Japanese pair skaters Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara captured gold at the 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics qualifying event in Milan, overcoming a fifth-place short program finish with a record-breaking free skate.
Record Scores Secure Victory
In the pair free program at Milan Arena on February 17 (Italian local time), Miura and Kihara earned a technical element score (TES) of 82.73 and a program component score (PCS) of 75.40, totaling 158.13 points—the highest free skate score recorded.
Adding their short program mark of 73.11 points produced an overall total of 231.24, propelling them to the top spot.
Dramatic Turnaround from Fifth Place
Trailing the leaders by 6.90 points after the short program, the duo delivered an eight-judge lift and flawless execution to claim victory.
Ryuichi Kihara remarked, “I was surprised to perform this well.”
Germany’s Minerva Hase and Nikita Volodin, who topped the short program, settled for silver despite strong efforts.
Japan’s First Pairs Gold Milestone
This triumph marks Japan’s inaugural gold medal in Olympic-level figure skating pairs competition, highlighted by the free program’s dominant 158.13 score.
The 6.90-point deficit overcome represents the largest comeback in a free skate since the 2006 Torino Games, surpassing previous highs like Aliona Savchenko-Bruno Massot’s 5.80-point lift.
Previously, Japan’s pairs bested seventh place at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, underscoring the significance of this achievement alongside singles icons like Shizuka Arakawa and Yuzuru Hanyu.
