By Agnieszka Flak
MILAN, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Figure skater Ryuichi Kihara said he could not stop crying since the early setback he and partner Riku Miura suffered on Sunday, but on Monday the duo climbed back to win Japan's first Olympic pairs gold with a powerful, Gladiator-themed free skate.
The two‑time world champions had been devastated after finishing fifth in the short programme due to a lift error, but returned with a performance their coach said was built on heart, belief and seven years of
resilience.
Kihara, 33, said he struggled to shake off the previous day's mistake and arrived at practice still shaken.
"I couldn't stop crying since this morning, I just couldn't bounce back from yesterday's mistake, I really couldn't snap out of it, the tears kept flowing ... even on the ice I couldn't stop crying," he said, but added that everyone's support helped him get back on track.
"Riku, my coach, my friends in Japan... everyone around me sent me messages of support. Everyone said it's not over yet... Normally I'm the stronger one but this time around Riku really supported me," he said.
Miura said seeing her partner in tears pushed her to take the lead.
"Ryuichi has been crying since this morning, and so I felt like I needed to be strong and support him and help him focus," the 24-year-old said.
The duo, who teamed up in 2019, had entered the Olympics as favourites after winning December's Grand Prix Final in Nagoya and topping the pairs segment in the team event, where they helped Japan secure silver.
But their momentum has also been shaped by years of adversity: Kihara has battled recurring back injuries, while Miura has repeatedly competed through a chronically dislocating shoulder. At the 2025 Japan Championships, she dislocated it during warm‑ups, reset it herself, and still delivered a season‑best short programme.
Their free skate reflected those struggles — a programme built around combat, survival and triumph.
Skating to music from the "Gladiator" soundtrack performed by Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, they attacked every element with the steadiness that had deserted them a day earlier, their choreography echoing the resilience that has defined their partnership.
"We made a huge mistake yesterday but for the past seven years we've worked so hard ... we have grown over the last seven years," Miura said, adding that they were determined to "forget what happened yesterday and start from scratch".
For Japan, their historic gold marks another milestone in a discipline long dominated by European and North American pairs. Before their 2022 world silver, Japan had gone a decade without a major ISU pairs podium.
Kihara, who collapsed in tears after their skate, said they did not expect to win.
"We knew that the last group was filled with amazing skaters, and so we honestly didn't think that we would win gold tonight," he said. "It's a little bit of a disbelief ... that we're able to get a medal for Japan pair skating for the first time ever."
(Reporting by Agnieszka Flak; Editing by Kim Coghill)
