Wakaba Higuchi: “In competition, it doesn’t matter how close you are outside the rink – it’s still frustrating to lose. But I realized I didn’t lose to Kaori, but rather, my own performance wasn’t good enough. Realizing that helped me move forward.”
Wakaba Higuchi, after a 22-year competitive career filled with triumphs and challenges, reflected on her journey, as she embarks on a new chapter.
original source: number.bunshun.jp dd. 18th May 2026 by Yoshie Noguchi
Wakaba Higuchi reflected on her journey, including her pursuit of the triple Axel and her experiences at the Beijing Olympics, in a retirement interview. Here’s a translation of her comments posted on Sports Graphic Number Web.
On December 21, 2025, in her last free skate at Nationals, Higuchi expressed her feelings through her steps on the ice. After her performance, she lay spread out on the rink. “I gave everything I had. That was a performance I couldn’t have done any better,” she murmured to herself.
She began skating at age three.
“My mother loved watching skating and brought me to classes at the Jingu Gaien Ice Skating Rink. At first, I just enjoyed crawling on the ice. In my first competition in kindergarten, I aimed for first place but finished fifth. I had never lost a race in kindergarten, so realizing there were people better than me made me determined to win.”
At age eleven, she made her international debut and won. Throughout her novice and junior years, she competed internationally alongside her peer Kaori Sakamoto, battling top Russian skaters like Evgenia Medvedeva.
“I knew there were amazing skaters in Russia, but I still had to win. As a junior, I went through an incredible amount of training. Coach Koji Okajima told me, ‘You can’t stop practicing until you’ve done a perfect routine,’ and since I was just a kid, I was desperate because I knew I’d get in trouble if I didn’t do a perfect routine.”
Her relationship with her coach changed around 2016, when she won her second consecutive World Junior bronze medal.
“Before that, when my coach told me not to make mistakes, I didn’t know what to fix and couldn’t even ask questions. But things changed, and when I asked about what I didn’t understand, I got specific advice like, ‘Don’t let your right shoulder drop.’ I started to realize the importance of communicating with my coach.”
In her second senior year, she entered the PyeongChang Olympic season. She made the podium at consecutive Grand Prix events and qualified for the Grand Prix Final. However, at the Japanese Nationals, which served as the final Olympic selection, she finished fourth. Meanwhile, Sakamoto, in her first senior year, seized an Olympic spot with remarkable momentum. After the team announcement, Higuchi left the venue in tears and silence.
“In competition, it doesn’t matter how close you are outside the rink – it’s still frustrating. I wondered, ‘Why did I lose?’ But thinking it over, it was simply my own mistakes. I believed I had to deliver results at every competition to make the Olympics, so I pushed myself to 120% every time, and by the last Nationals, my condition dropped. I couldn’t plan for the whole season, and at the crucial Nationals, my mindset was weak. I didn’t lose to Kaori, but rather, my own performance wasn’t good enough. Realizing that helped me move forward.”
She realized the importance of planning and created a four-year plan for the Beijing Olympics, focusing on the triple axel.
“The triple axel is a very difficult skill, something everyone admires. But when you actually try to include it, it’s hard to plan both practice and competitions. To succeed at the Beijing Olympics, I decided to include it in competitions the season before, not worrying about results, but to gain experience.”
In the season before the Olympics, she sometimes failed the triple axel and lost points, but she persevered.
“For me, it was a necessary skill to win in competition. I was determined to land it at the Olympics, and if I couldn’t go to Beijing, I was prepared to quit skating.”
With that resolve, she finished second at Nationals in the Olympic season and earned a spot on the team, participating from the team event at the Games.
“The Olympics was a place I had never experienced before. I was nervous for a long time, unable to feel grounded, and couldn’t jump as usual in practice. I felt overwhelmed by the atmosphere.”
During the Olympics, Sakamoto was her emotional support. Sakamoto brought DVDs of a school drama starring Higuchi’s favorite actor, and they watched together in the athletes’ village to relax.
“Kaori also gave me advice on jumps. The Japan Skating Federation staff told me, ‘Say “I can jump” 200 times every day.’ I wasn’t sure if it would work, but I said ‘I can jump’ 200 times every night before bed.”
In the team event, she contributed to Japan’s medal. In the individual event, she successfully landed the triple axel in both the short and free programs, becoming only the fifth female skater in Olympic history to do so.
“I still remember, right before my performance, waiting backstage with my heart pounding, feeling like it was about to burst out. Until the moment I struck my opening pose, I kept thinking, ‘What should I do? I want to go home,’” she laughed.
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