Really, which YT channel? Color me extremely out of the loop and highly confused by this changing definition as applied to Rika.Based off a certain YT channel, it has. I would ignore anyone who says any woman currently has a toe axel. No relevant competitor has done a toe axel since Mao in her junior days.
While I guess theoretically it is possible for a woman to still have a toe-axel, the problem with toe-axels is that it's inherently inefficient, so using it on a triple much less a quad, would not make sense. I'd be surprised if she gets off the ice. Furthermore, the indications would be far more obvious than what was seen in that clip, especially considering Rika has pretty good picking technique.
Anyways, I am happy that Rika and her team are working hard on her jumps. Maybe not the world's best technique, but her jumping technique is solid and close enough to full textbook. I'm also amused by the switch of entry for 4S, which IMO is the one that gives a better momentum and power for the jump. While the 4S attempt looks likely UR, it's possible that some of that is due to altitude, less training this season on the 4S and even change in entry method. I trust that she and her team are going to work well on it, and when she does it in comp, it should be fine.
Her toe jumps are fine. Lutz and Flip have good toepick and edge and the toeloop is clearly a toepick assisted jump, she doesn’t use the full blade to vault up. Can someone please enlighten me about where exactly it is you see the excessive prerotation on her 4T? Idk i seem to have missed that. The level of PR seems totally fine tbh but...well...the quads are underrotated, but let’s not spread lies about her technique at least...

