MILAN—Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara thought their chances of Olympic gold had gone by the wayside when the Japanese skaters made an uncharacteristic slip-up during their short program at the Milan Cortina Games.
Turns out they were just making it more dramatic.
The two-time defending world champions rebounded Monday night with a world-record free skate under the current scoring system, lifting them from fifth place all the way to the top step of the podium and their country’s first Olympic medal in the pairs event.
Miura and Kihara dropped to their knees in a tearful embrace when they realized they had won gold….
Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara Win Japan’s First Olympic Pairs Gold With World-Record Free Skate
