#ondrej nepela trophy 2018 | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

geckomoon · 5 years ago

Text

Yuri!!! on ice as irl skaters (part 1???)

Its 2020 and I miss yoi so here are my personal headcanons about which irl skater the you cast skate &/or act like because why the hell not.

(photos at the bottom of the post because I couldn't get the format to work the way I wanted it to)

Yuri Katsuki ➡️ Boyang Jin (China)/Evgenia Medvedeva (Russia)

Yes, 2 people because PARALLELS.

So my reason for saying Yuri is like Boyang is because, his step sequences are always gorgeous and his jumping power, oofttttt, and that one scene where Yuri tries a jump and lands in the wall, you know the one. Boyang Jin is known for jumping super close to the boards and scaring the hell out of us all, seriously, just watch one of his skates, it's amazing and terrifying. Also Boyang is a bit of a nerd and Yuri is canonicaly pretty into video games, nuff said.

Boyang is a two-time World bronze medalist (2016–2017), the 2018 Four Continents champion, a two-time Four Continents silver medalist (2016, 2019), the 2017 Asian Winter Games silver medalist, and a five-time (2014–2017, 2019) Chinese national champion.

Evgenia however, this is more of a parallel in how her 2018/19 season went and how Yuri kinda flopped. Zhenya had a crappy start to the 18/19 season, she'd just switched coaches and mover halfway across the world, for the 1st time in her senior career she didn't make the gpf. However by the end of the season she had bounced back and won bronze at worlds and my god what a skate that fp was. Remind you of anyone huh???

Evgenia has a lot of medals (and actually made a cameo in the end credits of episode 10) She is a two-time Olympic silver medalist (2018 ladies' singles, 2018 team event), a two-time world champion (2016, 2017), a two-time European champion (2016, 2017), a two-time Grand Prix Final champion (2015, 2016), a two-time Russian national champion (2016, 2017), silver medalist at the 2018 European Figure Skating Championships and bronze medalist at the 2019 World Championships. Also, she is a huge Anime fan and has a sailor moon exhibition program and its adorable.

Victor Nikiforov ➡️ Yuzuru Hanyu (Japan)

I know a lot of people compare Yuri to Yuzu but I think Victor is a better fit.

Yuzuru has a legion of super duper dedicated fans, they are pretty scary at times. If you watch the 2018 Olympics, the ice literally was covered in Pooh bears after his skate. People love this man, and rightly so. Clearly Yuri isn't the only one who loves Victor, he's very popular in the yoi skating world and almost everyone loves and looks up to him.

His skates are almost immaculate every time. Not only is his technique amazing but his artistry is what really sets him apart from other skaters who may have higher bv on jumps etc. Not that he dosent have high bv, seriously he tries combos that are super wierd just for the bv (see the wierd 4t-3a combo thing he does idk). Plus he's dead set on doing a quad axel. See Victor's super high bv with all the quads and also the fact everyone goes nuts over how his skating is 'like no other'.

Also his medal collection is absolutely mad, he is a two-time Olympic champion (2014, 2018), two-time World champion (2014, 2017), four-time Grand Prix Final champion (2013–2016), Four Continents champion (2020) and three times silver medalist (2011, 2013, 2017). Just like how Victor is canonicaly an Olympic champion and 5x world champion and probably many time euros champ.

Also, he's a sweetheart, he literally crawled behind Shoma Uno because he didn't want the attention taken away from Shoma. I love him.

Victor Nikiforov gives big Yuzuru Hanyu energy.

Yuri Plisetsky ➡️ Yulia Lipnitskaya (Russia)/Alexandra Trusova (Russia)

Again, 2 people.

It's canon that Yuri P was modeled after Yulia for the flexibility and artistic portion of his skates so I feel like I don't need to elaborate much in it however his determination and his wanting to back load with quads reminds me a lot of Sasha Trusova.

Sasha only started juniors the year after yoi came out (she had a Makkachin tissue box which was given to her by Evgenia M which is adorable) so she was not really that popular when the show was being made but she really made a statement when she became the 1st woman to land 2 quads in 1 program (4 salchow and 4 toeloop) at the age of 13 at 2018 junior worlds.

She has just started senior and this season she had 5 quads in one program and I think I cried. She now has a quad sal, toe, flip and lutz and is apparently working on a loop. On top of that she can land a 3 axel but has yet to do so in competition. Did I mention SHE'S 15 AND I'M TERRIFIED.

She currently holds the world record for the free skate (166.62 points). She is the 2020 European Bronze Medalist, the 2019 Grand Prix Final bronze medalist, the 2019 Skate Canada champion, the 2019 Rostelecom Cup champion, the 2019 CS Ondrej Nepela champion, the 2019 Russian national silver medalist, and the 2020 Russian national bronze medalist.

Her determination to win and high TES reminds me of Yurio a lot.

Phichit Chulanont ➡️ Nam Nguyen (Canada)

This one is fun.

I love Nam with all my heart, he's actually my favourite male skater and not just because of his skating. However his skating is great. He is the 2014 World Junior champion, 2019 Skate Canada silver medalist, and two-time Canadian national champion (2015, 2019). He has placed as high as fifth at the World Championships, in 2015. He's not the best skater ever, kinda like Phichit but his personality shines through so much when he skates and I love it.

My main comparison to Phichit is the fact that Nam Nguyen is a huge meme. His Instagram is one of the most hilarious things I've ever seen (@ namnamnoodle). I can't explain it with words seriously just go look at it, he makes memes using professionnally taken skating photos of himself and honestly it's just a giggle. He's almost always posting on his story and half the videos he takes end up on fan twitter and everyone freaks out.

Also he's good friends with Evgenia, thought I'd mention that seeing as who I compared her to :)).

Yeah, Phichit and Nam are memes and I adore them both.

Jean-Jacques Leroy ➡️ Nathan Chen (USA)

Jj is definitely more of a technical focused skater. He tends to put all his eggs in the '800000 quads' bucket and isn't as artistic, in my humble opinion.

Just like Nathan surprisingly, though Nate isn't as egotistical (not a dig, just an observation).

Nathan is compared to Yuzu a lot, and had actually scored higher than him a few times in competition. He is an amazing jumper and is the first skater to have landed five types of quadruple jumps in competitions: toe loop, Salchow, loop, flip and Lutz. Currently he is two-time World champion (2018, 2019), a 2018 Winter Olympic bronze medalist in the team event, the 2017 Four Continents champion, three-time Grand Prix Final champion (2017, 2018, 2019), and four-time U.S. national champion (2017, 2018, 2019, 2020).

So yeah, he's good.

However at the 2018 Olympics (he was only 18 at the time) he bombed under pressure in the team event and in the sp, only to come back with a WR free skate, but didn't medal because of his sp score,kinda like how Jj bombed at the GPF. (Ngl, I cried in school when I saw Nate bomb at the Olympics, I was so upset).

Also, Nathan is super smart and is training to be a doctor. Not related to Jj but I thought I would point it out.

Christophe Giacometti➡️ Adam Rippon (USA)/Javier Fernández (Spain)

Chris is a hard one to pin to an irl skater because he's just so... Chris.

The closest comparison I can get is Adam Rippon but dialed up to 11 because Adam is quite a bit more tame than Chris is. However he did have a point in his sp where he literally beckons the judges to him in a way that can only be described as vaguely sexual. Seeing that at the Olympics was an event I'll tell you that.

Adam was the first openly gay man to make a U.S. Winter Olympic team, and the first to win a medal at the Winter Games. (team bronze).

Plus, I'm pretty sure he owned a Chris plushie at one point or another.

However other than the obvious Chrissness, his technique and medal winning achievements most closely match up with Javier Fernández (who may I add is pretty much Yuzuru Hanyu's best friend). He is the 2018 Olympic bronze medalist, a two-time World champion (2015, 2016), a two-time World bronze medalist (2013, 2014), a seven-time European champion (2013–2019), a two-time Grand Prix Final silver medalist (2014, 2015), a three-time Rostelecom Cup champion (2014–2016), a two-time Grand Prix in France champion (2016–2017) and an eight-time Spanish national champion (2010, 2012–2018). Javi is an amazing skater but usually ended up playing 2nd fiddle to Yuzuru on the world stage, but with euros, he literally won 7 times consecutively. Anndddd, he was the flag bearer for Spain at the 2014 Olympics and I still cry about it.

Otabek Altin➡️ Denis Ten (Kazakhstan)/ Matteo Rizzo

So it's canon that Otabek was based on Denis (rip Denis) so like Yuri and Yulia I do not feel like I need to elaborate much as you can read it on the wikia page. But Otabek also reminds me of a less talkative version of Matteo Rizzo. Matteo is the 2019 European bronze medalist, 2018 NHK Trophy bronze medalist, 2019 Winter Universiade champion, and 2018 Italian national champion.

The reason he reminds me of Otabek is that they just joth exude the same level of cool and I can't explain it any further than that. That's it. Just watch him skate and you'll see.

So that's all I have for now because this post got pretty long so if this gets enough attention I'll do a part 2 :)).

#Yuri on ice #Yoi #katsuki yuri #victor nikiforov #yuri plisetsky #phichit chulanont #jean jacques leroy #christophe giacometti #otabek altin

93 notes · View notes

thescribblerqueen · 4 years ago

Text

Figure Skating Events: Fanfiction Guideline

(AKA: The guide I’m writing out because I figured there had to be more skating competitions that the Grand Prix series, Nationals, 4CC, Olympics, and Worlds but god are the Wikipedia pages for them a mess.)

So, the Wikipedia page for the list of figure skating events is vaguely a mess if you intend to use it for Yuri on Ice fanfiction like I do, so I took some time to read through it and make sense of the qualifications, multiple listings/renaming of events, outdated/short-lived events, and missing hyperlinks to pages about the events. I’ll try to link everything I can and hope I don’t mess up.

Fall Events:

ISU Grand Prix Series/Junior ISU Grand Prix Series

These series are specifically for the top ranking international skaters, and they are both slightly different between senior and junior levels. It was formerly named the ISU Champion Series. I’ve listed approximate dates they are held on.

Grand Prix for Seniors has 6 Events:

Skate America (~Oct. 18-20)

Skate Canada International (~Oct. 25-27)

Cup of China (~Nov. 8-10) *Note in 2018 was temporarily replaced with Cup of Helsinki but resumed in 2019

Trophée de France (~Nov. 13-15)

Rostelecom Cup (~Nov. 15-17)

NHK Trophy (~Nov. 22-24)

Grand Prix Final (~Dec. 10-13)

The Junior Grand Prix has different qualifying events but shares the final with the senior event. It usually has ~7 qualifying events that alternate every year from a list of 35 events. Meaning the qualifying events change from year to year.

*Note Uzbeikistan was supposed to be a new 2020 event and an additional 36th event.

If you want to know what events were during a specific year/season I’ve provided a google docs excel sheet here.

There is also another skating competition series that is ranked directly below the Grand Prix Series but above the other competitions called:

The ISU Challenger Series (Created in 2014)

This series is also held in the fall around the same time (August 1st-December 15th) as the Grand Prix Series. It is a senior only event, but some events predate the series and have junior competitions that are not part of the series.

Events:

Asian Open Trophy (~Oct. 30th-Nov. 3): This event existed prior to the Challenger Series and was called The Asian Figure Skating Championships. It is either held in China, Hong Kong, Thailand, Philippines or Taipei. It has existed since 2007 and was a Challenger Series event in 2018 & 2019. Until 2018, it was only open to Asian Countries. It is both Junior and Senior Level. *Note was not held in 2009.

Autumn Classic International (Sept.12-14th): It has existed since 2014 and occurs in Canada. It is a Junior and Senior Level event. *Note it was not a Challenger Event in 2015.

Finlandia Trophy (~Oct. 9-11th): This competition predates the Challenger Series and was established in 1995.Is held in Finland. It is a senior level event only. Has been part of Challenger since 2014.

Golden Spin of Zagreb (~Dec.5-8th): This predates the Challenger and is held in Croatia. It has always been a senior level event and Junior since 2017. Only the senior level event is Challenger.

Ice Star (~Oct. 18-20th): Predates the challenger series and has only been included in 2017 & 2019. Held in Belarus.

Lombardia Trophy (~Sept. 13-15th): Predates 2013 and is event since 2014 but not in 2015. Held in Italy. Has both Juniors and Seniors.

Nebelhorn Trophy (~Sept. 25-28th): Predates 1969 as seniors only. Challenger event since 2014. Held in Germany.

Ondrej Nepela Trophy (~Sept. 19-21st): Predates 1993 as seniors only. Challenger event since 2014. Held in Slovakia.

Warsaw Cup (~Nov. 14-17th): Existed since 2012, seniors and Juniors. Challenger since 2014 except for 2018. Held in Poland.

U.S. International Classic (~Sept. 17-22nd): Existed since 2012 and Challenger since 2014. Seniors only.

*Note: You can use Figure Skating Fandom Wiki to see what countries participate.

Former events: Denkova-Staviski Cup (2015 Oct. 20-25th Bulgaria), Inge Solar Memorial – Alpen Trophy (2018, Nov. 11-18th Austria), Ice Challenge (2014,2015, Nov. 11-16 & Oct. 27-31st , Austria), Mordovian Ornament (2015, Oct. 15-18th, Russia), Tallinn Trophy (2015-2018, Mid Nov. Estonia), Volvo Open Cup (2014, Nov. 5-9th Latvia).

After both Fall series end in December most countries have a National Championship or send skaters based on their international ranking.

After that there are ISU Championships.

1. European Figure Skating Championships AKA Europeans (January)

2. Four Continents Figure Skating Championships AKA 4CC (February)

3. World Junior Figure Skating Championships (Late February/ Early March)

4. World Figure Skating Championships (4th Monday of Feb. & 2 weeks after 4CC or Europeans)

Bonus: The Nordic Championships but only Christophe Giacometti would compete.

There is also a list of Annual competitions that do not fall under these categories.

International Cup of Nice: (Oct-Nov in Nice,France) Has been held since 1995 with the exception of 2005. Both Senior and Junior event.

Bavarian Open: (Early Feb. in Germany) Has been an ISU event since 2011. Both Senior and Junior Event.

Egna Spring Trophy: (End March Italy) Held since 2011, both Junior and Senior event.

Coupe Du Printemps/Spring Cup: (March Luxembourg) Held since 2012, both Junior and Senior events.

Japan Open: (~Oct. 5)

The Japan Open is an annual senior international figure skating team competition organized by the Japan Skating Federation. The current format (team event) was established in 2006. The competition is held every autumn in Japan. Invited skaters compete in the disciplines of men’s and ladies’ singles. Skaters perform a free program but no short. Individual results are combined for a team standing.

Medals Winner Open: An event held in 2012 (Oct.), 2015, 2016 (Jan.) by the JSF and sanctioned by ISU. Invitational event for skaters that won medals in major ISU competitions like Grand Prix, Europeans,4CC, Worlds & Olympics. It’s a senior only event where skaters preform only a free program and they are scored heavily on artistic values. Was hosted in Japan.

World Team Trophy: (~April 16-19, Japan) Held in 2009, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017, & 2019. A team competition between six countries ( the US, Canada, Japan, France, Russia and China).

Multi-Sport Events Hosted on alternative Years/ Non-Olympic

Winter Universiade: Held every 2 years since 1960′s (expect between ‘72 & ’81). Is a multi sport event. Dates vary.

Winter Asian Games: Held in 1986,1990,1996,1999,2003,2007,2011, & 2017. Is a multi sport event. Dates vary. Held in Japan, China, South Korea, or Kazakhstan.

Obviously the Olympics as well but I shouldn’t need to mention but the official last event of the year is:

Triglav Trophy. It is held in April in Slovenia, and is both a senior and junior event.

Okay, so I think I covered every competition that a male single’s figure skater could compete in during the time frame of the Yuri on Ice characters skating careers. These were all pulled from the List on Wikipedia and organized over several hours. Hopefully there are no issues with the links.

#Yuri on ice #Yuuri Katsuki #Victor Nikiforov #Viktor Nikiforov #Victuuri #Viktuuri #Yuri Plisetsky #fanfiction #ice skating #competitions #The Ice Skating Guide #christophe giacometti #phichit chulanont #jean jacques leroy #it took forever #i made a google doc spreadsheet for you guys

17 notes · View notes

sywtwfs · 7 years ago

Text

2017 CS Autumn Classic International, CS Ondrej Nepela Trophy, & JGP Belarus: Info & Streaming

Two more Challenger Series competitions this week in Canada and Slovakia, while the Junior Grand Prix returns with its fourth stop in Belarus! More information will be added to this post as it becomes available.

AUTUMN CLASSIC INTERNATIONAL

Website & results | Entries | Detailed schedule | Livestream

Designation: Challenger Series When: Sept. 20-23 Where: Montreal, QC, Canada Level & disciplines: senior men, ladies, ice dance, pairs How to watch: Free livestream on Skate Canada's Dailymotion (including practices)

Schedule (EDT, UTC-4) 9/21: Ladies' SP 20:05 9/22: Short Dance 17:00; Pairs' SP 18:30; Men's SP 19:40 9/23: Ladies' FS 13:45; Free Dance 16:50; Pairs' FS 18:35; Men's FS 20:00

ONDREJ NEPELA TROPHY

Results | Entries | Detailed schedule | Website | Livestream

Designation: Challenger Series When: Sept. 21-23 Where: Bratislava, Slovakia Level & disciplines: senior men, ladies, ice dance, pairs How to watch: Free livestream on Youtube

Schedule (CEST, UTC+2) 9/21: Ladies' SP 13:00; Men's SP 16:15; Pairs' SP 19:15 9/22: Short Dance 13:00; Pairs' FS 15:10 9/23: Ladies' FS 12:00; Free Dance 15:40; Men's FS 19:00

Notable entries: Brendan Kerry, Nicolas Nadeau, Chafik Besseghier, Keiji Tanaka, Sergei Voronov, Mikhail Kolyada, Alexander Samarin, Grant Hochstein, Rika Hongo, Dabin Choi, Alena Leonova, Evgenia Medvedeva, Elena Radionova, Nicole Rajicova, Caroline Zhang, Kristina Astakhova/Alexei Rogonov, Natalia Zabiiako/Alexander Enbert, Ekaterina Bobrova/Dmitri Soloviev, Rachel Parsons/Michael Parsons

JGP MINSK ARENA CUP

Live results & entries | Detailed schedule | Livestream

Designation: Junior Grand Prix When: Sept. 20-23 Where: Minsk, Belarus Level & disciplines: junior men, ladies, ice dance, pairs How to watch: Free livestreams on the JGP Youtube channel

Schedule (MSK, UTC+3) 9/21: Short Dance 10:30; Ladies' SP 13:10; Men's SP 18:45 9/22: Pairs' SP 11:00; Ladies' FS 13:15; Free Dance 19:00 9/23: Pairs' FS 10:15; Men's FS 12:45; Gala 19:00

Notable entries: Tatsuya Tsuboi, Sihyeong Lee, Alexey Erokhov, Andrew Torgashev, Nana Araki, Riko Takino, Ye Lim Kim, Stanislava Konstantinova, Alexandra Trusova, Tessa Hong, Lori-Ann Matte/Thierry Ferland, Apollinariia Panfilova/Dmitry Rylov, Anastasia Skoptcova/Kirill Aleshin, Arina Ushakova/Maxim Nekrasov, Christina Carreira/Anthony Ponomarenko

#figure skating #autumn classic #autumn classic 2017 #ondrej nepela trophy #ondrej nepela trophy 2017 #challenger series #jgp belarus 2017 #jr grand prix #events #season: 2017 2018 #how to watch

453 notes · View notes

figureskatingfanblog · 6 years ago

Text

Mikhail Kolyada of Russia has a dominating lead after the short program at the Ondrej Nepela Trophy. Sergei Voronov of Russia is in second and Keiji Tanaka of Japan is in third.

#figure skating #challenger series #senior men short program #ondrej nepela trophy 2018

8 notes · View notes

rika-kihira · 5 years ago

Text

Rika Kihira - Athlete Conditioning Magazine interview

Rika Kihira Interview from Athlete Conditioning Magazine (taken during the off season, before FS Season 2019-2020 )

Q: In the 1st senior season, you got amazing results. The length of time for a program is longer than in the junior era, there is also the addition of one more technical element inside the program. There was also the change of it being a longer season. What kind of thoughts do you have?

R: In September 2018 I won Ondrej Nepela Trophy in Slovakia, my 1st competition of the season, but since Japan Nationals (2nd place) ended until the end of the season in April 2019 I felt really exhausted. Compared to Jr, Sr period of competition is longer. In such a long period of time, it was the first time I kept competing continuously, so I didn’t understand how I should adjust properly to match with the competition, it was really hard to maintain my condition and my motivation. Before Worlds 2019 in March held at Saitama Super Arena, there was some adjustment in order to get myself used to new boots. After Worlds there was also WTT held in April (Japan got 2nd place), I felt like I had used all the strength that was left in me, I never experienced something like this sensation before. But using this experience, I want to try my best in putting forth my energy until the end of this season.

Q: In the middle of such exhausting feelings, it was a surprise that you managed to update SP score into World record score of 83.97 points while attending WTT. So in order to display good performances continuously, it is essential to adjust the condition. What are the things you are paying attention to regarding your meal and sleep?

R: I am calculating the calories in my meals everyday. Nutritional balance is important. Protein is a must, but I also pay attention to eat fruits and vegetables which consist of many vitamins. And then before morning and noon practice I consume carbohydrates. If I don’t eat properly I won’t be able to exert my energy because of the feeling of an empty stomach, that is what my condition will become. About sleep, I am managing it with a smartphone application. I understand the difference in my physical condition during the times I had enough sleep and the times I didn’t, so I use it as a reference. Everyday, I am keeping notes of what I am doing and I came to understand what kind of condition came (from the activity), so managing my condition has also became fun.

Q: So it is important to know things you experienced with your body, like for example, what kind of condition it will be when you do a certain amount of exercise?

R: Indeed. There are times when I can’t do the personal training my trainer gave to me, so on off days I do body care and muscle training by myself. I am adjusting so my condition will not fluctuate by much. I keep it as a habit to maintain a stable condition as possible.

Q: Not only competition, I think you also go to training camp overseas, are there things you pay attention to in your trip where the body condition easily changes?

R: It is cold inside the airplane and it is easy to catch a cold there, so I prepare mask and blanket. Before, I had to compete in a competition when I caught a cold. I thought, I don’t want to experience the same thing twice so from that time onward I am especially careful of that. Inside the plane the air is also dry so it’s easy to get a sore throat, so I am paying attention to drink water frequently. After that, I do light stretching a few times. My senses on the next day are different depending on whether I do it or not, so I am doing all the things I could do.

Q: In order to compete at the top level of the world, working on elements with high difficulty level at practice is a must, but no matter what it is hard to avoid struggling with injury. In order to compete in the season there’s no possibility of long-term total recuperation, there is also the need to do training and injury treatment at the same time. The schedule in off season is also pretty busy with performing in ice shows and training. It is necessary to care for light injuries so it will not turn into worse injury. At the final stage of the last junior season (2017-2018 season), on January 2018 you suffered a bone fracture on your left ring finger, in your senior debut season, in February 2019, while experiencing dislocation in the same place, as Kihira who even managed to get good results, we wonder what kind of care you are doing daily. Mostly we wanted to ask about (Conditioning) and (Self-Care), but normally what kind of self-care are you doing?

R: In order to compete until the end of season, I definitely must not get a heavy injury. Consulting my own body condition, I am going to practice like usual while thinking about the next thing. I must not get injured on the next day by overdoing it. But just by resting the circumstance will end up resulting as me being unable to put forth my strength in competition. So I think it is important to keep a tight line of balance (between the two). On a regular basis while doing stretching, if there was a little bit of pain, I use a small type of ultrasonic theraphy medical equipment to treat it and then go to practice, I am taking care of it.

Q: This medical theraphy equipment, since when you are using it and on what occasion?

R: At the time I had a bone fracture in my left hand, in January 2018, I came to use ultrasonic medical theraphy equipment in order to make recovery time faster on the bone. I heard other athletes are also using it. Not only bones, it can also make the pain from straining loose muscles go away. Especially for the part around the ankle and above. As the effect of fixing the skate boots, after the jumps, it is easy to feel pain after the landings, but it’s painful when I tried to ease the tension by myself, and there is also the possibility of inflicting unnecessary pain, so I am caring for the parts that I feel are painful by using ultrasound medical equipment. I am also using the other one for my knees. They are small and easy to be carried around so it’s convenient. I am using it daily when I feel pain at practice.

Q: Are there ways to refresh your mentality aspect?

R: When I become tired I feel irritated, in that condition challenging and practicing end up losing their meaning so I find things to turn into positive feelings and face the practice. To switch over my feelings I listen to music many times. Before the performance I listen to the music I use for my programs. When I am doing stretching and warm up, during my movements I am relaxing by listening to songs that are not related to my program.

Last season, Kihira, who competed until the end in the first senior season, was rewarded with the 2018 JOC Newcomer Award, succeeding brilliantly in her senior debut. Starting this autumn she will challenge her 2nd senior year. In October she will compete in a 3-team competition, Japan Open, held at the Saitama Super Arena. In the GP Series she will compete in the 2nd competition, Skate Canada, and the 6th competition, NHK Trophy. Her new SP for this season is Breakfast in Baghdag, a song with a rithmical melody. She went to Shae-lynn Bourne who also managed (Seimei) the free skate program performed by Yuzuru hanyu (ANA) at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, where he acquired a gold medal. For the FP she went to Tom Dickson for choreo. Song with mysterious melody (O Virtus Sapientae ). In competition, with hard level of jumps and subtle expressions, she will show an evolving program. Lastly, we asked about her resolution for the future.

Q: In 2019-2020 season, your 2nd senior season, you have stated about challenging quad jumps, but what about conditioning to adjust your presentation?

R: Now there are a lot of ice shows in the weekends where I perform my exhibition program, but Monday to Tuesday I am practicing my new FP program and quad training. Regarding jumps, I am including 3A in ice shows, the percentage of success is improving. I am also adding the quad jump in my training camp in America, and I’m also including it at ice show practices, so I have good confidence. It is still in early condition to include in competitions yet, but overall senses from jumps are better than last season. Both the SP and FP are programs with more difficult presentation than last season, but if I can do the jumps and the presentation properly in practice, I am sure I can improve. In order to get used to new programs, I am doing runthrough with song in practice as much as possible. I came to understand how to match the timing to catch my breath with the song interval, I felt that energy to skate the program thoroughly is improving. That is why, even in the off-season, like now, when I practice for ice shows for 45 minutes practice I put it on four times. And so on, assertively doing runthrough with song while practicing.

Q: Looks like you are doing adjustment very well, I am looking forward to it. Is it what it means by doing preparation from making good use of the experiments from last season?

R: Now I am able to work on various tasks, but if the season is approaching, I must go on while matching my condition with the competition, that is the difficult part. But I think surely I can use my experience from last season, I want to aim to perform the best program in any kind of situation by adjusting. Last season I had good results in early GP Series (winning NHK, IDF, and GPF). This season also, I want to get better points than last year by performing my program properly since the beginning. If I can do that, it will become the motivation to do my best until the end of the season and my confidence. By gaining self-confidence I want to rise to the podium at Worlds Championship in the end.

Q: In the world of ladies figure skating in Japan, Shizuka Arakawa shone brightly in Torino Winter Olympics achieving the gold medal, and various athletes appearing one after another in some numbers. Kihira-senshu, what kind of skater do you aim to be?

R: I want to be a skater who is able to show my best real ability in the biggest competition with a tense atmosphere. Also, not only jumps, but spins, steps and presentation, I want to be a skater who can do all of it.

Q: Lastly, please tell us your goal for the future

R: Winning Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics is a dream I have been thinking on from long time ago. To speak of there are some athletes who (are aiming for the 1st place and managed to rise to the podium), if I set my goal less than achieving the 3rd place medal I might end up with 5th or 6th place, so I have the goal to be the winner at the highest place. However if I end up with injury, only that will turn it into a really difficult goal that cannot be realized. I want to fulfill my own dream.

#rika kihira #season: 2019-2020 #translation #interview #Interviews #translations

28 notes · View notes