Rika Kihira | |
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Kihira at the 2016–17 JGP Final
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Personal information | |
Native name | 紀平 梨花 |
Country represented | Japan |
Born |
Nishinomiya, Japan |
21 July 2002
Height | 1.49 m (4 ft 10 1⁄2 in) |
Coach | Mie Hamada, Yamato Tamura, H. Okamoto, C. Reed |
Choreographer | Jeffrey Buttle, Tom Dickson |
Skating club | Kansai University Kaisers FSC |
Training locations | Takatsuki, Osaka |
Began skating | 2007 |
ISU personal best scores | |
Combined total | 194.24 2016 JGP Slovenia |
Short program | 66.78 2016 JGP Czech Skate |
Free skate | 128.31 2016 JGP Slovenia |
Rika Kihira (Japanese: 紀平 梨花; born July 21, 2002) is a Japanese figure skater. She is the 2016 JGP Slovenia champion. Kihira is one of seven ladies competitors to land the triple axel in an international competition.
Kihira was born on July 21, 2002 in Nishinomiya, Japan.
Kihira began learning to skate in 2007. In the 2015–16 season, she competed on the advanced novice level, winning gold at the Triglav Trophy.
Kihira made her Junior Grand Prix (JGP) debut in the 2016–17 season. In early September, she won the silver medal in Ostrava, Czech Republic, with a total score 0.08 less than Anastasiia Gubanova of Russia. Later that month, she outscored World junior champion Marin Honda by 15.49 points for the gold in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Kihira landed a triple Axel jump in the free skate. She has qualified to the 2016–17 JGP Final in Marseille, France.
She is coached by Mie Hamada and Yamato Tamura in Takatsuki, Osaka.
GP: Grand Prix; CS: Challenger Series; JGP: Junior Grand Prix