For two-time defending men's Olympic figure skating champion Yuzuru Hanyu, success at the Beijing Games will be about achieving the unprecedented and becoming the first to successfully land the sport's most difficult jump, the quad axel, under the brightest lights.
Hanyu is trying to become only the second to win three straight men's Olympic figure skating gold medals, joining Swede Gillis Grafstrom who did it 94 years ago. That effort is now inextricably linked to the jump the Japanese star has dreamed of since childhood.
The 27-year-old attempted one at the start of his free skate at December's Japan national championships. The large crowd at Saitama Super Arena near Tokyo held its breath as Hanyu looked back before twisting forward and stepping into the jump.