Rikako Fukase Explained

Rikako Fukase (ja|深瀬 理香子; born August 12, 1997) is a Japanese figure skater. She formerly represented Japan in ice dancing, skating with Aru Tateno and Eichu Cho (Oliver Zhang) at a total of four ISU Championships. With Cho, she is the 2020 NHK Trophy silver medalist and a two-time Japanese national medalist.

Fukase has also competed in synchronized skating. In the 2022–23 season, she skated for Canada as a member of Les Suprêmes, winning gold at the 2023 ISU World Synchronized Skating Championships.

Career

Partnership with Tateno

In 2014, Fukase began competing in partnership with Aru Tateno, representing Japan in ice dancing. In their first season together, they competed domestically but made no international appearances. Their international debut came in September 2015, at the ISU Junior Grand Prix in Austria. They placed 19th at the 2016 World Junior Championships in Debrecen, Hungary. The following season, they finished 13th at the 2017 World Junior Championships in Taipei, Taiwan.

Fukase/Tateno moved up to seniors for their fourth season together. They took bronze at the 2017–18 Japan Championships and placed 11th at the 2018 Four Continents Championships in Taipei.

Fukase/Tateno were coached by Romain Haguenauer, Patrice Lauzon, Pascal Denis, and Marie-France Dubreuil in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Partnership with Cho (Zhang)

Fukase continued her career for Japan in partnership with Canadian-born ice dancer Oliver Zhang, who would compete with her as Eichu Cho. During their first season, they took silver at the 2019–20 Japan Championships and placed 13th at the 2020 Four Continents Championships.

The following season was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in many event cancellations. Fukase/Cho won silver at the 2020 NHK Trophy and bronze at the 2020–21 Japan Championships.

Fukase/Cho trained mainly in Montreal. Their coaches included Romain Haguenauer, Patrice Lauzon, Marie-France Dubreuil, Pascal Denis, Josée Piché, Benjamin Brisebois, Ginette Cournoyer, Yutaka Higuchi, and Aya Sunayama.

Synchronized skating

In the 2022–23 season, Fukase competed as a member of Canada's Les Suprêmes. She began training with the team in May 2022. They won gold at the 2023 ISU World Synchronized Skating Championships.

Programs

With Cho (Zhang)

Season	Rhythm dance	Free dance	Exhibition
2020–2021	Someone in the Crowd Another Day of Sun Planetarium	My Funny Valentine Feeling Good	Booty Swing
2019–2020		The Huns Attack Reflection

With Tateno

Season	Short dance	Free dance	Exhibition
2017–2018	Senorita Bonita Tequila Qué rico el mambo	Hello, Dolly! The International Hello Dolly
2016–2017	Petite Fleur Opus One	The King and I
2015–2016	Aquarellen Feuerfest!	Dream a Little Dream of Me Puttin' On the Ritz	Sing, Sing, Sing

Competitive highlights

GP: Grand Prix; CS: Challenger Series; JGP: Junior Grand Prix

Ice dancing with Cho (Zhang) for Japan

International
Event	2019–20	2020–21	2021–22
align=left		13th
align=left			bgcolor=silver	2nd
align=left		9th
National
align=left		bgcolor=silver	2nd	bgcolor=cc9966	3rd	WD
align=left	Eastern Sect.	bgcolor=gold	1st
WD = Withdrew

Ice dancing with Tateno for Japan

International
Event	14–15	15–16	16–17	17–18
align=left					11th
align=left					11th
align=left					5th
International: Junior
align=left			19th	13th
align=left			11th
align=left				10th
align=left				6th
align=left			bgcolor=cc9966	3rd	7th
National
align=left					bgcolor=cc9966	3rd
align=left		bgcolor=gold	1st	bgcolor=gold	1st	bgcolor=gold	1st
align=left	Eastern Sect.	bgcolor=gold	1st J	bgcolor=gold	1st J	bgcolor=gold	1st J	bgcolor=gold	1st
J = Junior level

Ladies' singles

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National
Event	11–12	12–13	13–14	14–15
align=left	Japan Eastern Sectional	26th J
align=left	Kanto Block 2 Regional	11th J	24th J	21st J	6th
J = Junior level