Rika Kihira

[leoleo]

From her interview after the SP, she says it was not a mental issue at all, it was simply the boots. Since her boots have gotten too soft, she taped them but one of the boots was taped too tight. She has not given up and still thinks she can achieve great results with a perfect free. She is not panicked it seems, it's great that she is at least confident while we are panicking here (at least i am)

 

[lzxnl]

It was perfectly rotated! She just slipped off the toe-pick, which suggests it indeed is a boot problem. My interpretation is, she knows she can land the jump if her boots don't fail her, so that shouldn't be as much pressure as NHK.

She's not making it easy to support her, is she?

 

[gotoschool]

From her interview after the SP, she says it was not a mental issue at all, it was simply the boots. Since her boots have gotten too soft, she taped them but one of the boots was taped too tight. She has not given up and still thinks she can achieve great results with a perfect free. She is not panicked it seems, it's great that she is at least confident while we are panicking here (at least i am)

I am glad that Rika is so open with this issue and confident enough to tell the truth, even though some may criticize her without having any idea of how difficult it is to skate with a boot problem. I think it is healthier and will improve her mental toughness more than trying to hide and repress the fact and act like it is nerves when it isn't the real reason because this way can create more mental conflict. Rika has really impressed me as a skater and a person and I am cheering for her to come back from this temporary setback. Let's not forget her talent and mental fortitude to win 4 competitions in a row, including all her Grand Prix assignments and the Finals, and even coming from behind, while not being able to rely on getting the highest PCS score, though to me she has given my favorite performances of the season. In my opinion, the JSF will send Rika to Worlds no matter what the outcome because they would be foolish not to, especially with her string of victories this season when they must be aware of the equipment problem. However, Rika was in fifth at NHK and ended up giving her greatest performance of the season and winning. So, I will be optimistic because I know she can do it again.

 

[lzxnl]

I am glad that Rika is so open with this issue and confident enough to tell the truth, even though some may criticize her without having any idea of how difficult it is to skate with a boot problem. I think it is healthier and will improve her mental toughness more than trying to hide and repress the fact and act like it is nerves when it isn't the real reason because this way can create more mental conflict. Rika has really impressed me as a skater and a person and I am cheering for her to come back from this temporary setback. Let's not forget her talent and mental fortitude to win 4 competitions in a row, including all her Grand Prix assignments and the Finals, and even coming from behind, while not being able to rely on getting the highest PCS score, though to me she has given my favorite performances of the season. In my opinion, the JSF would be foolish to not send Rika to Worlds, especially with her string of victories this season when they must be aware of the equipment problem. However, Rika was in fifth at NHK and ended up giving her greatest performance of the season and winning. So, I will be optimistic because I know she can do it again.

I think if Rika ends up winning this competition, she'll truly feel invincible in any competition.

 

[Fluture]

I haven‘t watched it yet but it seems she had problems. Oh dear. Not a good day for my favorites but hopefully the FS will be better for her and she can sort out her boot problems!

 

[Logirl]

What other mistakes?

It was perfectly rotated! She just slipped off the toe-pick, which suggests it indeed is a boot problem. My interpretation is, she knows she can land the jump if her boots don't fail her, so that shouldn't be as much pressure as NHK.

She's not making it easy to support her, is she?

What other mistakes did Rika make? Because a fall on a rotated triple axle should be still more points than a double axle.

 

[Fluture]

What other mistakes did Rika make? Because a fall on a rotated triple axle should be still more points than a double axle.

I think she had some problems on the combo, too.

 

[leoleo]

What other mistakes did Rika make? Because a fall on a rotated triple axle should be still more points than a double axle.

She doubled her 3T on the combo because the Flip landing was on a lean, making it harder to jump the 3T properly.


Well it was never easy to support Rika but i love the rollercoaster (my heart not so much, it lets me know:disapp. It makes it even better when she comes back on top.

She also says in her interview that taping her boots incorrectly shows her lack of experience so at the end of the day, it's still something she'll take with her in the future. She will not make that mistake again. I am wishing for a comeback à la NHK and i know she could very much do that in other circumstances (she could even win if she landed everything) but her boots are a serious issue since it is not something she can fix or overcome from simply being a good skater.
D*mn it, how come they have no back up boots still after JWC? :sad21:

 

[gotoschool]

It seems to me that an experienced trainer or coach would have primary responsibility for taping boots properly when a skater that there is a problem or lead the way in the process of adjusting boots or acquiring new ones. Anyway, I hope Rika can solve her boot issues really soon and make a quick fix to skate great in the long.

 

[readernick]

The Japanese federation often sends the GPF champion to worlds regardless of their performance at nationals. Rika will be sent to worlds because she is the only Japanese skater who can win worlds if Alina is clean and the federation is not stupid. But, I hope Rika does well in her free skate because it will be good for her confidence. She has made huge strides in consistency this season. A win here would help her even more. She can’t be beat technically but she can be beat mentally.

 

[lzxnl]

The Japanese federation often sends the GPF champion to worlds regardless of their performance at nationals. Rika will be spent to worlds because she is the only Japanese skater who can win worlds if Alina is clean and the federation is not stupid. But, I hope Rika does well in her free skate because it will be good for her confidence. She has made huge strides in consistency this season. A win here would help her even more. She can’t be beat technically but she can be beat mentally.

Rika still wins if she skates clean. Her PCS is set for a boost if she goes clean and we all saw what happened at NHK.

 

[zanadude]

it became soft again, so it was hard

 

[leoleo]

It became soft so it was hard to jump properly! that's what i meant

Nationals official practice reports

According to this article, Rika landed 11 3A out of 14 today, which is a better rate of success than the other days. She tried to adjust the tape several times.
She landed 3As with high accuracy but still seems concerned with her skating boots and adjusted them before the run-through. Some of her non-axel jumps were occasionally off timing.

cr: https://twitter.com/rikak_fans
https://twitter.com/0409_Obi/status/1076390817562914816

well so the boots obviously are still giving her a hard time. Let's pray and hope she finds the appropriate taping before competing!

 

[lzxnl]

It became soft so it was hard to jump properly! that's what i meant

Nationals official practice reports

According to this article, Rika landed 11 3A out of 14 today, which is a better rate of success than the other days. She tried to adjust the tape several times.
She landed 3As with high accuracy but still seems concerned with her skating boots and adjusted them before the run-through. Some of her non-axel jumps were occasionally off timing.

cr: https://twitter.com/rikak_fans
https://twitter.com/0409_Obi/status/1076390817562914816

well so the boots obviously are still giving her a hard time. Let's pray and hope she finds the appropriate taping before competing!

All of us know she only has to land 2 3As to win Nationals. She knows that too, and having landed 11 out of 14, I think she's capable of just blocking out anything to do with her boots. I'm still going to be stressed af when watching her skate.

 

[leoleo]

Today's practice report!

Rika Kihira landed 11 out of 14 3A in practice. She spent time checking her boots, which gave her trouble in the short.

cr https://twitter.com/figureskatingm1/status/1076609866792284160

She also successfully landed several 3lz-3t combos! She's reportedly feeling good. But we are not of course, cause we are dying of anxiety over here. Boots please behave, just for today! I beg you

 

[zanadude]

It's regrettable that she chose to talk about boot issues in her post-short program interview. She should look at Shoma's interview as a guide to how to answer questions like that going forward.

 

[Logirl]

Disagree

It's regrettable that she chose to talk about boot issues in her post-short program interview. She should look at Shoma's interview as a guide to how to answer questions like that going forward.

I have no problem with that. And we usually know about boots issue with other skaters. We knew when Nathan had issues and Satako and others.

 

[leoleo]

It's regrettable that she chose to talk about boot issues in her post-short program interview. She should look at Shoma's interview as a guide to how to answer questions like that going forward.

are you being serious right now?

 

[zanadude]

are you being serious right now?

Yes?

Any particular reason for that comment? Are you in favor of skaters making comments that sound like pre-emptive excuses for poor performance? That's not a very Japanese way to express oneself.

It's a minor point in the grand scheme of things, but I think that Shoma's approach of refusing to acknowledge things as an issue while the competition is ongoing is a more commendable approach.

 

[Colonel Green]

Yes?

Any particular reason for that comment? Are you in favor of skaters making comments that sound like pre-emptive excuses for poor performance? That's not a very Japanese way to express oneself.

It's a minor point in the grand scheme of things, but I think that Shoma's approach of refusing to acknowledge things as an issue while the competition is ongoing is a more commendable approach.

There's no reason not to explain real problems that you are having (and which are obvious to people anyway based on how you're acting on camera).