Miura Kao answers Keegan Messing's challenge in dramatic Four Continents finish, winning men's title
The 17-year-old from Japan won the biggest title of his career after Messing had recorded career-best scores. In pairs, Miura/Kihara became the first Japanese duo to win gold in Four Continents history.
Figure Skating
Figure skating knows how to do drama. It proved that again Saturday (11 February) night.
After Canadian veteran Keegan Messing scored a career-best in both the free skate (188.87) and overall total (275.57), Japanese teenager Miura Kao answered - as the night's final skater - to capture the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
It's the biggest win of the 17-year-old's career, his 189.63 free skate for a 281.53 total also his best-ever marks.
Miura pumped his fist center-ice at the completion of his Beauty and the Beast free, then let out a delighted scream as his scores flashed across the screen.
"Keegan put out such a strong skate. I feel like I rode that momentum," Miura told the crowd via an interpreter. "I told myself, 'I can do that too.' ... I'm very proud of myself for putting out the performance that I did today."
Messing, who has said this is his final competitive season, settled for silver, while Miura's teammate, another teenager - Sato Shun - took the bronze, scoring a 259.14.
Reigning Four Continents champion Cha Junhwan of the Republic of Korea finished fourth with a 250.14, while Kazakhstan's Mikhail Shaidorov jumped from 12th to round out the top five with a 237.14.
Miura captured the bronze medal at this event a year ago - and in the first half of the 2022-23 season he notched two Grand Prix podiums: Silver at both Skate America and Skate Canada International, which qualified him for the Grand Prix Final.
He joins Hanyu Yuzuru and Uno Shoma as recent Japanese men to win at Four Continents.
And it was a glistening day on the ice for team Japan.
Earlier in the evening, reigning world silver medallists in pairs Miura Riku and Kihara Ryuichi of Japan claimed their first Four Continents gold, too, holding off a strong challenge from Americans Emily Chan and Spencer Akira Howe. Miura/Kihara scored a 208.24 total to Chan/Howe's 201.11, and became the first Japanese duo to win the pairs title at the event.
On Friday night (10 February), 17-year-old Korean Haein Lee surged from sixth place after the short program to win the women's title, the biggest of her young career.
Men: Miura - 'I had to step up'
It was a moment to remember for Messing, the two-time Olympian who has been open about this season being his last. The Canadian opened with a quad toe-double toe combination, then added a second quad toe and triple Axel as his "Home" program built.
After landing his triple Lutz-triple toe combination, Messing broke out in a wide smile, fist-pumping as he completed his triple flip.
"I am beyond stoked for how I skated today," Messing told reporters. "This is my first ISU Championship medal. To be able to put down a program like that, it's unreal to me."
But Miura said he harnessed that energy as he took to the ice, the crowd giving Messing a standing ovation as he finished and exited.
Miura opened with a three-jump combination to settle in, then hit a quad toe-triple toe and fought to stay up on both a quad Salchow and triple Axel. He'd add another quad and two more triples, showing as his program wore on that he was up for the fight.
"There was such a great atmosphere, I had to step up to the occasion," he said after. "All of that energy [in the arena] accumulated in me. I should say crystalised, but... it exploded inside me."
Sato, who won a pair of medals on the Grand Prix circuit earlier this season to qualify for the Grand Prix Final, said he was especially pleased with his performance having been out with a left shoulder injury at this time a year ago.
Sato rose from sixth after the short to finish on the podium, and partially credited Miura for encouraging him prior to the free skate.
It was a career-best score for the 18-year-old Shaidorov, who matched his fifth-place finish from Four Continents a year ago. He's the reigning World Junior silver medallist.
While Cha was fourth, his Korean teammate Lee Sihyeong rose from 14th to finish in sixth, while 2018 champion here Jin Boyang of China was seventh and Canadian Conrad Orzel was eighth.
Jimmy Ma was the top American, falling from third after the short to finish in ninth.
Pairs: Miura/ Kihara continue golden streak
It's been a season of winning for the Japanese duo, who scored another gold just weeks before the World Championships are set to take place in Saitama, Japan. The team also won at Skate Canada International, NHK Trophy and the Grand Prix Final before the New Year.
Reigning world champions Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier opted out of Four Continents for a series of ice shows in Europe.
Miura/Kihara were still challenged, however, as the Americans Chan and Howe had a career-best free skate (134.15) and overall score with two teams to go. Canadians Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps, in second after the short, couldn't match Chan/Howe, settling for bronze with a 193.84.
Skating last, Miura/Kihara fought through their opening triple twist and a side-by-side triple toe-double toe-double Axel jumping combination before settling in to their program, which concluded with a throw triple flip and throw loop.
The skaters fought hard to launch their final lift, battling the thin air of Colorado Springs.
They are the first Japanese pairs team to win the Four Continents title.
"We are very glad at the outcome that we produced," Miura said via an interpreter. "We were more nervous going into the short [than the free]. We tried to have fun on the ice. We tried not to think about the pressure."
She added: "It was really tough skating at altitude but we are so grateful for the support from the crowd."
Stellato-Dudek, who took a 16-year break after success as a top-level junior, is back on the podium at an ISU Championships event 23 years after she was the silver medallist at the World Junior Championships in singles - in 2000.