“I never thought I’d receive such high scores. Since last year, I’ve reduced the number of triple-triple combinations and lowered the difficulty, so I thought it was impossible to get such high scores.” Rino Matsuike on winning silver at Skate Canada 2024
Rino Matsuike on winning silver at Skate Canada 2024.
original source: Nikkansports / Nikkansports / Nikkansports dd. 27th October 2024 by Daisuke Fujizuka
Rino Matsuike (20) who was 10th in the short program, made a remarkable comeback in the free and won silver at Skate Canada Grand Prix 2024. Here’s a translation of her comments posted on Nikkansports.
“I still don’t understand why that happened. ‘Why did it happen…’ is how I’m feeling right now,” she told after the unsuccessful short program.
She scored 139.85 in the free and a total of 192.16 points, significantly improving her ranking from the SP to win the silver medal. After her routine, she forcefully pumped her left fist, expressing her joy. “It was just a feeling of ‘I did it’. Clearing the lingering frustrations was incredibly gratifying,” she said
“Yesterday, my performance was embarrassingly poor, and since I didn’t really understand the reasons behind it, I approached today not knowing how to improve. I was very nervous… not just nervous, but it felt like if anyone said even a single word to me, I would burst into tears. I looked at all the messages from friends and my mother thinking, ‘It’s all over…’ and I just started crying immediately. I wasn’t sure if I could concentrate, but I had practiced the free skate so much that I decided not to think about anything and just kept telling myself, ‘As practiced, as practiced.’ I think that approach paid off in the results, so I’m happy about that today,” Rino Matsuke told reflecting on her performance.
As the scores were displayed, she exclaimed, “Wow. “I never thought I would receive such high scores,” she commented. “Since last year, I’ve reduced the number of triple-triple combinations and lowered the difficulty, so I thought it was impossible to get such high scores. I was very happy when I saw the scores, and I think I managed to avoid many under-rotation calls and such. I’m very pleased that my practice paid off.”
“Did you check your medal this morning?” the interviewer asked her jokingly. “Yes, I checked. It’s there (laughs). I also had the stuffed animals that were thrown to me yesterday lined up in front of the TV, so I thought, ‘Yes, they’re there’ (laughs).”
“My phone was buzzing non-stop with messages from various people. I think they were watching the short program too, but everyone realized ‘she’s not in a state to be contacted.’ I don’t think there were many messages then. (After the Free Program), all at once messages came flooding in congratulating me, also covering for the short program. The notifications kept coming non-stop and it was overwhelming to respond, but I was happy thinking so many people watched and supported me. That’s when it really hit me,” she told about support from the fans and close ones.
She also shared that her mom “watched the video and was crying. Coach cried during my performance, and seeing that made her sob as well.”
When asked about standing ovations she got and how did it look, she replied “I could hear cheers and applause while I was spinning, and it gave me a sense of accomplishment. When I bowed at the end, the cheers were really loud. It’s not often you get to see such a view, so I thought I definitely have to etch this memory in my mind.”
Related topics: grand prix, Rino Matsuike, Skate Canada
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