Miura and Kihara reclaim Four Continents title in Seoul
2025 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships: Pairs
Japan’s Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara maintained their lead to reclaim the Pair’s title at the Four Continents Championships in Seoul, Korea, on Friday. Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps of Canada earned the silver to complete the entire medal set in their collection, while teammates Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud pocketed the bronze—their first medal at this event.
Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara
The three-time World medalists were near solid in their intense short program to “Paint it Black.” The triple twist was huge and the level-four lift picked up high grades of execution (GOE). The team also produced triple toes and a throw triple Lutz, while earning a level four on the spin and steps. They finished first with 74.43 points going into the free skate.
“We are glad we were able to perform with all the pressure,” said Kihara. “We were here the same rink five years ago. That was the first time when Meagan (Duhamel) and Bruno (Marcotte, coach) and we went to an international competition together. Back then we were talking that this would be a dream to come back here and be among the top teams. We are elated that we made our dream come true and going forward for tomorrow, we’re going to hold on to that gratefulness and happiness.”
The two-time Four Continents medalists were not perfect in their free skate to Benjamin Clementine’s “Adiós,” but got the job done. They picked up a level three on a high triple twist, but Miura singled the second jump in the triple toe-double Axel-double Axel sequence. She also fought for the landing on a big throw triple loop and stepped out of the throw triple flip, but the level-four lifts and pair spin were strong, earning high GOEs. They finished first (142.59) in this segment by just over a point, placing first overall with a total score of 217.32 points.
“Five years ago, when we came here, we couldn’t even picture ourselves being in this position,” said Kihara. “We had to overcome many challenges, and we were able to achieve these results. We are extremely happy to have won the gold medal. It would be perfect if there wasn’t that mistake.”
“We did not show our absolute best today, but we got our season best score,” noted Miura. “And we are happy we got that 140+ score. The ending pose didn’t go as planned, so I am a bit disappointed about it.”
Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps
The 2024 World Champions were off to a good start in the short, delivering an excellent level-four twist. Deschamps fought for the landing on the triple toes, while Stellato-Dudek touched down with her hand on the throw triple loop. However, the team showed a very good level four lift and combination spin in their sophisticated routine and placed fourth with 69.66 points.
“We’ve been putting in a lot of work since getting back home from nationals, working on jumps, skating, and everything,” said Deschamps. “Unfortunately, we had a little accident right before coming here. Deanna had a bit of an issue with her leg after that, but overall, there were a lot of good things in the program. Yes, there was a step-out on the jump and a little mistake on the throw, but still, a lot of good things and a good fight.”
“I’m not sure how I feel,” said Stellato-Dudek. “I do a clean short program every day in practice, so I’m not really sure what’s happening in competition this year. It’s happening over and over again, and it’s very frustrating. I’m sure my injury (she fell on her hip before the event on the choreographic sequence) has influenced the performance today, because I haven’t been able to do a lot since the accident. But it doesn’t matter, you know? Because you still have to do it no matter what.”
The defending champions delivered a strong free skate set to “Siren’s Song” and selections from Blue Planet II. They opened with a level-four triple twist followed by a triple toe-Axel-double Axel sequence and triple Salchows. The throw triple Salchow was very good, but she slightly touched down with her foot on the throw triple loop. All three lifts and pair spin were graded a level four, and they scored a new season’s best of 141.26 points for second place. With a total score of 210.92, they moved up two spots to placed second overall.
“It feels really good,” said Deschamps. “We have been practicing super hard, and it was going well. But unfortunately, the whole year we haven’t been able to pull it out in competition. And yesterday, we had a really rough short program, but it was actually the best thing that could have happened to us yesterday. So, we were just able to go out there today and just go skate free and have fun and attack everything. That’s what we haven’t been doing this season. Deanna often has said we don’t know what’s going on while we were just not getting free. So, we realized that, especially today, it’s going to be a good steppingstone for the rest of the season and for the upcoming season.
Stellato-Dudek felt they really needed some competition in order to have some type of “breakthrough.”
“The short here was not great but that’s been going relatively decently all year,” she said. “But the long has been not going well at all this year. Now at least we know that it’s possible and we can take that with us to Boston.”
“This one was, I think personally, one of the most rewarding because this felt the hardest,” she continued. “It’s never easy to stay at the rink and do your hair and makeup at the rink and not get to go back to the hotel and wind down. So, it’s a totally different type of challenge as a competitor than being able to have that time to regroup, wind down and then wind back up. So I feel like having this breakthrough with what’s more difficult circumstances not getting that time to kind of relax and build back up. It’s like a really big personal victory.”
Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud
The Canadian national silver medalists were solid in their energetic short program which featured good triple toes and throw triple loop. They also earned a level four on the triple twist, lift and steps in their routine to “Sing, Sing, Sing,” picking up a new personal best of 69.79 for third place.
“We felt really prepared for this competition,” said Pereira. “We worked really hard after the Grand Prix in China and before nationals, and that showed in our nationals results. We used nationals as a steppingstone and a starting point for the second half of the season. We felt really prepared for this competition. But then, unfortunately, as soon as we landed here, I got violently sick and was kind of out of commission for 24 hours. I had to miss our first practice on Wednesday, and I wasn’t sure if I’d be fueled enough to compete. So, I’m really happy, first of all, to have the training to back us up, but also to actually skate today and put out a clean performance with a new season’s best after a less-than-optimal arrival.”
“When we arrived, I didn’t get my bag either, so it’s just been a lot,” added Michaud. “Obviously, getting the bag is a lot easier than what Lia was going through, but the past 48 hours have been like, ‘Okay, we’re going to take our time with everything, conserve energy, and just make sure Lia okay.’ I’m really proud of her for how well she did today. It’s a testament to our partnership—being able to support each other when we’re not at our highest spirits.”
The 2024 Cup of China bronze medalists placed third in free skate to “Tango Jalousie” with a new personal best score of 128.61. Both skaters made mistakes on an intended triple toe-double Axel-double Axel sequence, but they recovered to land good triple Salchows. Both the throw triple loop and throw triple Salchow were clean, and all lifts and the pair spin were graded a level four. They maintained third place overall with another personal best score of 198.40 points.
Pereira was thrilled with the new personal best score.
“We felt very prepared coming into this competition,” she said. “After yesterday, skating a good short program that felt great, but you never know how the long program is going to feel. So, we’re just really proud. We put out a lot of great elements today and a lot of good quality things.
Michaud said they are in the process of determining their future plans in terms of choreography.
“The whole team is collaborating and we’re thinking what would be the best for us for next season,” he said. “We want to have our best programs going into the Olympic season, obviously. We like to push ourselves with different styles. Both our short and long are so different.”
Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea
USA’s Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea delivered a strong short program to “Rain, in Your Black Eyes” which featured a level-four triple twist and side-by-side triple Salchows. Kam turned out the landing of the throw triple loop, but the death spiral, spin, and lift were graded a level four. They scored 70.32 for second place going into the free skate.
“I think it was a little bittersweet,” said Kam. “I am disappointed about the throw, because everything was so good. It was like we were on the cusp of a great program, but then there was that stupid mistake on the throw.”
“The throws have been so good all week, so it’s frustrating,” O’Shea agreed. “It’s one of those things where we’ve made such personal growth. But overall, we’re very happy with the program as a whole. We got all level fours, which is the most we’ve gotten internationally all year. We’ve been missing a few here and there, but it was really good today.”
The 2024 Four Continents bronze medalists struggled on jumps in their heartfelt free skate to “Concealed Passion” and “Stand by Me” which was highlighted by three level-four lifts and pair spin. O’Shea put his hand down on the triple toes while Kam took a fall on a throw triple flip. Kam also went down on the back end of the triple Salchow-double Axel sequence and touched down on the throw triple loop. They placed fourth in the free skate and slipped to fourth overall (196.94).
“It was a hard one,” said O’Shea. “We wanted to come here and grow from our performance at Nationals, to put that behind us, shake that off and move forward. Still, I feel like we learned something from today, even if it’s definitely not the long program we wanted to put out.”
“I think this season has been like a big growing one for us,” Kam added. “As we’ve competed, our scores have gotten better. Also, I personally have never experienced that feeling of being in a podium position after the short before. So, we are definitely learning how to stay focused and stay in the game in between two programs. That is a new experience for me.”
Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov
USA’s Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov put out a good short program that featured solid side-by-side triple toes and throw triple loop in their routine to “Ameska” and “Uccen.” The 2024 Skate America bronze also received a level four for the death spiral, lift, steps, and combination spin. They picked up a new personal best of 67.59 points, placing fifth going into the free skate.
“We are happy with our skate, happy to get our new season’s best,” said Efimova.
Mitrofanov said they have been working very hard but acknowledged the mistakes they made.
“We’re going to go back and review,” he said. “We’re going to always try to strive for better, especially because we know World Championship is coming up. It (winning the U.S. title) definitely has helped us and gave us confidence to know that our training has been paying off. We need to continue what we’re doing and continue to improve.”
The team placed fifth in the free skate and overall (124.48/192.07) after their endearing performance to “Je suis malade.” The first jump in the triple Salchow-double Axel sequence was deemed underrotated and Efimova went down on the triple toe. However, the rest of the performance was solid, featuring a throw triple loop and throw triple Salchow. All three lifts and the pairs spin were also graded a level four.
“I’m angry on myself about the jumps right now,” said Efimova. “Mentally I made it too important for myself and that brought that stiffness and being stuck in there. I will work on those for Worlds. I’m definitely thankful to Misha that he also saw that there was a mistake, but he didn’t give me any sign that something is going wrong. We just went on the path we have been practicing. I’m very proud about that.”
“We’ve been practicing, and Alisa has been nailing the jumps in practices,” added her partner. “Ice is slippery, but I’m really proud of Alisa. We didn’t give up, especially after the mistake that we had. We were able to collect ourselves immediately and continue the program, so I’m very proud of us for that.”
They are super excited to compete at their first Worlds together as a team, especially since it will be held in their hometown of Boston. They are hoping for clean skates there and will do their best to make the improvements.
Australia’s Anastasia Golubeva and Hektor Giotopoulos Moore placed sixth overall (178.76) followed by Yuna Nagaoka and Sumitada Moriguchi of Japan (174.76).
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