Exclusive Birthday Confession, Rika Kihira talked about Mao Asada and the hope of an 18 year old.
Q: How does “18 year old” sound to you?
R: Somehow it’s like being closer to an adult…until 17 years old there was a sense of (being) a kid, but after becoming 18 years old I want to be careful of details on speech. I am surprised that it has become such year already. And then at this age I could get a driving license. I don’t intend to get one yet, but if I have the time I would like to get it (the driving license) *laughs*. I also intend to go voting each time and I properly learned about it.
Q: The world is in the middle of a difficult situation. How is your condition?
R: It is really an unexpected situation. But adjusting better to the circumstances of Coronavirus, now I am training at the rink, doing gym muscle exercises, I am able to train so my conditions don’t change, I am not deeply shaken. I am spending my days by thinking, “What should I do so I can be better at skating while being careful to not be infected by Coronavirus”.
Q: Your goal, Worlds in March was cancelled. Do you feel exasperated or frustrated?
R: No, I thought that Coronavirus would definitely spread more if Worlds were to be forcibly held in that situation. More than feeling frustrated that I couldn’t skate, the feeling of not wanting to go through that was stronger. In the end, I looked at it objectively. At the point in time when Coronavirus started spreading I stopped thinking only about myself.
Q: Kihira-san always values “Peace”
R: That is right. Everytime I visit temples, the first thing I would do is to pray that “I want the world to be peaceful”. We learn at school about the wars happening in the world, knowing that even now there are a lot of people still suffering in this condition, just as I thought the most important thing is “world peace”. I feel it strongly especially at this time.
Q: That token of peace, holding the Olympics, is in a predicament
R: I think athletes that set the goal on Tokyo Olympics are in a tough situation. Since they were small, aiming for medals, thinking of cherishing their dream….the ideal would be to properly develop a vaccine, entirely putting out the Coronavirus and hoping that (the Tokyo Olympics) can be held next year. For me too the Olympics are special. Different than Worlds, it is an important competition held only once every 4 years.
Q: When was the 1st time you paid attention to Olympics?
R: At the time I watched Mao Asada-san participating in the Olympics. Even though I’m skating myself, from back then I don’t really watch competitions on TV, but Mao Asada-san was special. I would always watch the last group where Mao-san skated, and I also went to the competition. I was really moved at the moment (Mao Asada) did the pose after the Free program at the Sochi Olympics, in 2014. I paid attention to the Olympics at that time.
Q: What is the thing Mao Asada possesses but Rika Kihira doesn’t?
R: First of all, the mentality. She showed such performance at the stage where everyone feels the pressure, and it was awesome how she answered people’s expectations. At the Olympics you don’t know what will happen, the placement dropped in the Short program but she recovered in the Free Program with a perfect performance. Unrelated to the medals, I respect that mental strength. And then during that time Mao Asada alone kept challenging the 3A and fought. I was really fixated on her performance ability and the steps. I want to reach that place too.
Q: Your thoughts about the 2022 Beijing Olympics
R: I want to add up more experiences, so now I don’t want it to come around yet. Whether it is really nervous or exciting, I have not totally understood it yet, but I understand that it won’t be an easy thing. I also think of continuing after Beijing, but maybe there is only once chance of being the no.1. It is an era where it becomes increasingly tough as one gets older, so I think the match would be Beijing Olympics. Next year I pray for the Tokyo Olympics event to be held, assimilating and properly learning the process, with the condition of getting the knowledge of the Olympics, I am going to do my best to get to be in the 1st place at the most important competition of my skating life.
**(Thinking about continuing to College) In the 20-21 figure skating season, due to the Coronavirus Pandemic, it is not certain how things will turn out. Rika was planning to request choreography from Mao Asada’s choreographer, Lori Nichol, but due to country entry restriction the subject hasn’t progressed. In this condition Rika is also unable to meet directly (face to face) with newly added Canadian coach, Brian Orser. There are planned changes to the program and song, but it will depend on the Coronavirus situation. Rika restarted training on the ice at the end of May after the emergency declaration was lifted. Current training bases in Japan are Okinawa and Kansai. She planned to add two type of quads, Toeloop and Salchow for the Beijing Olympics.
When asked about advancing to college next year, currently on 3rd year of N High, Rika answered that she hasn’t narrowed it down yet, but she is thinking of advancing to college. Number 1 priority is skating so she wants to choose a school that doesn’t interfere with her participation in the sport.
И лучше без хлеба 
