Reigning ISU World silver medalists Riku Miura/Ryuichi Kihara of Japan made history again by claiming the first ISU Championship title in Pair Skating for their country at the Four Continents Figure Skating Championships 2023 in Colorado Springs (USA) on Saturday.
2022 runners-up Emily Chan/Spencer Akira Howe (USA) took silver again, while Canada’s Deanna Stellato-Dudek/Maxime Deschamps earned the bronze in what was an exciting Pairs event.
Overnight leaders Miura/Kihara put out a strong performance to “Atlas: Two” and “Sweet Tenderness” that was highlighted by a triple twist, two level-four lifts and throw triple loop. The side-by-side jumps were somewhat shaky and both the triple Salchow and the triple toe were slightly underrotated (q).
Miura/Kihara won Japan's first Pairs gold at an ISU Championships and hope their achievement inspires young Japanese skaters to try pairs © ISU
Nevertheless, the ISU Grand Prix Final Champions came close to their season‘s best with a score of 137.05 and won with seven points to spare on 208.24 points.
“Three years ago when we were at Four Continents for the first time we were saying one day we would like to sit here in the center and three years later we are here,” Miura noted.
Kihara thanked the watching crowd for their enthusiastic encouragement.
“It was really tough skating at this altitude, but the cheers of the audience kept our legs moving and we are really grateful for your support,” he said.
“We were very happy to be able to make it here. All the practice paid off. When the younger generation sees us here and winning the gold maybe they will think we should try doing pairs as well.
“If many more skaters in Japan think that way, we can see more Japanese flags in the Pairs event. We should try harder and inspire the younger generation,” he continued.
Chan/Howe gave it all in their emotional performance to “Ghost”, completing a double Salchow-double Axel-double Axel sequence, triple toe, throw triple loop and Salchow as well as a triple twist and two level-four lifts.
The ISU Grand Prix Finalists posted a new personal best of 134.15 points and accumulated 201.11 points to take their second consecutive Four Continents silver medal.
Chan/Howe (USA) retained second place on the Four Continents podium with a personal best in the Free Skate © ISU
“It was an amazing performance and it definitely felt like one of the best we have had this season,” Howe shared.
“It is amazing to come to Colorado Springs. A lot of the talk was about the altitude, so to come here and give this performance our season best was amazing.”
“We put in a lot of work so to come here and medal is an honor. We look forward to taking our performance here on to Worlds and continuing our season.”
Chan agreed: “It was a special moment for both of us. The biggest takeaway for us both is just to have confidence in ourselves and believe in each other and go out there and give it our best effort.”
Stellato-Dudek/Deschamps’ performance to “Cleopatra” featured a triple toe-double toe, triple twist, throw triple loop, impressive lifts and their trademark forward outside death spiral. However, Deschamps fell on the triple Salchow.
The Canadian Champions achieved a new personal best of 125.45 points and totalled 193.84 points to claim their first ISU Championships medal as team.
In taking bronze, Stellato-Dudek/Deschamps (CAN) won their first medal together after four years as a team © ISU
“Our performance felt pretty good. It was a good stepping stone for us and a good climb up for Worlds. It was our goal to be on this podium, so we’re really happy about it,” Stellato-Dudek said.
“We’re just trying to improve our skates and improve our score going into Worlds. We had an illness for three months that really put a dent in our training, so we’re just trying to build back up.
“We really want to be part of the team that qualifies three spots again for Canada for the following season, and of course our goal is to be on the podium,” she explained.
“Just finishing that program with all of those lifts was hard. It was good preparation, nothing will be harder than today,” Deschamps added.
It was not the first ISU Championship medal for Stellato-Dudek: 23 years ago she won silver at the ISU World Junior Championships as a single skater.
“I am proud we were on these podiums this season. It means a lot to me to bring home hardware and I have all intention to continue until 2026,” Stellato-Dudek noted.
The ISU Four Continents Championship Pairs podium (L-R): Chan/Howe (USA), Miura/Kihara (JPN), Stellato-Dudek/Deschamps (CAN) © ISU
The new team of Lia Pereira and 2022 Four Continents bronze medallist Trennt Michaud (CAN) turned in a good performance as well to come fourth at 186.33 points. Valentina Plazas/Maximiliano Fernandez (USA) remained in fifth place on 169.09 points.
Schedule of the event
The schedule of the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships is as follows:
Thursday, February 9: Women’s & Men’s Short Programs
Friday, February 10: Pairs Short Program, Rhythm Dance & Women’s Free Skating
Saturday, February 11: Pairs & Men’s Free Skating
Sunday, February 12: Free Dance & Exhibition Gala
For full entries and results, please see the ISU event page and the official website. Follow the discussion on social media using #4ContsFigure and #FigureSkating.
Where to watch the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships 2023:
The ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships will be live streamed on the Skating ISU YouTube Channel. Geo-restrictions will apply in markets where TV rights are in place. You will find the full list in the Where to Watch news here.
Subscribe to the Skating ISU YouTube Channel to receive alerts when the live streams start and when new videos are posted.
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