MOSCOW — As usual, a Winnie the Pooh doll sat rinkside to reassure Japan’s Yuzuru Hanyu, the reigning men’s Olympic figure skating champion and perhaps the greatest skater of any era.
Pooh gave smiling, uncritical approval of Hanyu, 23, in late October at an important pre-Olympic competition in Moscow called the Rostelecom Cup. Hanyu prefaced each routine with a quirky ritual, squeezing Pooh for good luck before he stepped onto the ice. He chose the Disney character as his personal mascot, according to a fan blog, because he found comfort in Pooh’s unchanging gaze.
Sometimes Hanyu bowed to the Pooh doll, which doubled as a tissue dispenser.