Jack Gallagher 
Gold medalists Riku Miura (right) and Ryuichi Kihara celebrate after winning the pairs world title at the 2025 ISU World Figure Skating Championships at TD Garden in Boston on March 27. (©Brian Snyder/REUTERS)
Read the full story on SportsLook - Miura and Kihara Claim 2nd World Title in Boston
Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara made history two years ago in Saitama when they became the first Japanese pairs to ever win the world title. The dynamic duo added to their legacy on Thursday, March 27, when they scored a dramatic victory to capture their second world crown at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Boston.
Their triumph at the biggest event of the pre-Olympic season will install Miura and Kihara as the favorites to win the gold medal at the 2026 Games in Milan next February.
Miura and Kihara led by just under two points after Wednesday's short program and put forth a solid showing to "Adios" in their free skate to hold off Germany's Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin by less than one point to claim the gold medal.
The Japanese tandem's winning total score was 219.79 points, with Hase and Volodin tallying 219.08 to get the silver. Italy's Sara Conti and Niccolo Macii took the bronze at 210.47.
Miura and Kihara's higher program component scores than the Germans (71.72 to 70.57) helped carry them to the top of the podium for the second time.
Miura and Kihara Reflect on Their Season
"This season, we found the enjoyment towards the end of this season," Kihara stated. "We aim to go with this enjoyment into the next season from the beginning."
Added Kihara, "Something we want to work on is our throw. It has not been as consistent as usual this season, so we are considering maybe changing the order of the elements. We have to discuss with our coaching team to prepare the best possible way for next season."
Miura burst into tears when their scores were posted as the final skaters of the competition.
"There were small mistakes, but I'm very happy to be here and of course to win the second world title," Miura commented. "The first title two years ago was just happiness, but in the last two years, we had very hard times, we had injury problems, we went through many emotions, and we also have many emotions right now. But still, in the end, we are still very happy."
Continue reading the full story on SportsLook.
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Author: Jack Gallagher
The author is a veteran sports journalist and one of the world's foremost figure skating experts. Find articles and podcasts by Jack on his author page, and find him on X (formerly Twitter) @sportsjapan.
