Ryuichi Kihara was sick to his stomach on Sunday.
At 33, he believed he had just lost his (and his partner’s) best chance to ever win a gold medal.
In the short program of the figure skating pairs competition at the Winter Olympic Games, Kihara made a fatal mistake. He messed up a necessary lift during their routine, pushing him and Riku Miura down to fifth place entering the final round.
He was devastated, his face scrunched up following what was supposed to be the most important moment of his professional life.
“I made a big mistake on the lift, but I was able to keep my composure and complete the throw after that,” Kihara spoke through a translator after the folly. “So I think that really helped me become a lot stronger mentally.”
On Monday, the two-time Japanese world champion duo had one final shot to make it count at the Olympics.
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And instead of being fearful of making another blunder, the two went all-in, pulling out all the stops to try and make a huge comeback for the gold medal.
What could have ended in another disaster turned into the best performances of their careers, shining under the bright lights and securing a personal-best score that rocketed them to first place.
This time, the tears were of happiness from Kihara, who couldn’t hold back his emotions following the segment. After seeing the massive score of 158.13 announced, the 20-year veteran screamed and let it all out following the wildest 48 hours of his long career.
Although other teams had a chance to best them, no one else came close; the flawless free skate propelled Kihara and Miura to their first gold medal. The two dominated in the team event, but Team USA’s ice dancing and Ilia Malinin pushed them down to silver, along with the rest of Team Japan.
Right alongside Miura, he did everything to not let her down. One day after the lowest moment of his figure skating career, Kihara’s mental strength enabled him to reach the highest peak of his career.
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