2022-23 Japan National Championships - Pairs' SP

[yuumagical]

And they go into first place with a personal best! Yayyy!!! (Though there's no way they could go into any other place...)

 

[zanadude]

Missing Nationals for any reason normally disqualifies a person or team for selection for Worlds. But fortunately for Kihara/Miura, an exceptional can be made for those that have made the podium in a previous Worlds competition.

 

[zanadude]

Yeah, unfortunately Haruna is too young, she's 14...
And next season Haruna & Sumitada won't be able to compete either in junior or senior pairs due to their age difference I hope they stay motivated until they can compete again, otherwise I hope they can find a good alternative partners.

It baffles me how there's almost no one in the pairs pipeline in Japan, after all the success that RikuRyu had

They'll still be eligible to try and defend their national title.

 

[lileychristie]

They'll still be eligible to try and defend their national title.

Yes that's true, I was referring to international competitions in my previous post.

Hopefully domestic competitions will be enough to keep them motivated next season!

 

[zanadude]

And they go into first place with a personal best! Yayyy!!! (Though there's no way they could go into any other place...)

The graphic said "season's best". Do you know for sure that it was also a PB?

Oh, I guess the coach said it was a PB in the K&C.

 

[CoyoteChris]

Yeah, unfortunately Haruna is too young, she's 14...
And next season Haruna & Sumitada won't be able to compete either in junior or senior pairs due to their age difference I hope they stay motivated until they can compete again, otherwise I hope they can find a good alternative partners.

It baffles me how there's almost no one in the pairs pipeline in Japan, after all the success that RikuRyu had

Interesting point. So how long is a pipeline and are there skaters in it in Japan.....? Watching novice pairs in the US, I am amazed anyone does pairs....seen too many wrecks....and we all can name them.....the famous ones...I was there when Jessica Dube was hit....and PaulE and I were in the front row at ...what? Portland or Everett? when Sui fell on a throw in practice and fell hard into the boards at our feet. She was very shaken and crying and Han gently picked her up and comforted her.....Top pairs are beautiful to watch but there is the danger component....

 

[dorispulaski]

Yes I was there at Hershey when Marinin dropped Totmianina on her head on the ice. She was knocked out. Terrifying.

 

[CoyoteChris]

Yes I was there at Hershey when Marinin dropped Totmianina on her head on the ice. She was knocked out. Terrifying.

I am trying to remember the Chinese Lady Pairs skater who took a bad fall and still rose to win Silver at the olys....it will come to me....
"The most memorable moment of Zhang Dan's career could be considered a perfect embodiment of the Olympic spirit.

Partnering with Zhang Hao at the 2006 Turin Games, Zhang Dan injured herself in a fall as the pair narrowly failed to execute a quadruple salchow, a jump which had never before been landed in competition.

Rather than quitting, however, Zhang Dan skated through the pain to finish the program and win silver to huge acclaim from fans and media.

"The moment I fell down I just felt my whole world collapsed," Zhang Dan recalled to China Daily. "We were good enough to win gold at that Olympics, and we wanted the gold so much. At that moment, I knew the mistake would cost me the gold, and I thought would cost us any medal.

"I hit the ice hard but initially I wasn't sure how bad the injury was. Zhang Hao helped me back on my feet and accompanied me off the ice. But instead of worrying too much about the injury, I was thinking this was now or never. I told myself to just give everything I had left to finish the competition.

"Despite losing the gold, I should not just quit. After all, it was the Olympic Games, and my partner and I had put in years of hard work for it. If I simply walked away from it, it would be a blip on my career forever. So I tried my best to the end and then I could leave with no regrets."

Courageous Chinese pair's fall had a silver lining

The crowd watched her slowly regain her footing, then limp on her skates, occasionally...

www.sfgate.com

 

[CoyoteChris]

Congrats on the new SB and thanks to all the Japanese skating fans that came out to watch them....internet moving at dial up speed but after three times, I could watch them....

 

[tsuyoboogie]

Link to video of HaruSumi's SP
(video quality can be increased up to 720p by clicking on the settings wheel)

	Score	Program Music	Choreographer
Haruna Murakami / Sumitada Moriguchi (Junior Champions)	54.21	Le Corsaire	Cathy Reed

 

[zanadude]

Oh no...
I don't think this will have a major impact on nominations etc

It actually may, as the official 4CC selection criteria for pairs provides no exceptions whatsoever for missing Nationals. Participation is mandatory, full stop.

 

[CoyoteChris]

It actually may, as the official 4CC selection criteria for pairs provides no exceptions whatsoever for missing Nationals. Participation is mandatory, full stop.

Sad, I was hoping there was a chance that even though they would go to worlds, they might still do 4CCs and I could see them there. In the US, there would be lawyers arguing over "intent", and Acts of God, Airline barbarity, kidnapping, etc....

 

[yesterday]

It actually may, as the official 4CC selection criteria for pairs provides no exceptions whatsoever for missing Nationals. Participation is mandatory, full stop.

That's the weird thing, that they change it in other disciplines though.
With other federations I would just assume they forgot to change this one as well as it's not a strong discipline domestically. Hm. We'll see.

 

[figureskatingandrainbows]

It actually may, as the official 4CC selection criteria for pairs provides no exceptions whatsoever for missing Nationals. Participation is mandatory, full stop.

there are extenuating circumstances tho? RikuRyu spent 50 hours in the airport and then didn't have their luggage. What did the fed what them to do, skate on brand-new skates in practice uniforms while they're undertrained and Riku just recovered from injury? Plus it seems like Knierim/Frazier are skipping 4CC for Art on Ice, so sending them would be a good way for M/K to build momentum into Worlds. Yes, they don't meet the criteria, but there are no other age-eligible pairs.

 

[zanadude]

there are extenuating circumstances tho?

I mean, what part of "no exceptions" is unclear?

 

[CoyoteChris]

I mean, what part of "no exceptions" is unclear?

Well, THIS part
4CC Championships
Women - Rinka Watanabe, Hana Yoshida, Mone Chiba
(Sub, in the order of - Mana Kawabe, Rion Sumiyoshi, Rika Kihira)
Men - Koshiro Shimada, Shun Sato, Kao Miura
(Sub, in the order of - Kazuki Tomono, Sota Yamamoto, Tatsuya Tsuboi)
Pair - Riku Miura & Ryuichi Kihara
Dance - Kana Muramoto & Daisuke Takahashi, Misato KOMATSUBARA & Takeru Komatsubara

 

[zanadude]

Well, THIS part
4CC Championships
Women - Rinka Watanabe, Hana Yoshida, Mone Chiba
(Sub, in the order of - Mana Kawabe, Rion Sumiyoshi, Rika Kihira)
Men - Koshiro Shimada, Shun Sato, Kao Miura
(Sub, in the order of - Kazuki Tomono, Sota Yamamoto, Tatsuya Tsuboi)
Pair - Riku Miura & Ryuichi Kihara
Dance - Kana Muramoto & Daisuke Takahashi, Misato KOMATSUBARA & Takeru Komatsubara

Yes, we had some new circumstances this year and a lack of clarity on how the rules may apply to them.

Now we know that they will in fact choose people for spots that don't qualify for them by their rules, but only after exhausting the pool of people that do qualify, as was the case for 4CC pairs.