Milan: Japan's world champions Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara have set a new world record in pairs free skating, scoring an impressive 158.13 points to win Olympic gold at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics. The duo achieved a total score of 231.24, making a remarkable comeback from fifth place after the short program earlier in the competition.

According to Namibia Press Agency, Miura and Kihara had initially placed fifth following an error during a lift in the short program. However, they delivered an outstanding performance in the free skate to the soundtrack of Gladiator, successfully executing challenging elements such as a throw triple lutz, triple salchow, and throw triple loop. Their score surpassed the previous world record of 157.64, set by Anastasia Mishina and Aleksandr Galliamov at the 2022 European Figure Skating Championships.

Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava of Georgia secured the silver medal, finishing 9.49 points behind the Japanese pair. Meanwhile, Germany's Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin, who had led after the short program, took home the bronze medal.

China's Sui Wenjing and Han Cong, the returning Olympic champions, concluded the event in fifth place. They achieved a season-best score of 135.98 in the free skate, resulting in a total of 208.64. Skating to music from the Chinese dance drama "A Tapestry of a Legendary Land," Sui and Han overcame an early error on the opening triple toe loop to deliver a consistent program that included a triple twist lift, throw triple flip, and throw triple salchow.

Reflecting on their performance, Han expressed satisfaction and pride. "I'm very satisfied with our performance and really enjoyed competing here in Milan. We feel we've left a strong and memorable mark on the Games, and our program matched the music beautifully. Through this performance, we were also able to share and showcase Chinese culture with the audience," he said.