NHK Trophy 2018 - Ladies Final - Unexpected Talents

November 10, 2018

The winner: Rika Kihira

Japan's greatest stakes were in the ladies' competition, where they knew they had the power to even take all the steps of the podium. However, there were some pretty strong rivals to defeat in order to get there.

Australia's Kailani Craine was not one of said rivals. She fell on the 3Lutz, but otherwise held herself together despite looking exhausted and nervous. Loved the showgirl attitude which shone throughout the choreography and her presentation. Score: 96.01 -> 154.22.

Mae Berenice Meite had had a nightmare in the short programme, but picked herself up in the final. Her only mistake was a fall on a 2Loop. I'm not sure the music she chose fits her - she's a very powerful skater and the music just didn't seem to match her style. Score: 112.09 -> 162.58.

Courtney Hicks had reasons to be proud of herself. Her only mistakes were doubling out of a 3Salchow and 3Lutz, but she kept the distraught facial expression on her face throughout the programme, to match the story of The Nutcracker. Super presentation. Score: 118.97 -> 178.07.

Courtney Hicks from the USA

By the end of the step sequence, Mariah Bell was glowing, knowing she was about to finish an outstanding performance. Her spins were super fast despite rather difficult position changes and her jumps were flawless. The music was The Piano and Experience. Score: 135.99 -> 198.96.

Things were quite different for Maria Sotskova, who doubled out of the first 3Flip and fell on the second 3Flip. She skated to a great version of George Gershwin's Summertime and wore a gorgeous black costume, both of which helped her presentation. Score: 116.24 -> 176.99.

Angela Wang displayed good acting during her transitions, but she stepped out of the 3Loop, put a hand down on the 3Toeloop and fell on the 3Flip. Her song was Send in the Clowns by Barbra Streisand. Score: 98.54 -> 159.36.

Eunsoo Lim has a lot of potential to become the next Yuma Kim, but she's not there yet. She fell on the 3Salchow, but that wasn't the worst part of the performance. The worst part was the presentation; there was no cheekiness whatsoever to interpret Chicago which could well be because this is not the right story to tell for a 15 year old. Score: 126.53 -> 196.31.

Eunsoo Lim, the next big South Korean star

Rika Kihira is definitely one of the reasons I said Japan had high chances at overtaking the podium. She jumped not only one 3Axel, but a second 3Axel in combination with a 3Toeloop. Her costume was the literal interpretation of her song, Beautiful Storm, with lightning bolts shining against a navy blue background. Score: 154.72 -> 224.31.

Alena Leonova is worthy of admiration for continuing to skate despite everything she's gone through all these years. She's definitely a one of a kind skater I've often missed. Her only mistake was putting a hand down on the 3Salchow. She chose an extraordinary story: The Legend of Zorro. Score: 125.93 -> 194.15.

The crowd started getting excited for Mai Mihara from the start of her step sequence, and burst into roars at the end of it. She made no mistakes, technical or otherwise, while she performed to the soundtrack of The Mission. Score: 133.82 -> 204.20.

Elizaveta Tuktamysheva overturned the 3Axel, but didn't waver at all otherwise. With a sophisticated choreography and an amazing relationship with the crowd, this was a fabulous performance of You Don't Love Me and Petite Fleur. Score: 142.85 -> 219.02.

The winner was decided before Satoko Miyahara skated, but that didn't stop her from giving it her best. Invierno Poterno is a song that fit her like a glove, proving how strong she is despite her tiny figure. Score: 143.39 -> 219.47.

In the end, Japan didn't win all three medals, but they undoubtedly won the day and the spotlight. Rika Kihara made history in Hiroshima, while Satoko Miyahara took the silver medal. Elizaveta Tuktamysheva came third by no real fault of her own.

Quote of the competition: