Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara produced a world-record free skate to secure Japan’s first Olympic pairs gold (231.24). Bettors may back them in future head-to-heads and totals-over props—consider Miura/Kihara favorites and totals over 225 in upcoming events given their scoring ceiling and current form.
Miura and Kihara Clinch Japan’s First Olympic Pairs Gold with Record Free Skate
Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara delivered a landmark performance at the Milan Cortina Games, climbing from fifth after the short program to capture Japan’s first Olympic pairs skating gold. Their free skate earned a world-record 158.13 points and a career-best total of 231.24, sealing the long-sought Olympic crown.
Record-Breaking Free Skate
Miura and Kihara opened their program with a flawless triple toe–double axel–double axel sequence set to music from the Gladiator films, and Miura landed the throw triple loop with poise. Their clean salchows and high-grade elements produced the unrivaled free-skate score that other teams could not match.
Podium Results and Scores
Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava earned silver for Georgia with 221.75 points, the country’s first Winter Games medal. Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin of Germany took bronze with 219.09. The final standings reflected wide swings from the chaotic short program to a more consistent free skate among the medal contenders.
Notable Performances and Setbacks
The short program’s turbulence left several top teams early and off the pace. The 2024 world champions from Canada, Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps, dropped important points after a fall exiting a lift and a warmup tumble that led to a bruising fall; they finished 11th.
Sui Wenjing and Han Cong rebounded from a short-program error to place fifth overall despite mistakes in the free skate. Emily Chan and Spencer Akira Howe briefly became the first team to surpass 200 points before Italy’s Sara Conti and Niccolo Macii displaced them despite a messy free.
On the U.S. side, Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea, competing in their Olympic debut, slipped from seventh to ninth after a tired free skate.
Betting Outlook and What Punters Should Watch
Miura and Kihara’s combination of high technical content and consistency now positions them as favorites in head-to-head markets and totals-over props for upcoming Grand Prix and World Championship events. Punters should consider lines that reflect totals north of 225 for the pair. Volatility remains a factor—falls and errors, as seen this week, can quickly shift odds—so hedging or limiting stakes on markets sensitive to single-element mistakes is prudent.
What This Means for the Discipline
The results underline the growing depth and unpredictability of Olympic pairs skating: clean execution and GOE can vault teams from mid-pack to gold, while pressure and minor errors continue to reshuffle expected outcomes. Miura and Kihara’s victory may reset national and international expectations ahead of the next championship cycle.
Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara delivered Japan's first Olympic gold medal in pairs skating, earning a world-record score for their free skate on Monday to climb from fifth after their short program to the top step of the podium at the Milan Cortina Games.
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