Figure Skating: Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara Grab Pairs Gold with Sensational Free Skate

Teamwork can't be strictly measured in points or other statistics, as there are intangible factors, too. Sometimes, as figure skating fans witnessed in the Milan Cortina Olympics during the pairs competition, the rapport between athletes produces an obvious level of respect that can contribute to a great performance.

Japan's Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara captured the gold medal in the pairs event, making a stirring comeback from fifth place after the short program and earning the title on Monday, February 16 in Milan, Italy.

The Miura/Kihara victory secured Japan's fourth gold medal of the 2026 Olympics and the nation's 18th overall medal. In addition, Team Japan matched its Winter Olympic record of 18 medals set at the 2022 Beijing Games.

It was a performance that underscored the trust, communication and athletic synergy that are key elements of their successful partnership.

figure skating — *Gold medalists Ryuichi Kihara (top) and Riku Miura (©SANKEI)*

Miura and Kihara made their international debut as a duo in a pairs event at the 2019 NHK Trophy in Sapporo and placed fifth.

In recent years, they've had considerable success on the global stage, winning world titles in 2023 (in Saitama) and '25 (in Boston), and a pair of runner-up finishes at worlds in 2022 and '24. At the 2022 Beijing Olympics, they finished seventh.

During Sunday evening's Olympic short program at Milano Ice Skating Arena, their timing was off on a lift element. Miura fell off Kihara's shoulder, and they were deducted nearly six points for the blunder.

After their short program wrapped up, Miura and Kihara had 73.11 points.

"We will just have to try to not make any mistakes tomorrow," Miura said, reacting to their performance, according to Kyodo News.

A Figure Skating World Record is Set in Milan

They rose to the challenge, performing to music from the "Gladiator" soundtrack. A triple twist lift 3 ― with Kihara tossing Miura into the air, Miura making three rotations and Kihara catching her ― kicked off their free skate.

A well-executed progression followed. They smoothly completed a triple-toe loop/double axel/double axel sequence.

By the end of their free skate, Miura and Kihara had dazzled the audience and impressed the judges. They received 82.73 points for their technical elements score and 75.40 for their factored components score. It added up a world-record pairs free skate total of 158.13.

With the world record tacked on to their disappointing result from the previous night, Miura and Kihara had a gold medal-winning total of 213.24 points.

Georgia's Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava, who were second after the short program (75.46), were second in the free skate and collected the silver (221.75).

"I'm so very happy. It's an amazing moment for my country," Berulava told reporters later. "I have no words. I'm shocked."

Heading into the free skate, Germany's Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin were in first place (80.01). They were fourth in Monday's portion of the pairs event and dropped to third overall (219.09).

Words of Encouragement

Longtime Canadian coach Bruno Marcotte offered encouragement to Miura and Kihara after the Japanese duo placed fifth on Sunday.

What did he tell them?

"My main message to them today was [to] be the best in the world," Marcotte said, according to The Associated Press. "Don't worry about yesterday. I told them that it wasn't over. Before they went out on the ice, I just said, ‘Be yourself.' "

Miura and Kihara shared similar sentiments with each other.

"Ryuichi didn't stop crying since the morning and I told him, 'I'm going to skate for you today' and he said, 'We're going to skate for each other,' " Miura told reporters after their record-breaking free skate.

"We made a huge mistake yesterday but in the past seven years, we worked so hard. [And] we both said we're going to forget what happened and we were determined to start from scratch."

Miura added: "We have had so many experiences over the past seven years and we've grown a lot. That is the reason why we managed to win today."

Kihara Admits He Was Feeling Hopeless

As it turned out, Miura said exactly what Kihara needed to hear to prepare him mentally for the free skate. In fact, she lifted his spirits. And she wasn't the only one, according to Kihara.

"Yesterday [after the mistake on the lift in the short program] I was in despair," Kihara told reporters in Milan. "I didn't know how to get up again. Even in practice today I couldn't stop crying but our coaches, team members, my friends in Japan, our supporters in Canada, everybody around me was sending messages of support. Riku said it's not over yet, that's why I bounced back."

By bouncing back and showcasing the best of their figure skating skills, Riku Miura, 24, and Ryuichi Kihara, 33, captured their first Olympic gold medal.