Will Rika Kihira dethrone Satoko?

[Sam-Skwantch]

The ice is slippery.

Are you talking about yourself

 

[drivingmissdaisy]

Well Caro (while I like her) would fall all over the place and get sky high PCS so her jump mistakes didn't ruin the "overall impression". And Chan inflation anyone? They seem to only apply this stuff when they feel like it.

Caro and Chan at least got -GOE when they did subpar elements.

 

[skateluvr]

Tbh I love Satoko. She is now the only exquisite senior. And a consistent jumper albeit small. Great spins. She’s amazing. I wish she had won a world championship. Part of my point is the Japanese skaters regardless of who does the choreography don’t want to give up artistry totally. Alina could likely skate elegant programs but the choreo is just constant movement. I don’t care about difficult transitions if rushed and half done.

Well this is why Ice dance became so popular because we see incredible skating all the time. In a way it is sad if Satoko gets beat by any Japanese skater. I think she is a world champion. If Rika can manage more finesse she should be at the top of podiums if she stays consistent with jumps including the axels. For me watching Eteri skaters is watching little girls pushed to the max like gymnasts on skates. That is not what makes skating beautiful but that is what it is now sport over art and some little girls who want to match the men. I think it is too bad.

And then one watches the Japanese men like Yuzu, Shoma and hopefully Dai again. Even the men with all the quads have this beautiful way of moving across the ice. I think it is cultural.

 

[yume]

I don't find it sad when a skater who combine artistry and difficult technical content win over someone who is the best artist but have major technical issues. The best skater, the winner should be the one who combine both art and sport the best IMO.
But it seems that many put art ahead and think than an artist with bad jumps is much better than a great technician who has good artistic skills.

 

[enzet]

I'd like to know which American girls you think are more "refined" and the height of artistry right now. Or Canadians, apart from Kaetlyn.

Ting Cui

At least when it comes to body lines and carriage, she is absolutely top notch.
I love Kostornaya, she is a beautiful, refined skater with amazing lines as well, but seeing them both live at the same competition, I liked Cui even better in this regard.
Kostornaya on the other hand impressed me with her speed and smooth effortless skating. Much more impressive in person than on TV.

Regarding Rika, she can easily beat Satoko on TES, but she is not even close yet when it comes to refinement and artistry.
I'm not saying Rika's TES should not be enough to overtake clean Satoko though. I love both ladies, but fully supported Rika's victory at NHK.

I saw Rika live at ONT and my impression was that she actually needed more polish than I thought when just watching her videos.
She has an enormous potential both technically and artistically and already is one of the more refined ladies out there.
But there is absolutely no comparison with the likes of Satoko or Carolina just yet.

All that said, I still hope Rika wins everything from now on and continues to mature beautifully!

 

[Charlotte 71]

And can she dethrone Zagitova? I like her programs and skating much better. In general the Japanese ladies care more about choreo than their Russian rivals. The total result is way more watchable. Thank God they disallowed total backloading. I didn’t like Zagitova at alllast year because the programs were ticking boxes. This year she is more watchable but that is about jumps and her consistency.

I think Rika will blow her off her throne before long

I think Rika will win Japanese Nationals and Worlds if she skates the free the way she did at NHK and doesn't make any mistakes in her short. Her technical content and jump quality, esp. the triple Axels, is far beyond any other lady, and all other aspects of her skating are quite good as well! Her LP is a wonderful vehicle for her strengths. Anything can happen, of course, but I really hope this is Satoko's year, because she is too beautiful to not win Worlds at least once, and this is probably the best opportunity for her. As much as I appreciated what Rika did in the LP at NHK, and watched it more times than I can count now, Satoko has given us too many mesmerizing programs of delicate perfection, and she has improved her jumping more than I ever expected she could. I know Worlds shouldn't be a lifetime achievement award, but assuming Satoko gets it done, and unless Rika or Alina or anyone just blow everyone out of the water, I kind of hope fortune and the judges will favor Satoko this time.

 

[Globetrotter]

I don't find it sad when a skater who combine artistry and difficult technical content win over someone who is the best artist but have major technical issues. The best skater, the winner should be the one who combine both art and sport the best IMO.
But it seems that many put art ahead and think than an artist with bad jumps is much better than a great technician who has good artistic skills.

Hmm I don’t think anyone is suggesting that. Even among the guys, I can’t think of any major winners being a really poor artist. They all need the technical skills and decent qualitative presentation in order to win. While I enjoy Satoko’s non jumps and superior bladework much like I love CaroK’s SS, I never felt they were major threats due to the inherently weak jumps (Satoko) or messy execution (CaroK). However if others mess up big time and Satoko goes clean despite smaller jumps, there are good reasons to support her win due to her superior components. Same as that CaroK with a clean SP tend to lead due to her good basics and whose potential is low only because she tends to lose focus and mess up her LP. But those with the stronger technical goods will always have a higher score ceiling than those who are technically weaker. At the end of the day, the one who executed the programme better will still win.