadruple Salchow (萨霍夫四周跳).

Taking a bow to the     3     (recognize) from audience and touching the ice before stepping off the rink at the Capital Indoor Stadium, the two-time defending champion cut a lonely figure sitting by himself as he awaited his score,     4     (strengthen) the feeling that this could have been his swan song. “I made a big mistake in the quad Salchow, but I performed well to the music Heaven and Earth. I     5     (regret) the performance in the short program the other day, but I did my best today,” said Hanyu.

Hanyu started skating at the age of 4, and made his international debut(首次亮相) at the 2008 Junior Grand Prix Merano Cup, where he finished     6    (five). After joining the adult ranks, he quickly began to rack up(累计) silverware and milestones. He became the first Asian     7    (win) men’s singles Olympic gold at the 2014 Sochi Games.

China’s Jin Boyang, who performed     8     (energetic) and finished ninth, also expressed admiration. “It’s incredible that he took on the challenge of the quad axel at the age of 27 at his third Olympics. It shows his hunger to keep striving for     9     (great) performances, which is     10     the spirit of sports and the Olympics is all about. We can all learn from it,” Jin said.