Wakaba Higuchi: “I feel the ambition to win Nationals, although it still feels far off at this point. It’s a goal I’ve never achieved before, so I’m determined to strive for my first victory at the age of 23.”
Wakaba Higuchi on winning Skate America and goals for the season.
original source: Nikkansports /Nikkansports dd. 21st October 2024 by Daisuke Fujizuka
Wakaba Higuchi (23), who achieved her long-sought goal to win a GP event commented on her victory and goals for the season. Here’s a translation of her comments posted on Nikkansports.
“I am very happy about the result, but the performance itself left something to be desired. I didn’t manage to land the triple-triple combination, and didn’t skate as well as I do in practice, so I’d like to set the result aside for now,” she reflected. “There are areas that need improvement both in the short and the free program, the fact that I only received up to plus fours (in GOE) shows there are still many areas that can be improved overall. Whether it’s the choreo sequence or the spins, I’d like to receive more pluses, so I plan on practicing to increase rotations or spin faster, working towards gaining those extra points.”
“I wasn’t aiming for a win at all; rather my big goal was to make it into the top three. I wasn’t aiming higher than that at all; it feels quite unexpected,” she said answering whether she was aiming for a specific result at Skate America.
Wakaba also shared that she got a lot of congratulation messages from the fans and skaters. “I received quite a lot congratulatory messages, around 160. About the same as when the Olympics were decided.” When asked whether Kaori Sakamoto did congratulate her, she responded, “Ms. Sakamoto kind of hinted about it, you know, in that one-liner section on Instagram. I wish she’d just say it outright (laughs).”
However, having won the first GP, she told that she don want to focus on it too much, saying, “I want to put the results aside for now.” Focusing on the upcoming Nationals in December as “the most important competition,” she also expressed her desire to win, “I feel the ambition to win, although it still feels far off at this point. It’s a goal I’ve never achieved before, so I’m determined to strive for my first victory at the age of 23.”
Related topics: grand prix, Skate America, Wakaba Higuchi
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