MILAN-- Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara delivered a thrilling comeback at the Milano Cortina Games, storming from fifth place after a shaky short programme to capture Japan's first Olympic figure skating pairs title on Monday.
Miura and Kihara scored a whopping 158.13 points for their spellbinding free programme to music from "Gladiator," performed by Andrea Bocelli, to earn a combined total of 231.24, setting the bar sky-high for the four teams that skated after them.
Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava of Georgia won the silver medal with 221.75, after Metelkina stumbled out of her landing on the throw triple loop that proved costly for the European champions.
Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin of Germany, the leaders following the short programme, had to settle for bronze with 219.09 after Fabienne Hase bobbled the landing of a double Axel, and singled a planned triple Salchow for a major points deduction.
Miura and Kihara, who teamed up in 2019, had suffered an uncharacteristic error a night earlier when she slipped out of their lasso lift.
When they stepped off the ice, coach Bruno Marcotte reminded a devastated Kihara: "It's not over."
Turns out, he was right.
Skating with the fearlessness that made them double world champions, the duo erased a near seven‑point deficit with a powerful skate that had eluded them 24 hours earlier.
They opened with a soaring triple twist lift, landed clean triple toe loops and Lutzes and huge throw triple loop, and long before they struck their final victorious pose, the Milano Ice Skating Arena crowd were on their feet, and Marcotte was leaping in the air in celebration.
Kihara immediately erupted in sobs.
About 40 minutes later, it was confirmed that they had obliterated their nearest rivals by almost 10 points, the overwhelmed Japanese pair embraced each other tightly as they broke down in tears.
