Japan's Miura-Kihara Make History with First Olympic Pairs Gold

Japan's figure skating pair Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara have written a new chapter in Japanese figure skating history.

Miura and Kihara claimed the gold medal at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics pairs free skating on February 16 at Milan Ice Skating Arena in Italy. They scored a personal best of 158.13 points in the free skate for a total of 231.24 points. This marks Japan's first Olympic figure skating gold since Yuzuru Hanyu won the men's singles at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics eight years ago. The victory carries special significance as Japan's first-ever Olympic gold in pairs, a discipline long considered barren ground for the nation.

The duo staged a dramatic comeback. Following a lift error in the short program the previous day, they sat in fifth place, trailing the leaders by approximately seven points. However, their flawless free skate performance allowed them to overtake their competitors by nearly 10 points to secure the victory.

Performing to the "Gladiator" soundtrack sung by Andrea Bocelli, the pair opened with a high triple twist lift, then landed a triple toe loop, Lutz, and throw triple loop with precision.

Kihara shed tears on the ice immediately after completing the routine. When the final standings were announced, the pair embraced and wept with joy.

Since forming their partnership in 2019, Miura and Kihara have now collected three Olympic medals, including silver in the team event at the 2022 Beijing Games. At these Games, they added a team event silver before claiming individual gold.

Georgia's Anastasia Metelkina and Luka Berulava took silver with 221.75 points. Germany's Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin, who led after the short program, settled for bronze with 219.09 points.