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Rika Kihira
Japanese figure skater

Rika Kihira

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Intro
Japanese figure skater
Places
Work field
Gender
Female
Place of birth
Nishinomiya, Japan
Age
22 years
The details (from wikipedia)

Biography

Rika Kihira (Japanese: 紀平 梨花; born 21 July 2002) is a Japanese figure skater. She is the 2019 Four Continents champion, 2018–19 Grand Prix Final champion, 2018 NHK Trophy champion, 2018 Internationaux de France champion, 2018 CS Ondrej Nepela Trophy champion, the 2019 Challenge Cup champion, the 2017–18 Japan Junior national champion and a three -time senior national medalist (2017–18 bronze, 2018–19 silver and 2019–20 gold). She finished within the top ten at the 2018 World Junior Championships and placed fourth at the 2019 World Championships.

Kihira is one of eleven women to have landed the triple Axel jump in a senior international competition. She is the first ever woman to land a triple Axel-triple jump combination in an international competition organized by the International Skating Union.To date, along with Elizaveta Tuktamysheva and Alena Kostornaia, she is one of only three women who have attempted and landed the maximum number of triple jumps allowed in one senior international competition: four in the short program and eight in the long program (see Zayak rule).

Personal life

Kihira was born on 21 July 2002 in Nishinomiya, Japan.

Career

Kihira began learning to skate in 2007. In the 2015–16 season, she competed on the advanced novice level, winning gold at the Triglav Trophy.

She is coached by Mie Hamada and Yamato Tamura in Takatsuki, Osaka.

According to Hamada, Rika didn't have any triple jumps when she first came to her, but she still noticed Rika's high potential in her upper body strength (from gymnastics) and speed while running. Hamada recalled that she was convinced from the first day she saw Rika skate that she could "master a triple Axel." The first thing Hamada did was teach Rika how to control her axis while jumping in order to prepare her for triple jumps.

2016–17 season: International junior debut

Kihira made her Junior Grand Prix (JGP) debut in the 2016–17 season. In early September, she won the silver medal in Ostrava, Czech Republic, with a total score 0.08 less than Anastasiia Gubanova of Russia. Later that month, she outscored World junior champion Marin Honda by 15.49 points for the gold in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Kihira landed a triple Axel jump in the free skate. She qualified to the 2016–17 JGP Final in Marseille, France, where she finished fourth.

2017–18 season

Kihira began her season winning a gold medal at the Asian Trophy in Hong Kong. She was able to land a triple Axel in her free skate.

Kihira at the 2017–18 JGP Final.

Kihira was assigned JGP events in Latvia and Italy. In her first event at JGP Riga, Kihira placed sixth in the short program after stepping out of her triple flip and falling on her triple Lutz. She finished second overall behind Daria Panenkova after winning the free skate.

In her next event at JGP Egna, she won the bronze medal behind Sofia Samodurova and Alena Kostornaia after placing second in the short program and third in the free skate. The results qualified her for her second JGP Final in Nagoya, Japan over Mako Yamashita through a tie breaker.

At the 2017 JGP Final, she became the first ever woman to land a triple Axel-triple jump combination in an international competition organized by the International Skating Union. She was the only non-Russian competitor and finished fourth overall, following a popped Axel and an underrotation on another jump.

Kihira won the gold medal at Junior Nationals. She placed sixth in the short program, but rebounded in the free skate with a triple Axel and triple Axel-triple toe loop-double toe loop.

On the senior level, Kihira won the bronze medal at Japanese Nationals, after placing fifth in the short program and second in the free skate. As she was age-ineligible to compete as a senior, she was sent to the 2018 World Junior Championships, where she placed eighth.

2018–19 season: Grand Prix Final & Four Continents gold

Making her senior debut, Kihira began the season with a gold medal at the 2018 Ondrej Nepela Trophy, an ISU Challenger Series event. Kihira placed first in the short program, despite falling on her triple Axel. She also placed first in the long program with eight fully rotated triple jumps, including a triple Axel-triple toe loop and a solo triple Axel, and set a free skate world record of 147.37 points.

For her senior Grand Prix debut, Kihira was originally assigned only one event. At 2018 NHK Trophy, Kihira was fifth in the short program after underrotating and falling on her triple Axel again. She placed first in the free skate with a solo triple Axel, a triple Axel-triple toe loop, and eight triple jumps in total. She won the gold medal overall. In doing so, she finished ahead of compatriot and reigning Japanese national champion Satoko Miyahara and 2015 World Champion Elizaveta Tuktamysheva, who also performed a triple Axel in her free program. She admitted afterward: "When I finished my short program, I didn’t think I would be up here today. The short program motivated me to be good today."

Due to her results at the 2018 NHK Trophy, Rika was assigned another Grand Prix event. At the Internationaux de France, Kihira singled the triple Axel in the short program, placing third. In the free skate she underrotated her sole triple axel attempt, but still placed first and captured her second Grand Prix gold medal. Kihira stated that she was glad to have won, but was unsatisfied with her performance.

The 2018–19 Grand Prix Final was regarded by many commentators as a contest between Kihira and reigning Olympic champion Alina Zagitova, who had been forced to withdraw from the Ondrej Nepela Trophy earlier due to visa issues. Kihira won the short program with a world record score of 82.51, landing the triple Axel in the short program for the first time that season. She then placed first in the free skate with a score of 150.61 and won the gold medal, despite downgrading and falling on her opening triple axel.

Kihira entered the 2018 Japanese Championships as a favourite to take the national title, but she struggled with boot problems in the competition, and made multiple errors in the short program that left her in fifth place going into the free skate. She placed first in the free skate, her only mistake being a downgraded Euler in her three-jump combination. However, she won the silver medal overall in front of training mate and four-time national champion Satoko Miyahara. The gold medal went to Kaori Sakamoto.

At the 2019 Four Continents Championships, Kihira initially "hesitated" at including the triple Axel in the short program, but chose to do so, and singled it. She placed fifth in the short. In the free program, Kihira landed one triple Axel and substituted a double Axel-triple toe loop combination for the second, winning both the free program and the overall championship decisively. She observed: "During this season, I learned how to keep my concentration in my free skating no matter what happens in my short program."

Kihira was one of three Japanese ladies assigned to the 2019 World Championships, held in Saitama, and based on her season up until that point was widely considered the favourite to win the title.In the short program, she once again singled her triple Axel attempt, leaving her in seventh place and outside of the final group of six skaters.She came second in the free skate, earning a silver small medal, landing a clean triple Axel-triple toe loop and falling on her second triple axel. In fourth overall, she was 0.31 points behind bronze medalist Evgenia Medvedeva and 1.27 points behind silver medalist Elizabet Tursynbaeva.It was the only podium Kihira missed in the season, and the only international competition she did not win.

Kihira concluded the season as part of Team Japan at the 2019 World Team Trophy.She landed the triple axel in the short program for only the second time that season, setting another world record of 83.97. However, Kihira fell twice in the free, once on her opening triple Axel, and the other on her triple Lutz-triple toe loop combination, placing fifth. Team Japan won the silver medal overall.

2019–20 season: First national title

Kihira began her season at 2019 CS Autumn Classic International where she ranked both first in the short program and in the free, finishing in first place overall, and landing all three of her planned triple Axels, albeit with once called as underrotated.Kihira stated that she hoped to introduce a quad Salchow into competition later in the season, but had declined to attempt it there as she felt her triple Axel was more stable.A persistent ankle problem led her to not attempt to perform any triple Lutz jumps in competition.

Her next competition was Skate Canada where she placed first after a clean short program scoring 81.35. In the free skate Kihira stepped out of her first triple Axel but after that had a clean skate. She has earned 148.98 points in the free skate to score 230.33 for both programs and finish second overall behind Alexandra Trusova who landed three quad jumps in her free skate.Kihira stated afterward that Trusova's performance motivated her to work to increase her scoring potential going forward.Competing at the 2019 NHK Trophy, Kihira landed her Axel and combination cleanly but had a poor landing on her triple loop, placing second behind Alena Kostornaia, who also performed a triple Axel and broke Kihira's short program world record.Second in the free skate as well, she won a second silver medal and qualified to the Grand Prix Final.Kihira stated afterward that her ankle continued to be a problem after three months, with the possibility that it might be a tendon issue that would require time away from competition to resolve.

Competing at the Grand Prix Final, Kihira put her foot down on her triple Axel and fell on her jump combination, consequently placing sixth of the sixth skaters in the segment, almost fifteen points behind Kostornaia in first place.Kihira expressed regret over her performance, attributing much of it to discomfort with skating in the evening rather than the morning.In the free skate, Kihira attempted the quad Salchow in competition for the first time, achieving the rotation but falling.She placed fourth in that segment, and rose to fourth place overall.Speaking afterward, Kihira said "as for the quads, a lot of girls are doing different quads now and I know I also need to work harder. Of course I want to first get my quad Salchow consistent, and then maybe I will try quad toe."

Entering the 2019–20 Japanese Championships as the favourite for the title, Kihira placed first in the short program despite stepping out of her triple Axel and losing levels on one of her spins.She won the free skate commandingly, making only a single error when she underrotated the triple toe loop in her opening jump combination, and took the Japanese national title for the first time.She indicated that she hoped to reintroduce the triple Lutz into competition for the 2020 World Championships.

Skating technique

Kihira is regarded by analysts to be a complete skater, praised for both her technical and artistic skills. "You can talk about the triple axel all you want, but there is a little bit of everything there," remarked Kurt Browning. Tara Lipinski also noted her all-around ability: "We focus so much on her jumps, which are incredible. But what’s interesting to me is she’s mature beyond her years. She has such a solid base and foundation when it comes to her skating skills and ice coverage and extension."

Kihira is known for her difficult jump layouts. She is the first female skater to land eight fully rotated triples in a program. She has landed triple Axels and triple Axel-triple toe loops in international competition, being one of two ladies who have achieved the latter (the second being Alysa Liu). She was the youngest lady to land the triple Axel in an ISU-sanctioned competition, until Liu. She has also executed a triple Axel-triple toe loop-double toe loop in domestic competition. She is training the quad toe loop and quad Salchow.

All of Kihira's jumps notably have correct technique. Her toe jumps (toe loop, flip, and Lutz) have the proper toepick assist. Her Lutz has the correct takeoff edge, which is uncommon among the top ladies skaters. Her coach Mie Hamada recalled that Kihira used to have an outside edge on her flip, a flaw that she was able to fix, which suggests that she is a natural Lutz jumper. Kihira is also one of three ladies who are ranked in the top ten skaters within the past ten years to never receive an edge call.

In addition to her clean technique, Kihira's jumps are praised for their execution: complex transitions, good flow, considerable distance, effortlessness, and short set up.

As a junior, Kihira used to have problems with under-rotating her jumps. However, she was able to mostly get her under-rotations under control by her senior debut.

Programs

Kihira at the 2016–17 JGP Final.
SeasonShort programFree skatingExhibition
2019–2020

International Angel of Peace:

  • Spirit
  • Bigger
    by Beyoncé
2018–2019
  • The Greatest
    by Sia

  • La Vie en rose
    by Édith Piaf

2017–2018
  • La Vie en rose
    by Édith Piaf

2016–2017

2015–2016

Records and achievements

  • Set the ladies' technical score of 87.17 points in the free skate, currently held by Alexandra Trusova.
  • Set the ladies' technical score of 48.17 points in the short program, currently held by Alena Kostornaia.
  • Set the ladies' record of the new +5 / -5 GOE (Grade of Execution) system for the free program with a score of 147.37 points at the 2018 CS Ondrej Nepela Trophy, previously held by Alexandra Trusova (Russia).
  • First lady to land a triple Axel + triple toe loop at the 2017–18 Junior Grand Prix Final.
  • The youngest lady to land a triple Axel at the 2016 JGP Slovenia (14 years 54 days).
  • Second lady to land two triple axel jumps in the same program (2018 CS Ondrej Nepela Trophy) behind Mao Asada.
  • First lady to land 8 (fully rotated) triple jumps in the free skate (3A, 3Lz+3T, 3Lo, 2A+3T, 3F+2T+2Lo, 3S, 3Lz) at the 2016 JGP Slovenia.
  • Second junior lady to land a triple axel behind Mao Asada.

World record scores

Kihira has set two world record scores under the new +5 / -5 GOE (Grade of Execution) system.

Senior ladies' short program records
DateScoreEventNote
11 April 201983.972019 World Team TrophyRecord was broken by Alena Kostornaia of Russia at the 2019 NHK Trophy.
6 December 201882.512018–19 Grand Prix Final
Senior ladies' free skating records
DateScoreEventNote
22 September 2018147.372018 CS Ondrej Nepela TrophyRecord was broken by Alina Zagitova of Russia at the 2018 CS Nebelhorn Trophy.

Competitive highlights

GP: Grand Prix; CS: Challenger Series; JGP: Junior Grand Prix

International
Event14–1515–1616–1717–1818–1919–20
Worlds4thTBD
Four Continents1stTBD
GP Final1st4th
GP France1st
GP NHK Trophy1st2nd
GP Skate Canada2nd
CS Autumn Classic1st
CS Ondrej Nepela1st
Challenge Cup1st
International: Junior
Junior Worlds8th
JGP Final4th4th
JGP Czech Rep.2nd
JGP Italy3rd
JGP Latvia2nd
JGP Slovenia1st
Asian Trophy1st
International: Advanced novice
Asian Trophy5th
Triglav Trophy1st
National
Japan3rd2nd1st
Japan Junior11th11th1st
Japan Novice11th A1st A
Team events
Japan Open2nd T
3rd P
World Team Trophy2nd T
4th P

Detailed results

Senior level

Kihira at the 2018 Internationaux de France.

Small medals for short and free programs awarded only at ISU Championships. Current ISU world best highlighted in bold and italic. Previous ISU world bests highlighted in bold. Personal best highlighted in bold. At team events, medals awarded for team results only.

2019–20 season
DateEventSPFSTotal
March 16 – 22, 20202020 World Championships


TBD
February 4 – 9, 20202020 Four Continents Championships


TBD
18–22 December 20192019–20 Japan Championships1
73.98
1
155.22
1
229.20
5–8 December 20192019–20 Grand Prix Final6
70.71
4
145.76
4
216.47
22–24 November 20192019 NHK Trophy2
79.89
2
151.95
2
231.84
25–27 October 20192019 Skate Canada International1
81.35
2
148.98
2
230.33
5 October 20192019 Japan Open3
144.76
2T
12–14 September 20192019 Autumn Classic International1
78.18
1
145.98
1
224.16
2018–19 season
DateEventSPFSTotal
11–14 April 20192019 World Team Trophy1
83.97
5
138.37
2T/4P
222.34
18–24 March 20192019 World Championships7
70.90
2
152.59
4
223.49
21–24 February 20192019 Challenge Cup2
66.44
1
141.90
1
208.34
7–10 February 20192019 Four Continents Championships5
68.85
1
153.14
1
221.99
20–24 December 20182018–19 Japan Championships5
68.75
1
155.01
2
223.76
6–9 December 20182018–19 Grand Prix Final1
82.51
1
150.61
1
233.12
23–25 November 20182018 Internationaux de France2
67.64
1
138.28
1
205.92
9–11 November 20182018 NHK Trophy5
69.59
1
154.72
1
224.31
19–22 September 20182018 CS Ondrej Nepela Trophy1
70.79
1
147.37
1
218.16

Junior level

Kihira at the 2018 World Junior Championships.
Kihira at the 2016–17 JGP Final.
2017–18 season
DateEventLevelSPFSTotal
5–11 March 20182018 World Junior ChampionshipsJunior4
63.74
9
111.51
8
175.25
21–24 December 20172017–18 Japan ChampionshipsSenior5
66.74
2
141.29
3
208.03
7–10 December 20172017−18 JGP FinalJunior4
66.82
4
125.63
4
192.45
24–26 November 20172017–18 Japan Junior ChampionshipsJunior6
57.89
1
135.57
1
193.46
11–14 October 20172017 JGP ItalyJunior2
66.72
3
119.09
3
185.81
6–9 September 20172017 JGP LatviaJunior6
55.05
1
125.41
2
180.46
2–5 August 20172017 Asian Open TrophyJunior1
60.26
1
122.80
1
183.06
2016–17 season
DateEventLevelSPFSTotal
8–11 December 20162016−17 JGP FinalJunior5
54.78
3
120.38
4
175.16
18–20 November 20162016–17 Japan Junior ChampionshipsJunior4
58.86
14
94.87
11
153.73
21–25 September 20162016 JGP SloveniaJunior2
65.93
1
128.31
1
194.24
31 August – 3 September 20162016 JGP Czech RepublicJunior1
66.78
2
118.73
2
185.51
  • Personal best highlighted in bold.
The contents of this page are sourced from Wikipedia article. The contents are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license.
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