At the Four Continents Figure Skating Championships held in China, the second half of the pairs free skate was held, and Riki Miura and Ryuichi Kihara returned to competition for the first time in about four and a half months and aimed for back-to-back championships. ``The pair took second place.
The "Rikuryu" pair of Miura and Kihara were away from competition for about four and a half months due to Kihara's lower back injury, and in this tournament, which was their return, they placed second in the short program in the first half and won the free skate. We aimed for a come-from-behind victory.
The two skated smoothly in the beginning, and the lift, in which Kihara held Miura's hands while rotating, received the highest rating of Level Four.
However, in the triple salchow, where two people jump side by side, Kihara made the mistake of touching his hands when landing, and in the slow jump in the second half, Miura fell and had points deducted.
The two skated all the way to the end with smiles on their faces, but they finished second in the free program with a score of 125.16 and a total of 190.77, meaning they were not able to win consecutive championships.
The winner was Canada's Diana Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps with a total score of 198.80.