Japanese sensation Rika Kihira continued to galvanize herself as the sport's new 'it girl', winning the Grand Prix Final Ladies Short Program in style with a sharp triple Axel and personal best score of 82.51. The skater, who remains undefeated this season, also landed a triple flip-triple toe and triple Lutz with her arms over her head during her routine set to "Claire de Lune."
"I was extremely surprised when I saw that score," said the 16-year-old, "because it was not a score that I would have imagined would ever come up. Right now, I'm just really happy. The only thing for me to do right now is to imagine what the free program would be like."
"Now I feel confident that I can do the same again in competition," said the skater from Nishinomiya regarding her triple Axel. "For the free program, my goal is to land all my jumps cleanly and I will do my best to ensure it. I don't want to have any other regrets. Now that I've received such a score in the short, I need to complete my free successfully as well. That's all I would like to focus on for now."
More...
Share your thoughts on the Senior Ladies' SP at the 2018-19 Grand Prix Final!
Last edited: