Miraculous! from a Serious Injury to Her First Gp Series Win! Women’s Figure Skater Rinka Watanabe’s Cinderella Story
This prompted him to challenge the triple axel, which had been synonymous with Midori Ito, silver medalist at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, and Mao Asada, three-time world queen, and jumped it competitively with Ami Nakai (TOKIO Inkarami), a 15-year-old fellow competitor who Watanabe says is “like a younger sister to her. This was the catalyst for Watanabe to continue to challenge herself in competitions, even when her success rate was low, and to show that she was capable of big tricks.
Last season, she took her time in preparing her body and mind for the challenge. The real showcase of her skills came at the GP series in Skate Canada. She was 6th in SP due to Shinba Higuchi’s (Noevir) right leg injury, but she landed all seven jumps safely, including a triple axel at the beginning of the free skate, which was based on the popular TV drama “JIN”. When the music stopped, she closed her eyes and clenched both fists with a look of deep emotion on her face. She was so excited to reach the top of the podium in Canada, the place where she had spent her memorable years, that she said, “Something miraculous is happening,” which was very impressive.
The 20-year-old, who is considered an extremely late bloomer in the figure world, continued her breakthrough, placing 4th in the December Final, in which only the top 6 in the GP series are allowed to compete. However, his performance, which far exceeded his own expectations, was, according to him, “I was choking myself.
At the All-Japan Championships in December, where she was the center of attention, she was crushed by the pressure and finished in 12th place, and at the World Championships, where she competed for the first time, she finished in 10th place. Her performances in these two competitions must have been far from what she was supposed to be. Still, she is a strong skater who has gone through a lot of hardships,” said coach Nakaniwa.
When Coach Nakaniwa saw Watanabe skating in the free skate at the World Championships, she cried, thinking back on her journey so far. Seeing her tears, Coach Nakaniwa said, “She won’t last (in the future) if she cries over something like this. I will be back here next year,” Watanabe declared emphatically.
She intends to double her triple axel to two in FS, in order to make even bigger flowers bloom in the new season, but Watanabe herself has a belief that “figure skating is not decided by jumps alone. Her ideal image is “to put together a work of art, no matter where the paint drips. She says emphatically that she wants to create a program that condenses all her spins, steps, skating, and expressive power.
I think all my experiences have made me who I am today, and I wouldn’t be who I am today if any piece was missing. I am truly grateful to all the people who have been involved in this way. I want to go even higher, and I will do my best to give back even more.”
I am looking forward to the slide that only a late-blooming, hard-working person can draw.
