Olympics: Miura, Kihara hope to inspire figure skating pairs boom in Japan

MILAN - Having made Japanese figure skating history in style, pairs gold medalists Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara hope their Winter Olympic success can inspire a boom in their discipline and bring it out of the shadow of singles, in which Japan has traditionally had more success.

Scoring a world record 158.13 points for Monday's free skate at Milano Ice Skating Arena, the pair moved up from fifth place in the short program, eclipsing a 6.90-point deficit, as they earned Japan's first pairs medal of any color.