China's Olympic short track speed skating champion Olympic Wu Dajing is among a number of athletes to feature in the new ISU campaign video ©Getty Images

The International Skating Union (ISU) has relaunched its #UpAgain campaign prior to the Winter Olympics here with the aim of highlighting, what it claims is, the "unbreakable spirit" that drives athletes to compete on ice.

A new video has been released by the ISU featuring some of the biggest ice-skating athletes, including four-time Olympic speed skating gold medallist Sven Kramer of The Netherlands and Japan’s double Olympic figure skating champion Yuzuru Hanyu.

Wu Dajing, who claimed China’s only gold medal at Pyeonchang 2018, also stars in the clip along with fellow short track speed skater and Olympic champion Arianna Fontana of Italy, Russian teenage figure skating sensation Anna Shcherbakova and speed skater Erin Jackson of the United States.

Other representatives from the world of figure skaters that contribute in the figure include US star Starr Andrews, Canada's Elladj Baldé, co-founder of the Figure Skating Diversity and Inclusion Alliance, and American coach Michelle Hong.

"They demonstrate that it does not matter who you are or where you are from, whether you are at the start line or centre ice, it’s is all about the power of your jump, the speed of your stride, the grace of your glide," a statement from the ISU read.

"So when the moment comes tell yourself 'you got this' and show the world this is how we get up again."

The #UpAgain campaign was orginally launched in November 2019 with the goal of helping people to overcome challenges to achieve their full potential.


"When the pandemic hit, and the world faced one of its biggest ever challenges, the campaign took an even greater meaning," the ISU added.

"The ISU has continued to encourage people to stay strong, support one another in creative and mindful ways, and get #UpAgain together."

As part of the initiative, the ISU published inspiring stories, highlighting how some of the world’s best skaters beat adversity on and off the ice.

Among those included British short track speed skater Elise Christie who opened up about her battle with mental illness.

Ice dancer Piper Gilles of Canada also detailed her grieving process after losing her mother to cancer, while speed skater Håvard Lorentzen of Norway shared how he overcame a serious injury.

During the 2020-2021 season, a series of #UpAgain documentaries were released that portrayed life for competitors in figure skating, speed skating and short track bubbles.

Television presenter Elma Smit hosted the monthly #UpAgain Show on the ISU Youtube channel, welcoming some global ice skating stars such as Brittany Bowe of the US and Guillaume Cizeron of France and special guest, Milk.

Hungary’s short track speed skating brothers Shaolin Sandor and Shaoang Liu were interviewed, Dutch speed skating star Ireen Wüst shared her story and American figure skater Nathan Chen talked about his first Olympic experience.