2025 Skate America: Pairs’ Figure Skating

Japan’s Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara grabbed their second consecutive Skate America Pairs’ title on Saturday in Lake Placid, New York. Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava of Georgia slipped to second place overall for the silver, while Canada’s Kelly Ann Laurin and Loucas Ethier repeated for bronze.

Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara

The two-time and current World champions were near-clean in their dramatic short program to “Paint It Black” by The Rolling Stones. The only error came when Miura doubled her jump on the side-by-side triple toes—an element she underrotated at 2025 Grand Prix de France. The triple twist and death spiral were graded a level three, and the throw triple Lutz was solid. The team also earned a level four on the group 5 Axel lift, pair spin, and footwork. They finished second with 74.42 points and also had the highest program component scores of the field.

“We did make a mistake today and it wasn’t perfect, but everything beyond that and the other elements, including the throw, were done cleanly,” pointed out Miura. “We are very proud of that and also proud of our growth and the fact that we were able to exceed 70 points.”

Kihara said he was honored to be able to participate at Lake Placid given the Olympic season.

“This is a very historic place and that motivates me a little bit more to do my best,” he said. “I will be visiting the (Olympic) museum afterwards. Also, there was a speed skate track that I’m hoping to go to after we’re done and will do like five laps around it.”

Skating to music from Gladiator in the free skate, the two-time Four Continents champions produced a triple twist as well as three level-four lifts and pair spin. The team had solid landings on the throw triple Lutz and throw triple Salchow, but Miura underrotated and put a foot down on the front end of a triple toe-double Axel-double Axel sequence. All other elements earned positive grades of execution (GOE) throughout and they placed first in the free skate and overall (141.57/215.99).

“We made a major mistake yesterday in the short and that did make it hard for me just mentally for the free program,” said Miura. “We did end up making a small mistake, but I’m still very proud of ourselves for achieving scores in the 140s. I think that is going to make way for more confidence in future competitions. This is the first time we’ll be able to participate in a Grand Prix Final in Japan, and I’m really happy to be able to do that.”

“Yes, it is the first Grand Prix Final to be held in Japan that we could participate in,” Kihara pointed out. “It was supposed to be in Osaka, but because of COVID, that ended up being cancelled. It’s going to be held in Nagoya, which is my hometown. Back in 2017-2018, the Grand Prix Final was also in Nagoya, and at the time, we never thought it would have anything to do with us. The fact that we’ll be able to enter is very important to us.”

Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava

The two-time European medalists gave a confident and flawless short program to “Boléro” which included solid side-by-side triple Salchows, a level-four throw triple twist, and throw triple flip. The group 5 reverse lift, death spiral, spin and footwork were all graded a level four, and all elements received no less than +2 grades of execution. With 78.83 points, Metelkina and Berulava renewed their personal best score from 2025 Cup of China, placing first in this segment.

“We feel good, even though we woke up at four in the morning,” said Berulava. “We didn’t really sleep, but we had to pull ourselves together and do our job. So, it was a little hard in the program, but we managed everything and it came out quite well.”

Berulava also added that it was the first time that he and Metelkina have competed at Lake Placid.

“We feel very comfortable here,” he said. “We really like the nature, and there are wild animals roaming around; we feel more like in a camp rather than at a competition. And yes, we feel also the Olympic spirit—Olympic Games we’re held here two times.”

The 2024–25 Grand Prix Final bronze medalists had a devastating free skate, losing at least 20 points due to costly errors. The team opened with a very good level-four triple twist, but then Metelkina took a fall on the side-by-side triple Salchows while Berulava stepped out of the triple toes. The throw triple flip and throw triple loop were clean, but the Axel lift did not go up due to timing issues. They finished fourth (116.90) in the free skate, but second overall with a total score of 195.73

“Unfortunately, our performance today did not work out, but we will work hard,” said Berulava. “We want to improve, and we also will work on the mental side. For now, I’m not sure what happened on that lift, but the lift is the job of the man, and he should lift up the partner. I didn’t do that, so I apologize for that.”

“We are so happy that we are qualified for the Grand Prix Final and that the Grand Prix Final takes place in such an amazing country as Japan,” he added. “This is one of our favorite countries and there are so many great people there.”

“Now we will take a deep breath after this, and we will work on our mistakes,” Metelkina summed up. “And I’m also very pleased that the Final is in Japan. We always skate very well in Japan. We skate clean there. So, it’s a lucky place for us.”

Kelly Ann Laurin and Loucas Ethier

The 2025 national bronze medalists gave a fiery short program to “Asturias” by Suprhot which featured side-by-side triple Salchows, a throw triple loop and a level four reverse lift. They placed sixth in this segment with a new season’s best of 61.29.

Laurin and Ethier also earned a new personal best for their heartfelt free skate to “Say Something” and “The Turmoil of Love,” placing second in this segment with 121.58 points. The only error came when Laurin turned out the first jump in a double Axel-Axel-double Axel sequence. The throw triple loop and throw triple Salchow were clean, and they picked up a level four on all three lifts. Their total score of 182.87—another personal best— was enough to edge out USA’s Emily Chan and Spencer Akira Howe (180.02) for third place overall.

“For us, it’s kind of a full circle moment,” said Ethier. “We medaled at our first Grand Prix here in Skate America (in 2022) and now to be back on the podium feels really good. It’s a good pat on the back and good news for confidence.”

“I really had fun today, so I think that is the best part of this evening,” added Laurin. “We’re very proud about what we did in the short and free program. Just being here on the podium of course is so much fun!”

Annika Hocke and Robert Kunkel of Germany finished fifth (176.56), followed by and Armenia’s Karina Akopova and Nikita Rakhmanin (170.98).

Related Info:

• Official Results
• Competition Threads
• Replay Lounge

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