Rika Hongo ( ja, 本郷理華; born September 6, 1996) is a Japanese retired competitive

figure skater Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are me ...

who is a two-time (2015–16)

Four Continents Europeans in the 16th century divided the world into four continents: Africa, America, Asia, and Europe. Each of the four continents was seen to represent its quadrant of the world—Africa in the south, America in the west, Asia in the east, a ...

bronze medalist,

2014 Rostelecom Cup The 2014 Rostelecom Cup was the fourth event of six in the 2014–15 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Luzhniki Small Sports Arena in Moscow on November 14–16. Meda ...

champion, 2015

Finlandia Trophy The Finlandia Trophy is a senior-level international figure skating competition. Since 1995, it is held annually in Finland in Greater Helsinki region, including Helsinki, Vantaa, and Espoo. It became part of the ISU Challenger Series in the 2014� ...

champion and 2014–15 Japanese national silver medalist.

Personal life

Rika Hongo was born on September 6, 1996, in

Sendai is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Miyagi Prefecture, the largest city in the Tōhoku region. , the city had a population of 1,091,407 in 525,828 households, and is one of Japan's 20 Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, desig ...

, Japan. Her mother, Yuko, is a former figure skater. Her father is from the United Kingdom. In 2015, Hongo attended

Chukyo University is a private university in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, with campuses in Nagoya and Toyota. The main building is located in Yagoto, Shōwa-ku, Nagoya. Notable faculty members * Naomi Miyake, cognitive scientist * Koji Murofushi, Olympic hammer t ...

Career

Early years

Hongo began skating in 2001. She moved to

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most pop ...

at age nine to train under coach Hiroshi Nagakubo.

Shizuka Arakawa is a retired Japanese figure skater. She is the 2006 Olympic champion and the 2004 World champion. Arakawa is the first Japanese skater to win an Olympic gold medal in figure skating and the second Japanese skater to win any Olympic medal in fi ...

was named as an influence in a 2006 report.

2012–2013 season

Hongo debuted on the

ISU Junior Grand Prix The ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating (titled the ISU Junior Series in the 1997–98 season) is a series of international junior-level competitions organized by the International Skating Union. Medals are awarded in the disciplines of men ...

series in the 2012–13 season. She won a silver medal in

Courchevel Courchevel () is a French Alps ski resort. It is a part of Les Trois Vallées, the largest linked ski areas in the world. Courchevel also refers to the towns of Courchevel 1300 (Le Praz), Courchevel 1550, Courchevel 1650 (Moriond), and Courc ...

, France and placed fifth in Croatia. Along with

Satoko Miyahara is a retired Japanese figure skater. She is the 2015 World silver medalist, the 2018 World bronze medalist, the 2016 Four Continents champion, a two-time Four Continents silver medalist (2014, 2015), a two-time Grand Prix Final silver medalist ...

, she was selected to represent Japan at the 2013 World Junior Championships in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

, Italy. Hongo placed seventh in the short program, tenth in the free skate, and finished ninth overall.

2013–2014 season

Hongo started the 2013–14 season with a fourth-place finish at JGP Mexico and then won a bronze medal at JGP Belarus. At the 2014 World Junior Championships in

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...

, Bulgaria, she placed eleventh in the short program, seventh in the free skate, and eighth overall. Making her senior international debut, Hongo won gold at the 2014 Triglav Trophy, her final event of the season.

2014–2015 season

Hongo began the 2014–15 season with gold at the Asian Open and then bronze at the

2014 Finlandia Trophy The 2014 Finlandia Trophy was a senior international figure skating competition in the 2014–15 season. A part of the 2014–15 ISU Challenger Series, the 19th edition of the annual event was held on October 9–12, 2014 at the Barona Arena in ...

, an

ISU Challenger Series The ISU Challenger Series is a series of international figure skating competitions. Established by the International Skating Union in the 2014–15 season, it is a group of senior-level events ranked below the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating. E ...

event. Making her senior Grand Prix debut, she finished fifth at the

2014 Skate Canada International The 2014 Skate Canada International was the second event of six in the 2014–15 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Prospera Place in Kelowna, British Columbia on Oct ...

after placing fifth in the short program and free skate. At her second Grand Prix event, the

, Hongo won the gold medal ahead of Russia's

Anna Pogorilaya Anna Alexeyevna Pogorilaya (russian: Анна Алексеевна Погорилая; born 10 April 1998) is a Russian figure skater. She is the 2016 World bronze medalist, a three-time European medalist (silver in 2017; bronze in 2015 and 20 ...

by 4.57 points after placing second in the short program and winning the free skate. Hongo was first alternate to the

Grand Prix Final The Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final (formerly Champions Series Final), often shortened to ''Grand Prix Final'' and abbreviated as ''GPF'', is a senior-level international figure skating competition. Medals are awarded in men's singles, ladies' ...

and was later called on to compete after qualifier

Gracie Gold Grace Elizabeth Gold (born August 17, 1995), known as Gracie Gold, is an American figure skater. She is a 2014 Olympic team event bronze medalist, the 2014 NHK Trophy champion, the 2015 Trophée Éric Bompard champion, and a two-time U.S. nati ...

withdrew with a foot injury. She finished sixth overall after placing fifth in the short and free programs. At the Japan Championships, Hongo won the short program and placed second in the free skate, winning the silver medal behind

and earning her first medal at Japanese Nationals. At the 2015 Four Continents, she placed third in the short and long programs, capturing the bronze medal behind gold medalist

Polina Edmunds Polina Edmunds (born May 18, 1998) is a retired American figure skater. She is the 2015 Four Continents champion, the 2014 CS U.S. Classic champion, and a two-time U.S. national silver medalist (2014, 2016). She represented the United States a ...

and silver medalist Miyahara. Hongo made her senior worlds debut at the 2015 World Championships in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

, where she earned personal bests in all segments of the competition. She finished sixth overall after placing fifth in both segments.

2015–2016 season

Hongo began her season by winning both segments in a domestic competition called the Summer Cup, held in Shiga prefecture, Japan. Two months later, she outscored

Yulia Lipnitskaya Yulia Vyacheslavovna Lipnitskaya (also spelled Julia Lipnitskaia; russian: Юлия Вячеславовна Липницкая, ; born 5 June 1998) is a Russian retired competitive figure skater. She was part of the Russian team to win the 20 ...

by 15.12 points to win gold at a Challenger Series event, the 2015 CS Finlandia Trophy, where she obtained a personal best total score of 187.45 points. Hongo then won silver at

2015 Cup of China The 2015 Cup of China was the third event of six in the 2015–16 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Capital Indoor Stadium in Beijing on November 6–8. Medals were ...

, but placed fifth at

2015 Rostelecom Cup The 2015 Rostelecom Cup was the fifth event of six in the 2015–16 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Luzhniki Small Sports Arena in Moscow on November 20–22. Medal ...

, and as a result, did not qualify for the

. She placed 4th at the Japan Championships. Ranked 4th in the short and 5th in the free, Hongo came away with the bronze medal at the 2016 Four Continents in

Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the n ...

, behind

and

Mirai Nagasu is an American figure skater. She is a 2018 Olympic Games team event bronze medalist, three-time Four Continents medalist (silver in 2016, bronze in 2011 and 2017), the 2007 JGP Final champion, a two-time World Junior medalist (silver in 2007 ...

. She finished 8th at the 2016 World Championships in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

2016–2017 season

Hongo finished 4th at the

2016 CS Autumn Classic International The 2016 CS Autumn Classic International was a figure skating competition held from September 28 – October 1, 2016 at the Sportsplexe Pierrefonds in Montreal, Quebec. It was part of the 2016–17 ISU Challenger Series. Medals were awarded in the ...

and 6th at her first GP event of the season,

2016 Skate Canada International The 2016 Skate Canada International was the second of six in the 2016–17 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Hershey Centre in Mississauga, Ontario on October 28� ...

. She placed 5th at both of her December competitions, the

2016 Cup of China The 2016 Audi Cup of China was the fifth event of six in the 2016–17 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Capital Gymnasium in Beijing on November 18–20. Medals were ...

and the

Japan Figure Skating Championships The Japan or All-Japan Figure Skating Championships ( ja, 全日本フィギュアスケート選手権) are a figure skating national championship held annually to determine the national champions of Japan. Skaters compete in the disciplines of ...

. Hongo replaced the injured

at the 2017 Four Continents Championships, finishing 10th.

2017–2018 season

Hongo began her season with a silver medal at the

2017 CS Ondrej Nepela Trophy The 2017 CS Ondrej Nepela Trophy was held in September 2017. It is an annual senior international figure skating competition held in Bratislava, Slovakia. It was part of the 2017–18 ISU Challenger Series. Medals will be awarded in the disciplin ...

2019–2020 season

Hongo decided to take a hiatus from skating, despite having had a new “Ghost in the Shell”-themed free skate choreographed for her by

Shae-Lynn Bourne Shae-Lynn Bourne (born January 24, 1976) is a Canadian ice dancer and choreographer. In 2003, she and partner Victor Kraatz became the first North American ice dancers to win a World Championship. They competed at three Winter Olympic Games, pl ...

in May 2019. It was unknown whether she would return to competitive skating.

2020–2021 season

Hongo competed at the Chubu Regionals, a qualifier for the 2020–21 Japan Championships and placed second behind

Mako Yamashita Mako Yamashita ( ja, 山下真瑚; born December 31, 2002) is a Japanese figure skater. She is the 2018 Skate Canada silver medalist and a two-time medalist at the ISU Challenger Series. On the junior level, she is the 2018 World Junior bron ...

and ahead of

Rin Nitaya Rin Nitaya ( ja, 新田谷凜, born August 8, 1997) is a Japanese figure skater. She is the 2017 Winter Universiade silver medalist, 2015 Gardena Spring Trophy champion, and 2016 Coupe du Printemps silver medalist. Personal life Rin Nitaya was ...

. She finished first in the free skate. She later placed eighteenth at the Japan Championships. Hongo announced her retirement from competitive skating on June 15, 2021.

Programs

Competitive highlights

''GP:

Grand Prix Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to: Arts and entertainment ...

; CS: Challenger Series; JGP:

Junior Grand Prix The ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating (titled the ISU Junior Series in the 1997–98 season) is a series of international junior-level competitions organized by the International Skating Union. Medals are awarded in the disciplines of men ...

Detailed results

Senior level

2014 Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final Rika Hongo IMG 2379

Small medals for short program and free skating awarded only at ISU Championships. At team events, medals awarded for team results only.

Junior level

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hongo, Rika 1996 births Japanese female single skaters Figure skaters at the 2017 Asian Winter Games Asian Games competitors for Japan Living people Sportspeople from Sendai Japanese people of British descent Four Continents Figure Skating Championships medalists Female sports medalists