1. Rika Kihira is a two-time Four Continents champion, the 2018 Grand Prix Final champion, a four-time Grand Prix series medalist, a two-time International Challenge Cup champion, and a two-time Japanese national champion.
68 Facts About Rika Kihira
1. 2.
Rika Kihira is the seventh woman to have landed the triple Axel jump in an International Skating Union competition, the first ever woman to land a triple Axel-triple toe loop combination, the first woman to land eight clean triples in a free skate, the second woman to land four clean triples in the short program, and the third woman to land twelve clean triples in one competition.
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Rika Kihira was born on 21 July 2002 in Nishinomiya, Japan.
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Rika Kihira was invited to skate in the gala at the 2015 NHK Trophy as the Japanese national novice champion in the same season.
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Rika Kihira is coached by Mie Hamada and Yamato Tamura in Takatsuki, Osaka.
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Rika Kihira landed a triple Axel jump in the free skate, becoming the seventh ladies skater in history to do so.
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Rika Kihira became the first female skater ever to land eight clean triples in the free skate.
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Rika Kihira began her season by winning a gold medal at the Asian Trophy in Hong Kong.
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Rika Kihira was able to land a triple Axel in her free skate.
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Rika Kihira was the only non-Russian competitor and finished fourth overall, following a popped Axel and an under-rotation on another jump.
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Rika Kihira placed sixth in the short program but rebounded in the free skate with a triple Axel and triple Axel-triple toe loop-double toe loop.
12.
Rika Kihira placed first in the short program, despite falling on her triple Axel.
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Rika Kihira placed first in the long program with eight fully rotated triple jumps, including a triple Axel-triple toe loop and a solo triple Axel, and set a free skate world record of 147.37 points.
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At 2018 NHK Trophy, Rika Kihira was fifth in the short program after underrotating and falling on her triple Axel again.
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Rika Kihira placed first in the free skate with a solo triple Axel, a triple Axel-triple toe loop, and eight triple jumps in total, winning the gold medal overall.
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At the Internationaux de France, Rika Kihira singled the triple Axel in the short program, placing third.
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Rika Kihira stated that she was glad to have won but was unsatisfied with her performance.
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Rika Kihira won the short program with a world record score of 82.51, landing the triple Axel in the short program for the first time that season.
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Rika Kihira then placed first in the free skate with a score of 150.61 and won the gold medal, despite downgrading and falling on her opening triple Axel.
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Rika Kihira entered the 2018 Japanese Championships as a favourite to take the national title, but she struggled with boot problems in the competition and made multiple errors in the short program that, left her in fifth place going into the free skate.
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Rika Kihira placed first in the free skate, her only mistake being a downgraded Euler in her three-jump combination.
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At the 2019 Four Continents Championships, Rika Kihira initially "hesitated" at including the triple Axel in the short program but chose to do so and singled it.
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Rika Kihira was one of three Japanese ladies assigned to the 2019 World Championships, held in Saitama, and based on her record that season was widely considered the favourite to win the title.
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Rika Kihira came second in the free skate, earning a silver small medal, landing a clean triple Axel-triple toe loop and falling on her second triple Axel.
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Rika Kihira concluded the season representing Team Japan at the 2019 World Team Trophy.
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Rika Kihira landed the triple Axel in the short program for only the second time that season, setting another world record of 83.97.
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However, Rika Kihira fell twice in the free, once on her opening triple Axel and the other on her triple Lutz-triple toe loop combination, placing fifth.
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Rika Kihira began her season at 2019 CS Autumn Classic International, where she ranked first in both the short program and in the free, finishing in first place overall, and landing all three of her planned triple Axels, albeit with one called underrotated.
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Rika Kihira stated that she hoped to introduce a quad Salchow into competition later in the season but had declined to attempt it there as she felt her triple Axel was more stable.
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Rika Kihira earned 148.98 points in the free skate to score 230.33 overall and finish second overall behind Alexandra Trusova, who landed three quad jumps in her free skate.
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Rika Kihira stated afterward that Trusova's performance motivated her to work to increase her scoring potential in the future.
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Rika Kihira stated afterward that her ankle continued to be a problem after three months, with the possibility that it might be a tendon issue that would require time away from competition to heal.
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Rika Kihira expressed regret over her performance, attributing much of it to discomfort with skating in the evening rather than the morning.
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Rika Kihira placed fourth in that segment and rose to fourth place overall.
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Rika Kihira won the free skate commandingly, making only a single error when she under-rotated the triple toe loop in her opening jump combination, and took the Japanese national title for the first time ahead of Wakaba Higuchi and Tomoe Kawabata.
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Rika Kihira indicated that she hoped to reintroduce the triple Lutz into competition for the 2020 World Championships.
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In February, Rika Kihira competed at the 2020 Four Continents Championships with countrywomen Higuchi and Kaori Sakamoto.
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Rika Kihira included the triple Lutz for the first time since the Autumn Classic.
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Rika Kihira won the free skate and the overall competition with a new season's best-combined total ahead of You and Tennell.
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Rika Kihira became the first singles skater, male or female, to win consecutive Four Continents titles.
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Rika Kihira then won the 2020 International Challenge Cup ahead of compatriot Yuhana Yokoi.
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Rika Kihira was scheduled to compete at the 2020 World Championships in Montreal, but the event was cancelled as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
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Rika Kihira stated that the motivation behind this change was a desire to better her technique and master a greater range of quadruple jumps.
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Rika Kihira subsequently spent time at Stephane Lambiel's training camp in Switzerland.
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Rika Kihira said that the decision to attempt it in the free skate would depend on how the short program went.
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Rika Kihira won the short program despite a minor error on the second part of her jump combination and a lost spin level, ending the segment with a lead of 7.48 points over second-place Kaori Sakamoto.
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Rika Kihira opened her free program by successfully landing a quad Salchow.
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Rika Kihira went on to underrotate her only triple Axel attempt in the free and did not attempt a triple Lutz, but won the segment and the gold medal overall ahead of former champions Sakamoto and Satoko Miyahara.
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Rika Kihira was chosen to represent Japan at the 2021 World Championships, where she was rated as a contender for the title alongside the top Russian skaters.
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Rika Kihira placed second in the short program after her triple Axel and toe loop were a quarter of a rotation short.
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Rika Kihira's placement, combined with that of Sakamoto, who finished above her in sixth, qualified three ladies' berths for Japan to the 2022 Winter Olympics.
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Subsequently, Rika Kihira was announced as part of the Japanese team for the 2021 World Team Trophy.
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Rika Kihira did not plan to attempt the quad Salchow jump due to suffering from a lower-back strain and returned to her previous free skate music for the competition.
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Rika Kihira placed fourth in the short program and fifth in the free skate at the Trophy, while Team Japan won the bronze medal.
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Rika Kihira withdrew from the 2021 CS Asian Open Trophy, her first assigned competition of the season, and was replaced by Mai Mihara.
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Rika Kihira later withdrew from 2021 NHK Trophy as well, with Mana Kawabe being called up to replace her.
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Rika Kihira expressed the intention to concentrate on treatment as per doctors' recommendations.
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Rika Kihira placed fifth at that event while not attempting any Lutz or flip jumps.
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Rika Kihira was eighth in the free skate, but remained eleventh overall.
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Rika Kihira had entered Skate Canada, but was unable to fully recover from her injury and was unable to participate.
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Rika Kihira will prioritize her treatment with her sights set on the 2026 Olympics.
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Rika Kihira is regarded as a complete skater for her combination of technical and artistic excellence.
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Rika Kihira has notably never received an edge call in her junior or senior career since both her Lutz and Flip have correct take-off edges.
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Rika Kihira is the first female skater to land eight fully rotated triples in a program.
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Rika Kihira has landed triple Axels and triple Axel-triple toe loops in international competition, being the first and now one of two ladies who has achieved the latter.
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Rika Kihira was the youngest lady to land the triple Axel in an ISU-sanctioned competition until Alysa Liu.
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Rika Kihira has landed triple Axels in a three-part combination in domestic competition.
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Rika Kihira is training the quad toe loop and quad Salchow.