Japan’s Riku Miura (left) and Ryuichi Kihara performed the pairs short program at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2023 in Saitama on March 22, 2023. The home favorites claimed a new personal best, scoring 80.72 points to take the lead after the short program. Their closest rivals, American pair Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier, placed second with 74.64 points, while Italy’s Sara Conti and Niccolò Macii were third on 73.24.
Miura and Kihara had previously beaten Knierim and Frazier at the Grand Prix Final in December, and they were thrilled to break new ground with their highest‑ever score. “We set 80 points as our goal for the short program this season, so we’re really happy to achieve that in the final competition,” Kihara said. “There have been much better pairs than us that have never scored 80, so it feels like we have gotten a little closer to them now.”
Knierim and Frazier made a mistake on a jump in their routine but remained optimistic about Friday’s free skate. “It’s one of those errors that doesn’t happen often, but when it does it can be a little rattling,” Frazier said. “It felt good with how we attacked and performed, and overall it was good to get out there and start the competition.” Canada’s Deanna Stellato‑Dudek and Maxime Deschamps finished fourth with 72.81 points.
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