NAGANO – Rika Kihira captured her second straight Japan Championship with a strong performance in the free skate on Sunday night at Big Hat arena. Holding a comfortable lead after the short program, the 18-year-old landed her first quadruple jump in competition on the way to victory.
Kihira’s winning score was 234.24 points, well ahead of second-place finisher Kaori Sakamoto, who had 222.17. Four-time national champion Satoko Miyahara rallied from sixth place after the short program to make the podium again, with a tally of 209.75, after missing out last year
Kihira, who has been training with coach Stephane Lambiel in Switzerland this year, skated to “Baby, God Bless You” and started off with a bang. She opened with a beautiful quad salchow, but under-rotated a triple axel with her next jump. Kihira came back to hit five triples and earned level fours on two of her spins.
“This time I wasn’t really motivated because there have not been many events,” Kihira stated. “But with the help of various people, the two teachers (Lambiel and Mie Hamada) also worked hard to teach me. I’m glad and wanted to express my gratitude to all the coaches and fans.”
Kihira credited her longtime coach Hamada for her technical help after returning to train in Japan in November.
“For the jumps I adopted the teachings of the two. Straighten the aerial posture,” Kihira noted. “As I was conscious of it, I was feeling better.”
Sakamoto, the 2018 champion, performed to “The Matrix” and put forth a solid effort, with an edge call on a triple lutz being the only clear issue. She received level fours on all of her spins and step sequence.
“I was glad that I was able to get revenge for last year (when she was sixth),” commented Sakamoto, who punched her fists in the air at the end of her program. “I knew I had done it (when she finished).”
Miyahara, who was fourth at the Pyeongchang Olympics, showed real poise in her skate to “Tosca.” She hit six clean triples, while receiving a quarter call on a seventh (a triple toe loop), and under-rotated a double loop on the back end of a three-combo jump. The 22-year-old excelled on her spins and step sequence, scoring level fours on all of them.
“I made some mistakes, but I was able to do it,” Miyahara said. “The mental (improvement) that made me uneasy, gave me a small response.”
Japan junior champion Rino Matsuike (204.74) came in fourth, displaying great potential in her performance to “Perhaps Love,” while Mai Mihara (203.65) was fifth.
Wakaba Higuchi, who was second last year behind Kihira, finished seventh on 195.04. She was unable to recover after coming in 13th in the short program.
Misato Komatsubara and Tim Koleto won the ice dance with a total score of 175.23. Kana Muramoto and Daisuke Takahashi took second at 151.86.
Following the end of the competition, the JSF met behind closed doors to determine the team members for this season’s world championships, scheduled for late March in Sweden, and announced the following skaters had been selected:
Men
Yuzuru Hanyu, Shoma Uno, Yuma Kagiyama
Women
Rika Kihira, Kaori Sakamoto, Satoko Miyahara
Pairs
Riku Miura/Ryuichi Kihara
Ice Dance
Misato Komatsubara/Tim Koleto
