The first of the disciplines to finish at the 2025 was the Pairs Event. Japan’s Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara won their second world title, closely followed in points by Germany’s Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin. Read on for more details about the event!
Results
🥇 Riku Miura/Ryuichi Kihara (Japan)
🥈 Minerva Fabienne Hase/Nikita Volodin (Germany)
🥉 Sara Conti/Niccolo Macii (Italy)
Winning the event and becoming two-time world champions were Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara of Japan, with 219.79 points. Their ‘Paint it Black’ short program is a well-made piece, using the opening choreography to generate intensity. They had amazing height and speed on the triple twist, later pulling off the throw triple flip with skill and earning +1.59 GOE for the element. They secured a level four in the spin, lift and step sequence. Their free skate is to ‘Adios’ by Benjamin Clementine, which is a fast-paced program that foregrounds the team’s defined movements. With a side-by-side triple toeloop which was landed on the quarter, and two-footed landings on both throw jumps, it was not a clean skate, and was the second-highest scoring performance of the day; nonetheless, it was enough to put them ahead of Germany’s Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin by 0.71 points.
Winning the silver medal was therefore last year’s bronze medalists Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin of Germany with 219.08 points. They opened up their short program strongly with a quality triple twist and delivered a good throw triple loop, but were held back by the GOEs on their side-by-side triple salchow, and were third after the short program. They delivered a phenomenal free skate, and were unwavering in their side-by-side jumps, as well as their throw jumps. There is a change of tempo and mood midway through the Vivaldi program, and they showcased this through their expressions. They struggled slightly with the ending of their final lift, and were given a -0.27 GOE.
Italy’s Sara Conti and Niccolo Macii were second after the short program and third overall with 210.47 points. Their short program is to Carmen: they work well with emotive, performative skates, and this lets them tap into those skills. They secured a level four on their triple twist, and earned 3s and 4s from the judges for their throw triple loop, which was landed to the transition of the music. They received a level four for the triple twist opening their free skate as well, and pushed through the side-by-side jump combination, but struggled on the final jump of the sequence, the double axel. The choreo sequence, which was the penultimate element, demonstrated good expressivity and musicality to close out the poignant program.
Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava of Georgia were fourth in Boston, and were fourth after the short program. Their opening triple twist was given a level four, and +1.54 GOE. They were smooth on the side-by-side triple salchows and showed the same quality for the throw triple flip, but struggled a little with the death spiral at the performance’s conclusion. Their free skate was peppered with errors and the sixth-highest scoring program of the day: both throw jumps received negative grades of execution, with the throw triple loop being a double-footed landing.
Defending world champions Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps of Canada were fifth this year. They were in seventh place after the short program, where they were unable to secure the GOE needed on their triple twist, and Stellato-Dudek worked to hang onto the landing of the throw jump. Their free skate was stronger: although they had difficulties with the side-by-side jump sequence and triple salchow, they received a level four and +1.97 GOE on the twist, and level fours on all the lifts.
Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov of the USA performed in front of a home crowd and were sixth. They were ninth after the short program, where they had difficulties with the side-by-side triple toeloops, but put out a strong step sequence. Their ‘Je suis malade’ skate was memorable, and the throw triple salchow near the end of their program was nailed to resounding cheers from the crowd, which continued on to the end of their skate.
Compatriots Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea’s ‘Rain, In Your Black Eyes’ short program was the fifth-highest in the event. They built up the intensity of the performance through their step sequence, and had a great entry into their lift with which they closed the program: there was commendable speed and flow through the element. Their free skate opened strongly with a level-four triple twist, and well-timed side-by-side triple toeloops followed. They had a few errors thereafter, including a fall from the throw triple loop. All lifts, however, secured level fours from the judges.
Maria Pavlova and Alexei Sviatchenko of Hungary, who finished in fourth place last year at the World Championships, were eighth in Boston. They delivered a clean short program, although they lost out on levels and GOE on their death spiral. They had a fall on the side-by-side jump combination in their Pirates of the Caribbean free skate, but were strong in the second half of their skate, with level fours in all the lifts, and in the final pairs spin. They ramped up energy and expressivity in their choreo sequence.
Italy’s Rebecca Ghilardi and Filippo Ambrosini finished thirteenth. They delivered an El Tango de Roxanne, Moulin Rouge short program. There was a fall from the side-by-side double axels; they had a difficult transition into the throw jump, but there was a two-footed landing. Their Dracula free skate is the same as last season but works well with the team’s intense style. They had contact on the triple twist, and Ghilardi popped the side-by-side axel into a single. They did well to convey the theme and narrative of their program through the choreo sequence in the middle of the program.
Annika Hocke and Robert Kunkel of Germany were eighteenth in Boston, and were unable to put out the performances they would have wanted. They were twentieth after the short program, which had a fall from the side-by-side salchows, and a hand down on the throw triple loop. They skated first in the free skate. They were solid on the triple twist, but struggled on both side-by-side jumping passes, and had some difficulties with their final lift, where they were given 0 GOE. They nonetheless were good on both throw jumps.
Click here to watch our recap livestream with Gabriella Papadakis and Kirsten Moore-Towers!
