Rika Kihira
| Rika Kihira | |
|---|---|
 Kihira at the 2016–17 JGP Final | |
| Native name | 紀平 梨花 |
| Born | 21 July 2002 Nishinomiya, Japan |
| Hometown | Nishinomiya-shi |
| Height | 1.52 m (5 ft 0 in) |
| Figure skating career | |
| Country |  Japan |
| Coach | Mie Hamada Yamato Tamura H. Okamoto C. Reed |
| Skating club | Kansai University Kaisers FSC |
| Began skating | 2007 |
Rika Kihira (Japanese: 紀平 梨花; born July 21, 2002) is a Japanese figure skater. She is the 2017–18 Japan Junior national champion and senior national bronze medalist. Kihira is one of eight ladies competitors to land the triple Axel jump in an 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. She finished within the top ten at the 2018 World Junior Championships.
Personal life
Kihira was born on July 21, 2002 in Nishinomiya, Japan.[1]
Career
Kihira began learning to skate in 2007.[1] 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.[1]
2016–17 season
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.[2] She qualified to the 2016–17 JGP Final in Marseille, France, where she finished 4th.
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.[3]
Kihira was assigned JGP events in Latvia and Italy. In her first event at JGP Riga, Kihira placed 6th in the short program after stepping out of her triple flip and falling on her triple lutz. She finished 2nd 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.[4] 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 4th overall.
Programs
| Season | Short program | Free skating | Exhibition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017–2018 [5][6] |
|
|
|
| 2016–2017 [1] |
|
|
|
| 2015–2016 |
Competitive highlights
GP: Grand Prix; CS: Challenger Series; JGP: Junior Grand Prix
| International[7] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Event | 2015–16 | 2016–17 | 2017–18 |
| Junior Worlds | 8th | ||
| JGP Final | 4th | 4th | |
| JGP Czech Republic | 2nd | ||
| JGP Latvia | 2nd | ||
| JGP Slovenia | 1st | ||
| JGP Italy | 3rd | ||
| Asian Trophy | 5th N | 1st J | |
| Triglav Trophy | 1st N | ||
| National[8] | |||
| Japan Champ. | 3rd | ||
| Japan Junior | 11th | 11th | 1st |
| Japan Novice | 1st A | ||
| Levels: A = Novice-A; N = Advanced novice | |||
Detailed results
| 2017–18 season | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | Level | SP | FS | Total |
| March 5–11, 2017 | 2018 World Junior Championships | Junior | 4 63.74 |
9 111.51 |
8 175.25 |
| December 21–24, 2017 | 2017–18 Japan Championships | Senior | 5 66.74 |
2 141.29 |
3 208.03 |
| December 7–10, 2017 | 2017−18 JGP Final | Junior | 4 66.82 |
4 125.63 |
4 192.45 |
| November 24–26, 2017 | 2017–18 Japan Junior Championships | Junior | 6 57.89 |
1 135.57 |
1 193.46 |
| October 11–14, 2017 | 2017 JGP Italy | Junior | 2 66.72 |
3 119.09 |
3 185.81 |
| September 6–9, 2017 | 2017 JGP Latvia | Junior | 6 55.05 |
1 125.41 |
2 180.46 |
| August 2–5, 2017 | 2017 Asian Open Trophy | Junior | 1 60.26 |
1 122.80 |
1 183.06 |
| 2016–17 season | |||||
| Date | Event | Level | SP | FS | Total |
| December 8–11, 2016 | 2016−17 JGP Final | Junior | 5 54.78 |
3 120.38 |
4 175.16 |
| November 18–20, 2016 | 2016–17 Japan Junior Championships | Junior | 4 58.86 |
14 94.87 |
11 153.73 |
| September 21–25, 2016 | 2016 JGP Slovenia | Junior | 2 65.93 |
1 128.31 |
1 194.24 |
| August 31–September 3, 2016 | 2016 JGP Czech Republic | Junior | 1 66.78 |
2 118.73 |
2 185.51 |
- Personal best highlighted in bold.
References
- ^ a b c d "Rika KIHIRA: 2016/2017". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on September 24, 2016.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "ISU JGP Ljubljana 2016 Junior Ladies Free Skating: Judges Details Per Skater" (PDF). International Skating Union. September 24, 2016.
- ^ "Asian Figure Skating Trophy 2016 Junior Ladies Free Skating: Judges Details Per Skater" (PDF). Hong Kong Skating Union. August 5, 2017.
- ^ "ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating 2017/2018 Junior Ladies Final Results". International Skating Union. October 14, 2017.
- ^ "フィギュア紀平梨花が練習で４回転ジャンプに成功". Yahoo! Japan (in Japanese). 日刊スポーツ. July 2, 2017.
- ^ "Rika KIHIRA: 2017/2018". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on November 16, 2017.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "Competition Results: Rika KIHIRA". International Skating Union.
- ^ "紀平 梨花" [KIHIRA Rika] (in Japanese). Japan Skating Federation. Archived from the original on September 18, 2016.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help)
External links
Media related to Rika Kihira at Wikimedia Commons- Rika Kihira at the International Skating Union
