Beijing, China, February 7, 2022: Japan’s figure skaters won their first Olympic team medal – a bronze – amidst fierce competition at the Capital Indoor Stadium on Monday.
The Russian Olympic Committee, inspired by the 15-year-old phenom Kamila Valieva in women’s singles, won gold with 74 points from the eight elements of the team competition.
The United States took silver with 65 points and Japan came in third with 63 points, well ahead of PyeongChang 2018 team champions Canada (53) in fourth. China (50) finished fifth in the 10-team event.
The eight members of the Japan team were: Shoma Uno, Yuma Kagiyama (men’s singles), Wakaba Higuchi, Kaori Sakamoto (women’s singles), Misato Komatsubara/Tim Koleto (ice dance) and Riku Miura/Ryuichi Kihara (pairs).
Japan's top skater, Yuzuru Hanyu, did not compete in the team competition; he is saving himself for his Olympic golden hat trick bid starting on Tuesday with the men's short programme and concluding two days later.
The three medal-winning teams, with the Russians fielding only six skaters for the eight elements, received their mascots in the victory ceremony, but the medals and flag-raising would be saved for the Medal Plaza function in the evening. They then skated around the rink and posed for team photos holding their national flags.
Koleto, who has Japanese citizenship and is married to his ice dance partner Komatsubara, praised the quality of his teammates for the podium finish.
"We've been through quite a few team competitions together to practise for this,” he said.
“I think the power of the single skaters and the pair skating especially, and the ability that they were able to bring to this competition, is the reason we're standing here right now. We felt so inspired by the other skaters on Team Japan today and earlier in the team event, so I'm glad we were able to skate today and also in the rhythm dance with no major mistakes."
Komatsubara added: "The person who made this team event is a genius. Figure skating is an individual sport - it's so nice to feel team support and the experience we get together."
Miura shared this sentiment, adding: "We tried our best for our teammates and gave our best performance for the team. We had great support from everybody on the team."
The final three elements on Monday were the pairs free skate, in which Japan’s Riku Miura/Ryuichi Kihara scored a season’s best 139.60 points to finish second and earn nine team points; the ice dance free dance, with Japan’s wife-husband team of Misato Komatsubara/Tim Koleto scoring 98.66 to finish fifth and last in the field and collect six team points; and the women’s singles free skate, where Kaori Sakamoto performed a season’s best 148.66 for nine team points behind the imperious Valieva (178.92).
