The tension was palpable at the Milano Ice Skating Arena as the world’s top pairs took to the ice for the short program of the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics, setting the stage for one of the most unpredictable figure skating showdowns in recent memory. On Sunday, Japanese duo Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara—two-time world champions and the first Japanese pair to ever claim global gold—found themselves in unfamiliar territory, finishing fifth after a costly error on their lasso lift. The result left fans and pundits alike stunned, but the story of Miura and Kihara is far from over as the Olympic pairs free skate looms large.
Miura and Kihara, who made history with their world titles in 2023 and 2025, arrived in Milan as clear favorites, having clinched the Grand Prix Final in Nagoya just months earlier. Their ascent has been nothing short of meteoric, revitalizing Japanese pairs skating in a discipline long dominated by European and North American teams. Before their silver at the 2022 Worlds, no Japanese pair had stood on a major ISU podium for over a decade. Their journey, however, has been anything but smooth. Both skaters have battled through significant injuries—Kihara with recurring back issues and Miura with a notoriously stubborn shoulder. At the 2025 Japan Championships, Miura even dislocated her shoulder during warm-ups, popped it back in, and still delivered a season-best short program. Talk about grit!
But Sunday’s performance in Milan was a test of a different kind. After a promising start, a slip on the lasso lift left the pair reeling, their score of 73.11 nearly seven points adrift of the leaders. "I made a big mistake on the lift, but I was able to keep my composure and complete the throw after that, so I think that really helped me become a lot stronger mentally," Miura reflected, speaking through a translator. Her words echoed the duo’s trademark resilience, as she added, "The important thing isn’t the score. The important thing is doing my best, performing to the best of my ability."
Despite the setback, the Japanese pair are not out of the medal hunt. Their technical arsenal for the upcoming free skate is among the most challenging in the field, giving them a mathematical shot at climbing the leaderboard. The free skate, set for Monday at 2 p.m. ET, will see them perform to stirring music from "Gladiator," sung by Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli—a fitting soundtrack for a pair that has fought through adversity time and again. Still, Miura remains focused on the process, not the podium. "I haven’t seen the video yet ... but I hope that tomorrow we can take each step carefully so that this kind of thing doesn’t happen again," she said, her determination evident.
Meanwhile, Germany’s Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin seized the moment with a near-flawless short program, notching a personal-best 80.01 points. Their skate, highlighted by a solid triple twist, crisp side-by-side jumps, and a clean throw triple loop, gave them a 4.55-point cushion—the largest margin after an Olympic pairs short program since the current judging system debuted in 2004. The German pair, three-time national champions, are now poised to end their country’s eight-year medal drought in Olympic figure skating. Their performance set the tone for a night where every detail mattered and no lead felt safe.
The battle for the podium is shaping up to be a nail-biter, with just 2.35 points separating second and fifth place. Georgian champions Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava sit in second, hungry to overtake the Germans and etch their names in Olympic history. Canada’s Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud, riding a personal best into third, have impressed with their emotional maturity but will need to shake off past inconsistencies in the free skate. Hungarian duo Maria Pavlova and Alexei Sviatchenko are lurking in fourth after a personal-best score, adding yet another layer of intrigue to an already crowded field.
And then there’s the shocker from 2024 world champions Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps. The Canadian pair, who many had pegged as dark horses for the podium, find themselves in 14th after a rare fall on a lift—one of their signature elements. Stellato-Dudek called it a "complete surprise," explaining, "It’s never even happened in practice." Her partner Deschamps tried to put things in perspective: "It’s a new day tomorrow. We’ll just go out there again tomorrow, skate together as a team, and enjoy that experience." Their road to redemption will require nothing short of perfection in the free skate, but stranger things have happened on Olympic ice.
Team USA’s hopes rest with Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea, who delivered a season-best 71.87 to secure seventh, while Emily Chan and Spencer Akira Howe are in ninth after the short program. The United States hasn’t medaled in Olympic pairs since 1988, but both teams will be eager to make a statement in the free skate and perhaps shake up the standings.
For those new to the intricacies of the pairs free skate, the program lasts four minutes (give or take ten seconds) and requires a daunting list of elements: three lifts, a twist, two throws, a side-by-side solo jump, a jump combination or sequence, a pair spin, a death spiral (different from the short program), and a choreographic sequence. It’s a true test of stamina, skill, and nerves—a crucible where even the smallest misstep can spell the difference between Olympic glory and heartbreak.
As the world tunes in to watch the drama unfold—live on Peacock, NBCOlympics.com, USA Network, and NBC—one thing’s for certain: the 2026 Olympic pairs free skate is anyone’s game. With so little separating the top contenders, every jump, spin, and lift will carry outsized weight. Will Miura and Kihara’s technical prowess and mental fortitude be enough to propel them back into medal contention? Can Hase and Volodin convert their commanding lead into gold, or will the chasing pack spring a surprise?
With the free skate set to the stirring sounds of "Gladiator" and the eyes of the world watching, the pairs will step onto the ice knowing that every second counts. The story of the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics pairs competition is still being written—and if Sunday’s drama is any indication, the final chapter promises to be unforgettable.