Japan’s Kihira upsets Zagitova to win ISU Grand Prix gold

LOS ANGELES: Japan’s rising star Rika Kihira won the battle of the 16-year olds, upsetting reigning Olympic champ Alina Zagitova to claim ladies’ gold at the ISU Grand Prix Figure Skating Final on Saturday.

Skating her free programme ‘ Beautiful Storm’ by Jennifer Thomas, Kihira missed her first triple Axel but skated clean the rest of the way, including nailing her triple Lutz-toeloop.

“I made a mistake early but got to go out there and finish. I am really happy to perform that way on this stage,” said Kihira.

Kihira, who also won the short programme, finished with a personal best total score of 233.12 points to beat runner-up Zagitova by more than six points.

European champion Zagitova, skating to “Carmen” in her free programme, earned a total of 226.53 points while her Russian compatriot Elizaveta Tuktamysheva grabbed the third spot on the podium with 215.32 points.

The women’s competition was a Japan-Russia affair as Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto placed fourth, Russia’s Sofia Samodurova finished fifth and Japan’s Satoko Miyahara was sixth.

Kihira earned $ 25,000 for finishing first while Zagitova collected $ 18,000.

Kihira’s victory continued a breakthrough season in 2018. She won two prior grand prix events -- the Internationaux de France in Grenoble and the NHK Trophy in Hiroshima where she posted her previous best score of 224.31.

She is the first women to land a triple Axel- triple toeloop in competition when she did it at the junior grand prix finals last year.

Zagitova started the 2018 season several centimetres taller after going through a growth spurt over the summer.

But she adapted almost immediately to the added height, winning grand prix series events in Helsinki and Moscow.

Zagitova burst onto the scene last year winning gold at the European Championships. She says she is feeling the pressure more this season.

“The first season is easier than the second one. Because you go out the first time there are no expectations and you can just skate,” she said. — AFP

Ladies free program gold medalist Japan’s Rika Kihira (centre), silver medalist Russia’s Alina Zagitova (left) and bronze medalist Russia’s Elizaveta Tuktamysheva pose with their medals at the ISU Grand Prix 0f Figure Skating Final 2018-19 in Vancouver, B.C., at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre. — AFP photo