Rika Kihira

[leoleo]

Wonderful, thanks a lot @siberia82

The wonderful & legendary Irina Slutskaya gave an interview and had many nice things to say about Rika.
She said she really likes her and she's a good rival for russian ladies.

About the increasing difficulty in ladies jumps

"The lz-lo combo combo was being done in 2005 as well as now. But say, Kihira set a new standard. So even if you skate clean but can't reach her, there's no other way but come up with something new. Otherwise you'll be left behind."

When asked about Liza's pcs and Rika's pcs being about the same as Alina's

"If Kihira is clean, she's a level ahead of many others. And she was never out, she came from juniors. Liza, sadly, missed a couple of seasons, she was already forgotten. It's hard to regain (the judges) trust in figure skating. Kihira is amazing, just amazing. She entered the final with two victories and skated great in vancouver."

Q: Ahead of many other but not ahead of everyone?

A: I wouldn't say so yet. But Kihira is above a lot of others. First of all, with her entering the senior level it became more interesting to watch FS; secondly, our girls got a serious rival. She makes others nervous, so they get additional pressure, responsibility. That's a real fight, and it's easier for kihira, because she doesn't have anything behind her yet, It's completely different than when you have medals and titles and you know you are not allowed to make mistakes."

credit: https://twitter.com/TheAnnaWatson/status/1072181515977715712
It's a long interview, she talked about the ladies events in general, it was quite long so i decided to copy all the parts about Rika. it's an interesting interview tho, you should read it.

 

[sailormoon]

Kihira is not all about her triple axels. Her PCS scores were almost identical with Zagitova's in both short and free in the GPF, which is remakable for a Japanese skater. After winning two Grand Prix events back to back, I think the judges apprecate her artistry even more due to her increasing fame.

 

[jenm]

Kihira is not all about her triple axels. Her PCS scores were almost identical with Zagitova's in both short and free in the GPF, which is remakable for a Japanese skater. After winning two Grand Prix events back to back, I think the judges apprecate her artistry even more due to her increasing fame.

This. I find her not only technically sound but also artistic and musical. I love that she holds her edges, has good posture, and knows how to skate to the highs and lows of the music. There things to improve of course but she's on the right path to becoming a force in the sport. I hope Rika has clean skates at Worlds, combination of GPF SP and NHK LP.

 

[leoleo]

Hello guys, so i come with some updates!
Rika has safely landed in Japan and was welcome with a HUGE bunny plushy https://66.media.tumblr.com/02761ddb2ff4625e2d9670eefebace4c/tumblr_pjklg2FnYp1wkjk80o1_540.jpg a big flower bouquet https://twitter.com/echotpe/status/1072431308629004288

But also a huge crowd of reporters, they kind of mobbed her, that was pretty scary! I hope they'll get people to prevent that from happening in the future!
https://twitter.com/misshanyu/status/1072409899928350720
https://twitter.com/nhk_news/status/1072411065995157505

She does not seem to be bothered by the crowd tho, she was too busy smiling and flaunting her gold (or dare i say glass) medal!
https://twitter.com/jiji_images/status/1072460001686384641

Meryl Davis for the olympicchannel also uploaded a short video interview of hers after the GPF here https://www.olympicchannel.com/en/video/detail/16-year-old-rika-kihira-hopes-to-improve-quad-jumps-for-next-season/
They asked her about quads. She says "I believe quads require an extreme high jump and fast rotation. In practice some of my quads are getting better. So i'm hoping next season, i will be able to have a good success rate on quads jumps by training a lot and very hard."
For the 3A she looks up to Mao Asada because of how consistent her 3A was and how the timing was very clear and easy to learn from. For quads, Yuzuru quads are very smooth and get really high points so she looks at his quads to improve hers

Japanese media also reports: "Rika Kihira will restart training of her 4T after Japanese nationals, with the goal of using it in competition next season." cr: https://twitter.com/figureskatingm1/status/1072283053005799425

Shoma Uno about Rika: "Each and every position she makes is stunning. It's not just the triple axel, it's also how effortlessly she does it that I'm genuinely impressed by. [...] this is just my opinion, but she can express emotions that I can't, and it's amazing to watch."
https://twitter.com/ltluda/status/1072466207020867586

Report over

 

[lzxnl]

Hello guys, so i come with some updates!
Rika has safely landed in Japan and was welcome with a HUGE bunny plushy https://66.media.tumblr.com/02761ddb2ff4625e2d9670eefebace4c/tumblr_pjklg2FnYp1wkjk80o1_540.jpg a big flower bouquet https://twitter.com/echotpe/status/1072431308629004288

But also a huge crowd of reporters, they kind of mobbed her, that was pretty scary! I hope they'll get people to prevent that from happening in the future!
https://twitter.com/misshanyu/status/1072409899928350720
https://twitter.com/nhk_news/status/1072411065995157505

She does not seem to be bothered by the crowd tho, she was too busy smiling and flaunting her gold (or dare i say glass) medal!
https://twitter.com/jiji_images/status/1072460001686384641

Meryl Davis for the olympicchannel also uploaded a short video interview of hers after the GPF here https://www.olympicchannel.com/en/video/detail/16-year-old-rika-kihira-hopes-to-improve-quad-jumps-for-next-season/
They asked her about quads. She says "I believe quads require an extreme high jump and fast rotation. In practice some of my quads are getting better. So i'm hoping next season, i will be able to have a good success rate on quads jumps by training a lot and very hard."
For the 3A she looks up to Mao Asada because of how consistent her 3A was and how the timing was very clear and easy to learn from. For quads, Yuzuru quads are very smooth and get really high points so she looks at his quads to improve hers

Japanese media also reports: "Rika Kihira will restart training of her 4T after Japanese nationals, with the goal of using it in competition next season." cr: https://twitter.com/figureskatingm1/status/1072283053005799425

Shoma Uno about Rika: "Each and every position she makes is stunning. It's not just the triple axel, it's also how effortlessly she does it that I'm genuinely impressed by. [...] this is just my opinion, but she can express emotions that I can't, and it's amazing to watch."
https://twitter.com/ltluda/status/1072466207020867586

Report over

The bunny has a larger face than her.

I feel it's good to experience this sort of media attention once. Then it gets too invasive. I hope in a few years time, if Rika ever gets anywhere close to Yuzuru's level of popularity in Japan, that the two of them don't need separate security teams if participating at the same event. That'd be comical (and sad).

I wonder how much time she spends on quads in training. Only 4T atm it seems. I'm ok with that; she'll probably wipe the floor with the competition if she gets a clean 4T; one 4T is probably enough as replacing a 2T for 4T is +8.2 BV but replacing a 3Lz for a second 4T is only +3.4 BV; probs not worth. I can't imagine Trusova and Shcherbakova sticking with two 4Lz next year, although who knows?

 

[gossipcow]

Very belated congratulations to Rika on her win! I followed the GPF over the weekend and was so pleased with her win. Loving all the content coming out for her, she deserves it, though hopefully she doesn't feel overwhelmed.

I am very excited to hear she's going to resume 4T (and maybe 4S?) training after Nationals. I hope she stays healthy and that we get training videos!

 

[leoleo]

The bunny has a larger face than her.

I feel it's good to experience this sort of media attention once. Then it gets too invasive. I hope in a few years time, if Rika ever gets anywhere close to Yuzuru's level of popularity in Japan, that the two of them don't need separate security teams if participating at the same event. That'd be comical (and sad).

I wonder how much time she spends on quads in training. Only 4T atm it seems. I'm ok with that; she'll probably wipe the floor with the competition if she gets a clean 4T; one 4T is probably enough as replacing a 2T for 4T is +8.2 BV but replacing a 3Lz for a second 4T is only +3.4 BV; probs not worth. I can't imagine Trusova and Shcherbakova sticking with two 4Lz next year, although who knows?

I keep my excitement low about quads only because with Rika i try to take it step by step and see her growth at every competition. All we know now is they have been training 4T & 4S since at least last summer and they are getting better, they're also hoping they're good enough for competition next season. I trust Hamada with Rika because she will not let her go for them if they're not ready. Also i personally hope Trusova & Scherbakova can stay healthy and keep their quads for a possible senior ladies quads showdown next season. Imagine how exciting that would be? And with how hard it is to be consistent with quads, the competition would be even more exciting cause you don't know who will land theirs and who will slip and fall.

More updates:
"Rika has been on TV six times in the last hour!!! They're calling her 新女王 (the new queen) and comparing her to Mao" someone posted on twitter a few hours ago
About media attention Rika says
“There’re more journalists than I’ve expected. Seems like winning GPF causes a big change” she smiles. “Right now I don’t pay special attention to that. I want to try my best at Nats, and wonder if my sister would come and play with me” she is still a kid after all cr: https://twitter.com/juronom/status/1072472115352350720

TV viewership of ladies FS at GPF was pretty good. Event viewership was 17.4%, the peak reached to 22.6% Rika's score was announced. This is similar to viewership level of #YuzuruHanyu at #GPRostelecom, where the even viewership of men FS was 16.2%, peak was 26.4% when Yuzu won. cr: https://twitter.com/echotpe/status/1072065316211978240

There was an article on twitter a few weeks ago someone i follow translated. It was saying Japan is always looking for a new star to keep the public interested in the sport and to raise viewership in the ladies field to the level that it was when Mao was around. She was a true national treasure and they've been looking for a new one since she retired. They want someone who can get people to tune in the way Yuzuru does (with more than 50% viewership at the olympics). For ladies, they have no big star, they have many great female skaters but they want gold medals and someone who can really shake things up and carry the ladies field. That's why they put so much pressure on Marin during her junior years and after her senior debut. It seems their new star is Rika which is scary considering she's only 16 and they're already putting all their hopes on her. But during Mao's time it was a lot more intense, she did just fine so i hope Rika's team and parents can protect her from so much media pressure in the future.

Lmao they even did a small coverage about the bunny she was carrying at the airport i am done https://twitter.com/junaaia/status/1072493733898317825
If i get to see her again, i'll make sure to buy the most obnoxiously big plushy ever! :agree:

 

[lzxnl]

I keep my excitement low about quads only because with Rika i try to take it step by step and see her growth at every competition. All we know now is they have been training 4T & 4S since at least last summer and they are getting better, they're also hoping they're good enough for competition next season. I trust Hamada with Rika because she will not let her go for them if they're not ready. Also i personally hope Trusova & Scherbakova can stay healthy and keep their quads for a possible senior ladies quads showdown next season. Imagine how exciting that would be? And with how hard it is to be consistent with quads, the competition would be even more exciting cause you don't know who will land theirs and who will slip and fall.

More updates:
"Rika has been on TV six times in the last hour!!! They're calling her 新女王 (the new queen) and comparing her to Mao" someone posted on twitter a few hours ago
About media attention Rika says
“There’re more journalists than I’ve expected. Seems like winning GPF causes a big change” she smiles. “Right now I don’t pay special attention to that. I want to try my best at Nats, and wonder if my sister would come and play with me” she is still a kid after all cr: https://twitter.com/juronom/status/1072472115352350720

TV viewership of ladies FS at GPF was pretty good. Event viewership was 17.4%, the peak reached to 22.6% Rika's score was announced. This is similar to viewership level of #YuzuruHanyu at #GPRostelecom, where the even viewership of men FS was 16.2%, peak was 26.4% when Yuzu won. cr: https://twitter.com/echotpe/status/1072065316211978240

There was an article on twitter a few weeks ago someone i follow translated. It was saying Japan is always looking for a new star to keep the public interested in the sport and to raise viewership in the ladies field to the level that it was when Mao was around. She was a true national treasure and they've been looking for a new one since she retired. They want someone who can get people to tune in the way Yuzuru does (with more than 50% viewership at the olympics). For ladies, they have no big star, they have many great female skaters but they want gold medals and someone who can really shake things up and carry the ladies field. That's why they put so much pressure on Marin during her junior years and after her senior debut. It seems their new star is Rika which is scary considering she's only 16 and they're already putting all their hopes on her. But during Mao's time it was a lot more intense, she did just fine so i hope Rika's team and parents can protect her from so much media pressure in the future.

Lmao they even did a small coverage about the bunny she was carrying at the airport i am done https://twitter.com/junaaia/status/1072493733898317825
If i get to see her again, i'll make sure to buy the most obnoxiously big plushy ever! :agree:

Hmm. 'They' as in plural? I would reasonably expect just one quad for now as her aim is the Olympics, and a clean skate with 3x3A and 1x4T should win pretty handily against almost anyone given PCS. I'm very glad Hamada has not behaved like Eteri and genuinely supports Rika in her achievements despite clearly saying Satoko is her favourite. I loved her reaction to the 3A-2T.

4T battle next year. Bring it.

To be honest, I've internally compared Rika to Mao ever since I first saw her skate. Mao can be fairly energetic with her skating too; some of her powerful step sequences are amazing but I can't remember which year. And of course, they both have 3A, although I personally think Rika has a better 3A than Mao as many of Mao's 3A would be called UR by today's standards (and some indeed were called UR back then). Rika's jumps are just generally less UR than Mao, although I ascribe that to different times more than anything.

Rika seems so clueless in general, from jumping onto podiums and what to do in galas to the media response it's adorable. And to think that she almost wasn't allowed to qualify for the GPF. I hope whoever in JSF that chose to have her compete at NHK gets a pay rise.

How long before Rika could rival Yuzu in popularity? One Olympic cycle? Or do we need two? (I hope she's around for two Olympics; female skaters don't seem to stay in the sport for long, Kostner not included)

 

[leoleo]

Let's not get ahead of ourselves here i doubt we'll see another skater as famous & popular as Hanyu anytime soon if ever. Also Rika is just a GP season in, let's take it slow.

I said "quads" as in quads in general. Hamada already said they're aiming for 1 quad, 2 3As. I'm not expecting several quads or anything.
I believe although Rika's 3A covers more ice already, Mao's was so consistent in her prime so Rika needs to work harder to get to that consistency level.

Hamada has never said Satoko is her favorite, i think people have twisted her words in that one interview. Looking at the way she talks about Rika and how she wants her to grow as an artist on top of having the jumps, it is pretty obvious that that's Hamada's preferred style: the complete package kind of skater, who is in full control of their skating. I think she also did not expect Rika to grow this fast in just a single GP season, most people wouldn't have put her above Satoko in NHK predictions. Also be wary of translated interviews, the real meaning can be lost and interviewers can twist things to make it more juicy.

 

[Catagar]

More updates:
"Rika has been on TV six times in the last hour!!! They're calling her 新女王 (the new queen) and comparing her to Mao" someone posted on twitter a few hours ago
About media attention Rika says

I love Rika but to say that she is the new queen is extremely premature and a little presumptuous. And this despite its qualities, it's obvious.
But like you said, the Japanese media are pushing for it.

 

[Marin]

I am slowly updating first page of this thread. if you can find any translations, rare videos and footage, I will include . Your help will be highly appreciated fellow Rika fans :luv17:

 

[leoleo]

Oh nice you finally found time to update the first page.

You should add this interview she gave in the off season, i think it's a very important one.
https://tadakixd.tumblr.com/post/174918476725/rika-kihira-3a-quads-and-goals
There's a new interview she gave after arriving in Japan
https://rika-kihira.tumblr.com/post/181020271320/kihira-what-follows-from-here-is-important-qa

There's another longer recent interview but we're still waiting for an in depth translation of it. There are important informations you need to know from that interview tho: Rika saw Hamada on tv, she really liked the way she was acting warmly with her students so she asked her dad to contact her, that's how it all started. Rika was apparently a genius kid, she was great at mathematics, gymnastics and more. I hope someone will translate it soon

Here's a short video where you can see she cooks for herself and is apparently pretty good at it too https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2j44bqbw3w

Lol i see that some non Rika stans are lurking in here, are you having a good time?

 

[gossipcow]

Here's a short video where you can see she cooks for herself and is apparently pretty good at it too https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2j44bqbw3w

Lol i see that some non Rika stans are lurking in here, are you having a good time?

She's quite resourceful for her age! At that age, I barely made scrambled eggs, lol. Also interesting to see the boot adjustments, I wonder how often skaters will adjust their blades like that. Somehow the screws make them seem less sturdy to me... eek, no wonder people have boot problems.

And do I count as a non-stan? Though pretty sure I'm on my way there, hah.

 

[lzxnl]

Oh nice you finally found time to update the first page.

You should add this interview she gave in the off season, i think it's a very important one.
https://tadakixd.tumblr.com/post/174918476725/rika-kihira-3a-quads-and-goals
There's a new interview she gave after arriving in Japan
https://rika-kihira.tumblr.com/post/181020271320/kihira-what-follows-from-here-is-important-qa

There's another longer recent interview but we're still waiting for an in depth translation of it. There are important informations you need to know from that interview tho: Rika saw Hamada on tv, she really liked the way she was acting warmly with her students so she asked her dad to contact her, that's how it all started. Rika was apparently a genius kid, she was great at mathematics, gymnastics and more. I hope someone will translate it soon

Here's a short video where you can see she cooks for herself and is apparently pretty good at it too https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2j44bqbw3w

Lol i see that some non Rika stans are lurking in here, are you having a good time?

Lmao in one of the interviews she says 'I want to be able to go to the World Championships'. Such modest aims. I love it.

 

[leoleo]

She's quite resourceful for her age! At that age, I barely made scrambled eggs, lol. Also interesting to see the boot adjustments, I wonder how often skaters will adjust their blades like that. Somehow the screws make them seem less sturdy to me... eek, no wonder people have boot problems.

And do I count as a non-stan? Though pretty sure I'm on my way there, hah.

No, not you haha and yeah i remember her saying after junior worlds that she forgot to adjust her boots and was struggling really bad with her jumps.

Lmao in one of the interviews she says 'I want to be able to go to the World Championships'. Such modest aims. I love it.

She always does that she said she did not even think of going to the GPF but slowly realized that maybe a medal was not out of reach but she ended up winning with a 7points advantage

 

[RafaelAstro]

It's pretty incredible what Rika has done so far this season, I can´t believe it, she is incredible, I love her two programs this season but for me the best is the free program so far, many people think she is overscored at PCS but I disagree I can see how she has everything that components demands, she skates like she is under a beutiful storm, making steps on the water in the floor, so beautiful, the best program for me this season, and the short program is not the best this season for me but she made it worth, she interprets and is like if i where in a dream with the moon when I seing her skate, really she cured my depression and always when I see her skate y end with tears of joy for what she is demostrating to the world. She is wold package, jumps, artisty and everything you want for a skater, with those beautiful triple axels she makes her programs even better, I'm so proud of her. Sorry for the bible hahaha but I could find +10000 words to describe the beautiful and super skater she is, but my english is not so good xd

 

[lzxnl]

No, not you haha and yeah i remember her saying after junior worlds that she forgot to adjust her boots and was struggling really bad with her jumps.

She always does that she said she did not even think of going to the GPF but slowly realized that maybe a medal was not out of reach but she ended up winning with a 7points advantage

Well she has a stated aim of trying to win the Beijing Olympics so...hmm...if she wins every event this year, but never skates her programs cleanly, would she still only give herself 85/100?

Anyone find it amusing that she almost didn't qualify for GPF based on number of events?

 

[rikaquegira]

I haven't find the time to come here to express how happy I am for Rika! It's amazing to see her grow like that, right in front of our eyes... Last year she was a bit of a train wreck and now... she jumps a second 3A after missing the first one and puts it in combination with only a 2T and then she goes for a perfect 3Lz3T later in the program because that's what she needed to do. Last season's Rika could never!
It is really mindblowing how much she has evolved, I feel so proud! I know I didn't do anything, I'm just a fan but still..
This season has been everything I wished for for Rika, I cannot believe how perfect she has been. It just occurred to me: Rika has been undefeated this season! Gold at ONT, NHK, IdF and GPF! :eeking: Who would've imagined???
I cannot wait to see how she'll perform at Nationals and, hopefully, Worlds. I'd also love if she'd went to WTT and 4CC. That would be a lot of competitions though... But I believe she can do it! :hap85:
I'll be rooting for her every step!

 

[leoleo]

Well she has a stated aim of trying to win the Beijing Olympics so...hmm...if she wins every event this year, but never skates her programs cleanly, would she still only give herself 85/100?

Anyone find it amusing that she almost didn't qualify for GPF based on number of events?

When asked how far she thinks she has gone on her way to the olympics, she says she'd rate herself at 10%, that there's still so much more to work on. One thing i love about her & Hamada is how they're always trying to improve on this or that, the height of her jumps, her rotational speed, her edge work, maturity when performing. And i've seen people say that if her PCS keep going up she's not going to improve and will rest on her laurels. That is not going to happen. Just looking at Rika's improvements from last year to now, she has improved A LOT, and it is not going to stop. Their plan is a long journey to Beijing and they seem to be taking things slowly so i am certain Hamada will always help her towards becoming a better skater.

Hey Rikaquegira! I was wondering where you were, we missed you here

 

[lzxnl]

When asked how far she thinks she has gone on her way to the olympics, she says she'd rate herself at 10%, that there's still so much more to work on. One thing i love about her & Hamada is how they're always trying to improve on this or that, the height of her jumps, her rotational speed, her edge work, maturity when performing. And i've seen people say that if her PCS keep going up she's not going to improve and will rest on her laurels. That is not going to happen. Just looking at Rika's improvements from last year to now, she has improved A LOT, and it is not going to stop. Their plan is a long journey to Beijing and they seem to be taking things slowly so i am certain Hamada will always help her towards becoming a better skater.

Hey Rikaquegira! I was wondering where you were, we missed you here

Yeah she recognises that the Olympics are in four years time and thus needs to be ready then, not now. She recognises the risk of injury etc. I think she also sees how the technical level overall will raise. She seems like the kind of skater that would never be truly satisfied with herself tbh, which is good. I'm curious to see how she can improve artistically. I just hope she stays safe; quads can hurt.

It's been a while rikaquegira!