Rika Hongo (; 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, with its introduction occurring at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic d ...

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 Cup of Russia, 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 Novembe ...

champion, 2015

Finlandia Trophy The Finlandia Trophy an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU), organized and hosted by Skating Finland (). The competition debuted in 1995 in Helsinki, and when the ISU launched the ISU Challenger ...

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 and the largest city in the Tōhoku region. , the city had a population of 1,098,335 in 539,698 households, making it the List of cities in Japan, twelfth most populated city in Japan. ...

, 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. Campus File:View of Chukyo University (1), Yamanote-tori Showa Ward Nagoya 2022.jpg, Nagoya C ...

Career

Early years

Hongo began skating in 2001. She moved to

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is the list of cities in Japan, fourth-most populous city in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020, and the principal city of the Chūkyō metropolitan area, which is the List of ...

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 f ...

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 figure skating competition, junior-level competitions organized by the International Skating Union. Medals are awarded ...

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

Courchevel Courchevel () is a French Alps ski resort located in the Tarentaise Valley. 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, Co ...

, 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 medali ...

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

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

, 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 is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

, 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 The Triglav Trophy is an international figure skating competition which is generally held in the spring in Jesenice, Slovenia. The competition takes its name from the nearby mountain Triglav, the highest peak in Slovenia. Medals may be awarded i ...

, 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 figure skating season, 2014–15 season, it is a group of senior-level events ranked below the ISU ...

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 O ...

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 (; born 10 April 1998) is a former Russian figure skater. She is the 2016 World Figure Skating Championships, 2016 World bronze medalist, a three-time European medalist (silver in 2017 European Figure Skating Champions ...

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 – originally known as the Champions Series Final – is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU). It is the culminating event of the Grand Prix Series. Meda ...

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 bronze medalist in the team event, a six-time Grand Prix medalist (2 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze), and a two-time U.S. nationa ...

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 Bast (born May 18, 1998) is a retired American figure skater. She is the 2015 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships, 2015 Four Continents champion, the 2014 CS U.S. International Figure Skating Classic, 2014 CS U.S. Classi ...

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

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

, 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; , ; born 5 June 1998) is a Russian retired competitive figure skater. She was part of the Russian team that won the Figure skating at the 2014 Winter Olympics – Team trophy, 2 ...

by 15.12 points to win gold at a Challenger Series event, the

2015 CS Finlandia Trophy The 2015 Finlandia Trophy was a senior international figure skating competition in the 2015–16 figure skating season, 2015–16 season. A part of the 2015–16 ISU Challenger Series, the 20th edition of the annual event was held on October 9– ...

, 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. Meda ...

, 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 , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

, behind

and

Mirai Nagasu is an American former competitive Figure skating, figure skater. She is a Figure skating at the 2018 Winter Olympics – Team event, 2018 Olympic Games team event bronze medalist, three-time Four Continents Figure Skating Championships, Four Co ...

. She finished 8th at the 2016 World Championships in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

2016–2017 season

Hongo finished 4th at the

2016 CS Autumn Classic International The 2016 CS Autumn Classic International was held from September 28 – October 1, 2016 at the Sportsplexe Pierrefonds in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was part of the 2016–17 ISU Challenger Series. Medals were awarded in men's singles, ladies' ...

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 Paramount Fine Foods Centre, Hershey Centre in Mississau ...

. She placed 5th at both of her December competitions, the 2016 Cup of China and the

Japan Figure Skating Championships The Japan Figure Skating Championships () are an annual figure skating competition organised by the Japan Skating Federation to crown the national champions of Japan. Medals are awarded in men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and i ...

. 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.

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 (; born December 31, 2002) is a Japanese figure skater. She is the 2018 Skate Canada International, 2018 Skate Canada silver medalist and a two-time medalist at the ISU Challenger Series. On the junior level, she is the 2018 World ...

and ahead of

Rin Nitaya Rin Nitaya (, 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 born in Nishinomiy ...

. 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.

Post-competitive career

In the spring of 2023, Hongo was cast to play Bon Clay in the summer show, One Piece on Ice.

Programs

Competitive highlights

''GP:

Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural ''Grands Prix'') most commonly refers to: * Grand Prix motor racing, a form of motorsport competition ** List of Formula One Grands Prix, an auto-racing championship *** Monaco Grand Prix, the most prestigious ...

; 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 Figure skaters from Sendai Japanese people of British descent Four Continents Figure Skating Championships medalists Female sports medalists 21st-century Japanese sportswomen