- Joined
- Aug 4, 2018
i feel that rika should stop doing rippons on her 3Lo.
Rika Kihira
- Thread starter Marin
- Start date
- Joined
- Mar 22, 2018
Why?
Because it looks like it often makes her go off axis.
Not sure if the lack of Rippon would help the situation but pretty sure that is what the other skater was refering to.
- Joined
- Mar 22, 2018
I see, it seems to me that she goes off axis in the 3loop regardless of the rippon, interestingly I don't think she's ever fell on that jump regardless of that.It's weird since she has such good technique in all of her other jumps.
.I'm glad to say that she didn't go off axis this time. That was a marvellous skate! 45.96 TES + 35.39 PCS = 81.35. She has a 7 point buffer ahead of Sasha and a 3 point lead over Young in the free, and I must say, if she skates cleanly, she has every chance to win this, even without the 3Lz. Bring on the free skate!
Bravo, girl. The skate was not perfect - still some really awkward moments when she kind of just jerks out of a position and moves on 
but she performed and did terrific. Now I really don't know if she can beat a clean Trusova sans quad or lutzes, but she certainly has the best shot of all the non-Hanyu skaters here (
)... And considering she would almost always start on an enormous score deficit last season, her consistently nailing her wonderful and wacky SP makes me so proud 
Good luck in the free skate, our fierce lotus!
but she performed and did terrific. Now I really don't know if she can beat a clean Trusova sans quad or lutzes, but she certainly has the best shot of all the non-Hanyu skaters here ()... And considering she would almost always start on an enormous score deficit last season, her consistently nailing her wonderful and wacky SP makes me so proud Good luck in the free skate, our fierce lotus!
- Joined
- Mar 5, 2014
Stunning and Fabulous SP! Fantastic triple axel and 3 more lovely triples especially the tano triple loop with the transitioning single loop tanos on entry. She also had sharp and smooth edges and excellent speed with intricate transitions and intriguing offbeat movements and more genuine dancing than I have ever seen her do that fit the mood and rhythm of the unusual music wonderfully. I wish Rika the best in the freeskate. Please do your best to take care of your ankle.
Bravo, girl. The skate was not perfect - still some really awkward moments when she kind of just jerks out of a position and moves on �� but she performed and did terrific. Now I really don't know if she can beat a clean Trusova sans quad or lutzes, but she certainly has the best shot of all the non-Hanyu skaters here (
Copied from another thread, here's some number crunching:
Sasha scored 163.89 at Ondrej Nepala. If she successfully skates to that level, and the apparently strict panel doesn't ding her for anything, Rika will need about 156 to win. Rika's personal best of 154.72 in the free at NHK last season, where she landed everything, came with a TES of about 87 and a PCS of about 67. Given she scored 35/40 in PCS, and given that the music to her free this season is much easier to skate to than her short, it is reasonable to assume Rika has a healthy chance of scoring 72/80 thereabouts in PCS. Then, she's not going to get 87 in TES because she's replaced a 3Lz with a 2A (roughly a 3 point difference after taking into account GOEs), so a plausible score, if she skates completely cleanly, is 84 + 72 =156, which is the score I quoted as her needing to win.
Many things could change, of course. I've assumed that Sasha simply performs her 3 quad layout flawlessly like at ONT. If she lands her 4S cleanly, that's another (9.70 - 5.30) x 1.2 (rough estimate for GOE) = roughly 5.3 points, so assuming everyone skates cleanly and making assumptions about judging on other elements, Sasha has a 5-6 point buffer over Rika. And that's if her step sequence isn't called as level 2 again; if her step sequence is again called level 2, her predicted overall lead over Rika drops to about 3-4 points. Which means, as Rika is skating last, we will know by then whether she can win, and if so, what she needs to do to win. This will be fascinating to watch. I initially expected Sasha to have a field day against a Rika without a 3Lz.
I would say odds are even for either Rika or Sasha to take this.
All this, of course, shows that Rika + 3x3A + 4S will actually beat a 4 quad Sasha, assuming both are clean. I'm excited to see Rika attempt a 4S at a future competition. GPF hopefully.
- Joined
- Oct 13, 2019
Trusova was not perfect at Ondrej Nepala. She botched her (usually reliable) 3Lz+3Lo and lost around 6-7 points on it. Her PCS will also surely rise as the season progresses.
A clean Trusova will take it tomorrow, but Kihira will have her chances if Trusova falters.
I wonder which will happen first: 4S from Kihira or 3A from Trusova.
We've seen Rika land a 4S without a harness. We've only seen Sasha land a 3A in a harness, so I'd bank on the former.
The panel has also been a bit stricter at Skate Canada. They've called URs that I feel would have slipped by at other competitions, so that adds more variability to the mix. Plus, the way they're judging step sequences is very curious.
- Joined
- Feb 13, 2018
Rika was marvelous! :luv17: her 3A just keeps getting better and better, I love the song and her interpretation of it, gosh she was so great
The 3a definitely gets better. I’m never the biggest fan of her choreography/music choices but there is no denying her jumps are amazing when she’s in good form! Congratulations to her on a great skate! [emoji178]
- Joined
- Mar 22, 2018
I just love this program including the music, what a powerful and amazing skate Rika! congratulations!!!, please do what you need tomorrow to be proud of yourself, whatever it happens you know you are an exellent skater, just think a gold is not impossible! 
I'm already proud of you queen! 
congratulations!!!, please do what you need tomorrow to be proud of yourself, whatever it happens you know you are an exellent skater, just think a gold is not impossible! I'm already proud of you queen! 
- Joined
- Jan 28, 2014
Wow!!! What a skate!!!
I hope that Rika skates like she wants to tomorrow <3
And I know we shouldn't post criticisms on other skaters here but I think that her PCS advantage should have been higher. Rika skates with so much flow and her movements are smooth, poised, precise, graceful and complex. She had speed and power in her skating that I think should have separated her more from the rest.
Nevertheless, I'm so happy she finally is confident in her SP unlike last year when it was hit or miss. You go, bb princess!! <3
I hope that Rika skates like she wants to tomorrow <3
And I know we shouldn't post criticisms on other skaters here but I think that her PCS advantage should have been higher. Rika skates with so much flow and her movements are smooth, poised, precise, graceful and complex. She had speed and power in her skating that I think should have separated her more from the rest.
Nevertheless, I'm so happy she finally is confident in her SP unlike last year when it was hit or miss. You go, bb princess!! <3
- Joined
- Dec 5, 2015
4S from Kihira because she was even landing it in shows this summer, if her ankle heals. If the ankle doesn't heal in the next few weeks, who knows what Trusova could pull off. Her 2A looks so much better.
About Rika:
1. Amazing performance. Rika improved her interpretation of the program exponentially in the month since ACI.
2. The 3A is amazing this year
3. Rika has become a good competitor. Prior to this year, Rika would be perfect in practice but imperfect in competition. But, she has developed competition nerves. Even when imperfect in practice, she can pull out a clean skate. What progress she has made over the last 3 years!
4. The PCS difference between Rika and her main competitor was not large enough given the actual difference in basic SS and performance quality. However, it is good that she got the highest PCS of the night because it was 100% deserved.
I don't think it matters if Rika wins or gets 2nd place. The important thing is that she proud of her performance and I think for a perfectionist like Rika that means being clean and close to perfect. So, I hope she is able to have the clean beautiful performance that she wants in her long program.
