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Two-time Olympic gold medalist Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan had a heartbreaking run at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Games, when a missed element and two falls left the figure skater off of the medal podium.

In interviews after his free skate programme, the skater — known as Japan's "Ice Prince" — emotionally acknowledged his disappointment, but also said he had given it his all.

Missed element in short program, fell twice in free skate

In his short programme on Tuesday (Feb. 8), Hanyu turned his planned quadruple salchow — which is a four-rotation jump — into a one-rotation single salchow.

He later said that his skate had gotten stuck in a hole as he had wound up for the difficult jump, causing him to be unable to pull it off.

He wound up finishing the men's short programme in 8th place, 18.82 points behind American skater Nathan Chen, who stood in first place after his world record-breaking skate.

In the free skate, Hanyu had planned to do what no one has ever done before in competition: successfully land a quadruple axel.

It would require him to take off forwards, achieve four-and-a-half rotations in the air, and land backwards.

Although he valiantly attempted the jump, Hanyu landed the jump underrotated and fell. He also fell on his next jump, a quadruple salchow.

He managed to skate the remainder of his programme flawlessly, dazzling viewers with his artistry in spite of his initial mistakes.

Hanyu ended up with the third-highest free skating score of 188.06, putting him in fourth place with a total score (combining his short programme and free skating scores) of 283.21, behind his fellow countrymen Shoma Uno and Yuma Kagiyama in third and second place, respectively.

Chen took home the gold medal for the U.S., with a total score of 332.60.

Held back tears in interview

In a post-free skate media interview, Hanyu teared up and turned away from the cameras to wipe his tears away.

After about half a minute, he recomposed himself and turned back around for the interview. However, tears could still be seen in his eyes.

Gave it his all and has no regrets

Hanyu said of his performance:

"I honestly left everything out there. I have nothing left to give."

He added that he felt he rotated the axel as well as he could: "I went for it, and it's something I'll cherish forever."

Nikkei Asia reported that Hanyu told media that although attempting the quadruple axel may have been an "unrewarding effort", he tried his best.

"It is important not to make mistakes, I know, otherwise you can't win, but in a sense, those two mistakes in the first part of the performance formed the story of my 'Heaven and Earth' [the song he had skated to]."

In an English interview, he said he was satisfied as he had skated with "all the music, all the pieces of the music", so he was able to show everyone his skating style.

Still, Hanyu did admit to Japanese media outlet NTV that he was "disappointed and frustrated", according to Insider.

"I spent the last three days wondering why my efforts weren't reaping returns. This wasn't what I was aiming for in terms of the results. But I gave it my all and I have no regrets."

Hanyu, who had been battling leg injuries for much of the season, said that he had began losing sensation in his right leg prior to his free skate. However, he added, he was able to finish his programme thanks to adrenaline:

"I skated without much feeling in my right foot, and I think I was able to finish it because of this surge in adrenaline.

I do want to thank everyone — and the gods above — for all the support, because I don't think I could have performed like this without that."

Hanyu has received an outpouring of support from fans around the world, including those in China.

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Top photo via YouTube / Yuzumushroom and Mediacorp meWATCH.