Determine Skater Breaks Down in Tears After Olympic Gold Medal Efficiency

[ad_1] Ryuichi Kihara was sick to his abdomen on Sunday.

At 33, he believed he had simply misplaced his (and his accomplice's) greatest likelihood to ever win a gold medal.

Within the quick program of the determine skating pairs competitors on the Winter Olympic Video games, Kihara made a deadly mistake. He tousled a crucial raise throughout their routine, pushing him and Riku Miura right down to fifth place coming into the ultimate spherical.

He was devastated, his face scrunched up following what was presupposed to be a very powerful second of his skilled life.

"I made an enormous mistake on the raise, however I used to be in a position to hold my composure and full the throw after that," Kihara spoke by means of a translator after the folly. "So I feel that basically helped me grow to be so much stronger mentally."

On Monday, the two-time Japanese world champion duo had one closing shot to make it depend on the Olympics.

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<img id="11532225" alt="" caption="Japan's Riku Miura (R) and Japan's Ryuichi Kihara (L) react in the kiss and cry area after competing in the figure skating pair skating free skating final during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at Milano Ice Skating Arena in Milan on February 16, 2026. (Photo by Antonin THUILLIER / AFP via Getty Images)" credit="" sourcealt="" sources="[]" fetchpriority="auto" loading="lazy" width="2511" height="1674" decoding="async" data-nimg="1" src="color:transparent;aspect-ratio:inherit;object-fit:cover" sizes="(min-width: 1200px) 1536px, (min-width: 768px) 768px, 100vw" srcset="https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/GettyImages-2261554651.jpg?w=640&quality=80&webp=1 640w, https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/GettyImages-2261554651.jpg?w=750&quality=80&webp=1 750w, https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/GettyImages-2261554651.jpg?w=1000&quality=80&webp=1 1000w, https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/GettyImages-2261554651.jpg?w=1200&quality=80&webp=1 1200w, https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/GettyImages-2261554651.jpg?w=1360&quality=80&webp=1 1360w, https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/GettyImages-2261554651.jpg?w=1600&quality=80&webp=1 1600w" bad-src="https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/GettyImages-2261554651.jpg?w=1600&quality=80&webp=1"/> Extra information: Liu, Sakamoto, Glenn? Predictions for Olympic Girls’s Determine Skating Gold

And as an alternative of being fearful of constructing one other blunder, the 2 went all-in, pulling out all of the stops to try to make an enormous comeback for the gold medal.

What might have led to one other catastrophe was the very best performances of their careers, shining beneath the brilliant lights and securing a personal-best rating that rocketed them to first place.

This time, the tears had been of happiness from Kihara, who could not maintain again his feelings following the section. After seeing the large rating of 158.13 introduced, the 20-year veteran screamed and let all of it out following the wildest 48 hours of his lengthy profession.

Though different groups had an opportunity to greatest them, nobody else got here shut; the flawless free skate propelled Kihara and Miura to their first gold medal. The 2 dominated within the crew occasion, however Crew USA's ice dancing and Ilia Malinin pushed them right down to silver, together with the remainder of Crew Japan.

Proper alongside Miura, he did the whole lot to not let her down. Someday after the bottom second of his determine skating profession, Kihara's psychological energy enabled him to achieve the very best peak of his profession.