The 2026 Winter Olympics witnessed a monumental shift in pairs figure skating, marked by an unexpected changing of the guard despite the return of the defending champions.
Japan’s formidable duo, Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara, seized the coveted gold medal after a truly flawless and remarkably high-scoring free skate on Monday. Their stellar performance decisively ended the reign of China’s Olympic champions, Sui Wenjing and Han Cong, who surprisingly landed in fifth place.
Coming into the free skate, two-time world champions Miura, 24, and Kihara, 33, faced an uphill battle, sitting in a surprising fifth position after a bobble during their short program lift. However, they staged an incredible comeback, delivering a ‘crackerjack’ free skate to the powerful soundtrack of ‘Gladiator.’ Executing their triples and throws with precision, they achieved an impressive score of 158, securing Japan’s first-ever Olympic pairs figure skating gold medal.
The silver medal went to Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava, marking a historic achievement for Georgia as their first-ever Winter Games medal. This is particularly noteworthy for a nation that boasts 47 Summer Games medals, predominantly in combat sports like wrestling and judo.
Meanwhile, the esteemed Chinese pair, Sui and Han, who had expressed their intention to skate for personal enjoyment rather than solely for victory, opted to remove two triple jumps from their free skate routine. This strategic choice ultimately led them to miss out on a podium finish.
Further underscoring the dramatic shift, Russian teams were absent from the competition, having been barred from participating. Historically, Russian pairs dominated the event, securing second, third, and fourth places behind Sui and Han in 2022, and winning five out of six Olympic golds between 1994 and 2014. Nevertheless, this fact does not diminish the brilliance of Miura and Kihara’s triumphant gold medal win.