can be mistaken. I hope so .That must have either been an unfounded rumor, or a mistranslation from Japanese. Barring injury -*knock on wood*- Sota's nowhere close to retiring yet, thankfully.
I can only hope that by taking this entire season off she'll be able to heal fully 
I'm so sad for her. She's A favorite of mine, too.It will be interesting to see who replaces her. Could be Rino. Could very well be Ekatarina. Cannot be an American. Could be a Korean. PS I hope Rika comes back strong. I hope she doesn't end up in the thread of "skaters you thought would do awesome and didn't fulfill their potential". She was an instant favourite of mine as soon as she burst into the senior scene.
It certainly is interesting because they did not pick Kurakova as replacement last time SCI had a WD, it was Mae who got the spot.It will be interesting to see who replaces her. Could be Rino. Could very well be Ekatarina. Cannot be an American. Could be a Korean. PS I hope Rika comes back strong. I hope she doesn't end up in the thread of "skaters you thought would do awesome and didn't fulfill their potential". She was an instant favourite of mine as soon as she burst into the senior scene.
Is Kurakova back training in Toronto? She wasn't last time right?
Is she? I did notice that Lombardia Trophy stream said she was training with Orser, but I think it was old information. Because there was other skaters listed with the wrong information in the stream. Her ISU profile doesnĀ“t say anything about her current coaches, so iĀ“m not sure
But I thought she trained with Turenko.
I haven't followed her recently.. no idea.Is she? I did notice that Lombardia Trophy stream said she was training with Orser, but I think it was old information. Because there was other skaters listed with the wrong information in the stream. Her ISU profile doesnĀ“t say anything about her current coaches, so iĀ“m not sure
She went back to Cricket in the summer at least, so she may be working with Orser again part-time. I think she's still based in Europe though.Is she? I did notice that Lombardia Trophy stream said she was training with Orser, but I think it was old information. Because there was other skaters listed with the wrong information in the stream. Her ISU profile doesnĀ“t say anything about her current coaches, so iĀ“m not sure
She has a stress fracture in her foot. I think the lutz injury was earlier, more like 2019, but she did stop F and Lz jumps for a while. She also had an ankle injury in 2021. Her foot fracture didn't properly heal - last summer she skated in a lot of shows, most likely to raise funds for training & living in Canada. Then she persisted with competing because of worlds being in Saitama, also I don't think JSF would give Rika a bye to nationals because missed the nats during the Olympic season(?). She had skated through pain whilst working to regain her triples, so ultimately her foot hasn't had enough rest.
featured.japan-forward.com
Oh my god this is huge!!!! As a massive Rino fan I'm so, so happy
No more injuries or illness please!
yup.. no surprised with this. I think that's the first name I mentioned. Skate Canada just changing the name on the flight from Japan is a typical move.
Yeah, that was expected. When Rika didn't get the host spot at NHK Trophy I kinda knew something was going on.Rika Kihira has withdrawn from Skate Canada and is probably also off the replacement list.
There is no requirement for skaters to be replaced if they withdraw within 14 days of the start of the event (with the start being measured as the team leaders meeting) unless it would make the event fall below a minimum number of entries. See section 7.6: https://www.isu.org/docman-document...es-files-58/31498-general-announcement-2/file
Fair enough. Sad all round.
What I find sad is that the Japanese Fed must have known earlier, and there would have been time for a replacement if Mihara had been withdrawn at that point. Rino Matsuike would have had a good chance of getting the spot (she can only replace Japanese skaters due to the three per country limit, so cannot replace Kimmy Ripond at Espoo) so they may well have disadvantaged their own skater - unless Mihara also withdraws from NHK and Matsuike gets that spot. Matsuike has a bronze already and could have been one of a few skaters with a chance of silver at cup of china. She would also have a chance of medalling at NHK if she got to go there. At the moment, Rion Sumiyoshi is the only Japanese female other than Sakamoto who has a realistic chance of qualifying for the GP final. Hana Yoshida would need to beat Loena Hendrickx to have any chance and that isn't going to happen unless Loena has falls because Loena's under-rotations and edges do not get called by judges. Looking in from outside, the Japanese Fed have seemed unsupportive of Matsuike in previous seasons as well, which is sad to see.
