Rika Hongo

Personal life

Rika Hongo was born on September 6, 1996 in Sendai, Japan. Her mother, Yuko, is a former figure skater. Her father is from the United Kingdom. In 2015, Hongo attended Chukyo University.

Career

Hongo began skating in 2001. She moved to Nagoya at age nine to train under coach Hiroshi Nagakubo. Shizuka Arakawa is her idol.

2012–13 season

Hongo debuted on the ISU Junior Grand Prix series in the 2012–13 season. She won a silver medal in Courchevel, France and placed fifth in Croatia. Along with Satoko Miyahara, she was selected to represent Japan at the 2013 World Junior Championships in Milan, Italy. Hongo placed seventh in the short program, tenth in the free skate, and finished ninth overall.

2013–14 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, 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.

2014–15 season

Hongo began the 2014–15 season with gold at the Asian Open and then bronze at the 2014 Finlandia Trophy, an ISU Challenger Series event. Making her senior Grand Prix debut, she finished fifth at the 2014 Skate Canada International after placing fifth in the short program and free skate. At her second Grand Prix event, the 2014 Rostelecom Cup, Hongo won the gold medal ahead of Russia's Anna Pogorilaya by 4.57 points after placing second in the short program and winning the free skate, earning a total score of 178.00. Hongo was first alternate to the Grand Prix Final and was later called on to compete after qualifier Gracie Gold 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 Satoko Miyahara 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 and silver medalist Miyahara.

Hongo made her senior worlds debut at the 2015 World Championships in Shanghai, where she earned personal bests in all segments of the competition. Ranked fifth in the short program with a score of 62.17 and fifth in the free skate with a score of 122.41, she finished sixth overall with a total score of 184.58.

2015−16 season

Hongo began this season when she won both segments in a domestic competition called “Summer Cup” held in Shiga prefecture, Japan. Two months later, she followed up with two strong performances in the Challenger Series at 2015 CS Finlandia Trophy where she scored a personal best total score of 187.45 points and won the gold medal, outscoring Yulia Lipnitskaya by 15.12 points. Hongo then won silver at 2015 Cup of China, but placed fifth at 2015 Rostelecom Cup, and as a result, did not qualify for the Grand Prix Final. 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, behind Satoko Miyahara and Mirai Nagasu. She finished 8th at the 2016 World Championships in Boston.

2016−17 season

Hongo finished 4th at the 2016 CS Autumn Classic International and 6th at her first GP event of the season, 2016 Skate Canada International. At the 2016 Cup of China and the Japan Figure Skating Championships held in December 2016, she placed 5th.

She participated in the 2017 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships as an injury replacement for Satoko Miyahara and finished 10th.

Competitive highlights

GP: Grand Prix; CS: Challenger Series; JGP: Junior Grand Prix

Detailed results

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