By Scott Mammoser, Team FSO writer
Photos by Robin Ritoss and Giada Arioldi
MILAN, Italy – For the second time at this most-unpredictable Milano-Cortina Olympic figure skating competition, competitors have moved from fifth place after the short program to claim the gold medal.
Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara of Japan established a new world record in free skating points to earn their nation’s first Olympic title in pairs on Monday. The 158.13 points exceeded the 157.46 Anastasia Mishina and Aleksandr Galliamov recorded at the 2022 European Championships. The come-from-behind win also mirrored that of Mikhail Shaidorov, who rose from fifth to first in the men’s event on Friday.
Skating to Gladiator,” the two-time world champions executed each element to near perfection, culminating with Kihara lifting Miura over his head in ecstasy. They received 231.24 combined points.
Following the victory, Kihara said through an interpreter that he was devastated after the short program and blamed himself for the errors. Miura was there to comfort him and stressed that the trademark of their seven-year partnership is that they face all obstacles together. Previously, they were seventh at Beijing in 2022.
Despite misstepping on a landing of the throw triple loop in their “Le discours d’Arthur” and “Keeping Me Alive” free skate, Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava of Georgia retained their second-place standing after the short program to win the silver medal with a free skate score of 146.29 and a total of 221.75 points.
The medal is the first of any kind for Georgia in a Winter Olympics since it debuted at Lillehammer 1994, following the break-up of the Soviet Union.
The European champions said through an interpreter that it was the best day of their lives. They are proud to represent Georgia and hope that the achievement inspires the younger generations to train in Georgia.
This was Metelkina’s first Olympics, while Berulava was ninth at the 2022 Olympics with former partner Karina Safina.
Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin of Germany won the bronze medal after leading the short program. But in their Memoryhouse” routine, the team had mistakes on both of their side-by-side jumps, including Hase only doing a single Salchow instead of a planned triple Salchow. They finished fourth in the free skate with a score of 139.08, but managed to still obtain a medal with 219.09 combined points.
“Three years ago, we wouldn’t have thought we would get this far,” Hase said. “We are really happy with how this season went, especially in the last two days. I am so proud. It’s his first Olympics and my second. We did an amazing performance.”
Hase was 16th at the 2022 Beijing Olympics with former partner Nolan Seegert.
The Hungarian team of Maria Pavlova and Alexei Sviatchenko remained in fourth – their same position after the short program – four points behind the Germans. Their “Without You” free skate earned all positive grade of executions. They finished third in the segment with a score of 141.39, but missed the bronze medal by less than four points (215.26)
In somewhat of a surprise, the Chinese team of Sui Wenjing and Han Cong placed fifth with an overall score of 208.64. Coming out of retirement in October to skate on Olympic ice once more, the defending champions assured that Monday at the Milano Ice Skating Arena was their final competition.
“We stood on the Olympic stage again,” Han said. “We had only a short time to prepare here, and we wanted to show what we can do.”
Sui added they have been through so many things in life together and she now looks forward to traveling with her pet meerkat.
The Italian team of Sara Conti and Niccolo Macii, who won bronze in the team event, placed sixth with 203.19 points. Emily Chan and Spencer Akira Howe leaped over their U.S. teammates Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea to rank seventh with 200.31 points. Kam and O’Shea were ninth, scoring 194.58, one spot below the Canadians Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud (199.66). Pereira and Michaud were in bronze medal position after the short program, but two falls handed them the 10th-best free skate.
The second German pair of Annika Hocke and Robert Kunkel were 10th, followed by Canadians Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps.
The 42-year-old Stellato-Dudek missed the team event after hitting her head on the ice in practice recently. She said that the doctors will later review her health for the World Championships, but knowing her story, they were not going to keep her from competing in her first Olympics.
“It’s not just the performance we remember, it’s how you feel the next day,” Deschamps added.
The Italian team of Rebecca Ghilardi and Filippo Ambrosini were 12th, one position of where they landed in 2022. Ghilardi elaborated on the opportunity to skate in a home Olympics and that “every second on the ice was amazing.”
Ioulia Chtchetinina and Michal Wozniak of Poland were in 13th place after participating in their country’s first team event earlier in the Games.
“It’s an inspiration for all the work you do every day,” Wozniak said. “If you fail and succeed again and again, not just in sports, but in life, it’s good to give all you possibly can.”
