
Interact |
Rika Hongo (born September 6, 1996) is
the 2014 Rostelecom Cup champion, 2014 Asian Trophy champion, 2014–15
Japanese national silver medalist, and 2013–14 Japan Junior champion.
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 Figure Skating Championships in Milan, Italy. Hongo placed seventh in
the short program, tenth in the free skate, and finished ninth overall.
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, she won gold at the 2014 Triglav Trophy, her final
event of the season.
Hongo began the 2014–15 season with gold at the Asian Open and then took
bronze at an ISU Challenger Series event, the 2014 Finlandia Trophy. Making
her Grand Prix debut, she finished fifth at the 2014 Skate Canada
International. At her second Grand Prix event, the 2014 Rostelecom Cup, she
won the gold medal ahead of Russia's Anna Pogorilaya by 4.57 points. Due
to her results, Hongo was named first alternate to the Grand Prix Final and
was later called on to compete after qualifier Gracie Gold withdrew with a
foot injury. She placed fifth in the short program, ahead of Ashley Wagner.