Japan's world champions Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara won the Skate America pairs title on Saturday as short program leaders Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava crashed in the deciding free skate.

Miura and Kihara, whose world title in Boston in March was their second after a world triumph in 2023, claimed their second grand prix gold of the season after a victory at the Grand Prix France.

The triumph in Lake Placid, New York, sends them into the Grand Prix Final in Nagoya, Japan, next month and more importantly maintains their status as the pair to watch for the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics in February.

The Japanese duo were not perfect, struggling notably on their side-by-side jumps.

But their sophisticated components and composure were enough to earn the top free skate score of

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