Tokyo: Japanese figure skating star Yuzuru Hanyu has announced his marriage on social media, sparking a wave of comments congratulating the two-time Olympic champion in and outside Japan.

Hanyu, who turned professional in July last year after retiring from competition, took to social media late Friday night to announce that he will get married. “I will spend my entire life further deepening my skating and growing by continuing to work hard,” he said.

On social media, the official Japanese account of the International Olympic Committee commented, “Congratulations on your marriage.”

Japanese figure skater Rika Kihira and U.S. figure skater Ilia Malinin were also among those congratulating the 28-year-old iconic skater.

Several media outlets in China, where there are many avid Hanyu fans, reported his marriage as breaking news.

His announcement also took China’s online community by storm, becoming the top trending topic on local social media platforms.

In Japan, Shoichiro Tsuzuki, 85, who coached the young Hanyu, said that the announcement caught him by surprise.

“I’m looking forward to seeing his skating evolve,” Tsuzuki said.

“I think (Hanyu) had imposed goals and training upon himself in solitude,” said Kazuya Igarashi, 77, who had supervised the figure skating club at Tohoku High School in the northeastern prefecture of Miyagi when Hanyu was a student.

“Through marriage, I guess the human side of him will be expressed in a different way,” Igarashi said.

JIJI Press