Sports
Miura, Kihara skate to Japan’s first ever Olympic pairs title
Feb 15, 2026; Milan, Italy; Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara of Japan compete in the pairs skating short program during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Milano Ice Skating Arena. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-Imagn Images MILAN — Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara delivered a thrilling comeback at the Milan Cortina Games, storming from fifth place after a shaky short program to capture Japan’s first Olympic figure skating pairs title on Monday.
Miura and Kihara scored a whopping 158.13 points — a world record under the scoring system that was revamped following the 2018 Olympics — for their spellbinding free program to music from “Gladiator,” performed by Andrea Bocelli, to earn a combined total of 231.24.
That set the bar sky-high for the four teams that skated after them.
Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava captured Georgia’s first ever Winter Olympics medal when they secured silver with 221.75.
The European champions paid the price for Metelkina stumbling out of her landing on the throw triple loop.
Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin of Germany, the leaders following the short program, had to settle for bronze with 219.09 after Fabienne Hase bobbled the landing of a double Axel and singled a planned triple Salchow.
Miura and Kihara, who teamed up in 2019, had suffered an uncharacteristic error a night earlier when she slipped out of their lasso lift.
When they stepped off the ice on Sunday, coach Bruno Marcotte reminded a devastated Kihara: “It’s not over.”
Turns out, he was right.
“Considering the big mistake that we made yesterday, we feel very proud that we’ve been able to come … back up to this high level today,” Miura said.
Kihara added: “At this point, we still can’t believe that this has happened since yesterday’s performance.
“It’s a little bit of a disbelief, almost, that we’re able to get a medal for Japan pair skating for the first time ever, and we hope that our performance tonight is going to lead Japan skating community into the future to perform better and better moving forward.”
BURST INTO TEARS
Skating with the fearlessness that made them double world champions, the duo erased a near seven-point deficit with a powerful skate that had eluded them 24 hours earlier.
They opened with a soaring triple twist lift, before landing clean triple toe loops and Salchows in perfect synchronization.
With the duo also showcasing a huge throw triple Lutz and a throw triple loop, the Milano Ice Skating Arena crowd were on their feet long before the final strains of the music had died out while Marcotte was leaping up in celebration.
Kihara immediately burst into tears.
About 40 minutes later, once it was confirmed that they had obliterated their nearest rivals by almost 10 points, the overwhelmed Japanese pair fell into a tight embrace, shedding tears of joy onto each other’s shoulders.
“I’m proud of them,” Marcotte said. “I’m happy for them. I think they were ready. Coming here we were extremely confident. The main goal was to be the best today after what happened yesterday.
“They were still a little bit shaken. But the biggest message was: you have to be the best in the world today. Because no matter what happened, in five years, 10 years, 20 years, you want to remember this moment that you gave everything today. I want you to create magic, skate with your heart.”
Marcotte had reminded the skaters how Germany’s Aljona Savchenko and Bruno Massot had sat fourth after the short program eight years ago in the Pyeongchang Olympics but laid down a stunning free skate of 159.31, a world record before the scoring system change, in one of skating’s greatest comebacks.
“I showed them the example (of Savchenko and Massot) who were also trailing by seven points, and they came back and won,” Marcotte said. “But I never, I never stopped believing.”
An emotional Berulava, meanwhile, called winning Georgia’s first Winter Olympic medal “the best day of my life.”
“I’m so very happy,” he said. “It’s an amazing moment for my country. I have no words. I’m shocked.”
China’s 2022 Olympic champions Sui Wenjing and Han Cong, who announced their comeback in June, rebounded from Sui’s fall in their short program to finish fifth.
Canada’s Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps, the 2024 world champions, finished 11th following errors in both of their programs.
The 42-year-old Stellato-Dudek, the oldest figure skater competing in an Olympics in almost 100 years, made a remarkable comeback after 16 years away from the sport.
Their Olympics had been in doubt after Stellato-Dudek hit her head in training on Jan. 30.
“Just to be out here and skating on the ice was a privilege and really amazing,” Deschamps said.
–Reuters, special to Field Level Media
Sports
Jayson Tatum's improvement bodes well for Celtics in Game 4 vs. 76ers
Apr 24, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) celebrates his three point basket against the Philadelphia 76ers late in the fourth quarter at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images Jayson Tatum has only been back on the court for seven-plus weeks but the Boston Celtics star is making a stellar impact.
While putting last May’s devastating ruptured right Achilles tendon further in the rearview mirror, Tatum’s comeback story is reading superbly. He will look to help Boston take a 3-1 series lead when it visits the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday night in Eastern Conference first-round play.
Tatum drained five 3-pointers and recorded 25 points, seven assists and five rebounds as the Celtics notched a 108-100 road win on Friday. It was his second 25-point outing of the series.
Tatum didn’t make his season debut until March 6 but quickly displayed he would be an asset in the playoffs.
He finished the regular season with seven straight appearances of 23 or more points. He delivered one triple-double and four other double-doubles during the stretch to establish he would be a difference-maker in the postseason.
Also Friday, Tatum became the fourth player in Celtics history to top 3,000 career postseason points. Tatum (3,005) trails three legends — Kevin McHale (3,182), John Havlicek (3,776) and leader Larry Bird (3,897).
“I can’t stress it enough that the fact that I get to put my uniform on and run out with the team, it’s a win for me,” Tatum said. “Obviously, I’m not 100% yet and will not be, but expectations of what people want me to do is the last thing that has crossed my mind.
“The amount of joy I have been able to find just being back out there and being out there with my teammates is all I could think about.”
Co-star Jaylen Brown, who carried the team while Tatum was sidelined, is impressed with Tatum’s progress.
“He’s been incrementally getting better and stronger and getting more physical,” said Brown, who also scored 25 points in Game 3. “You can see he’s getting downhill at a higher level than he did when he started. But we do it as a team. We win as a team and lose as a team. So in those moments, I got nothing but trust for Jayson Tatum.”
Sunday’s contest is a big one for the 76ers as a split through four games would be significantly better than facing a possible Game 5 elimination game in Boston.
What would really help is if star center Joel Embiid is available, but the team listed the former MVP as doubtful on their Saturday injury report.
Embiid underwent an appendectomy on April 9. He was also listed as doubtful for Friday’s game before being ruled out.
Philadelphia coach Nick Nurse said that Embiid did on-court work Saturday and will be evaluated after Sunday’s shootaround.
Forward Kelly Oubre Jr. (right adductor) is questionable.
Philadelphia star guard Tyrese Maxey scored 31 points in the Game 3 setback and made five 3-pointers for the second straight game. He felt the game got away from his squad.
“We always focus on what you could do better,” Maxey said. “… Got to get one (Sunday), got to protect home court and even the series.”
Maxey is averaging 27.0 points and 7.7 assists in the series.
The 76ers allowed more 3-pointers (20) than 2-point baskets (16) in Game 3, and Nurse said his team needs to make things tougher for Boston from outside the arc.
“They had five made off offensive rebounds and that’s not good, right?” Nurse said. “They made a lot of tough ones. … We’re going to have to be a lot better. It has to start with pressure.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Donte DiVincenzo (leg) ruled out for T-Wolves after non-contact injury
Apr 18, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Donte DiVincenzo (0) celebrates after a three-pointer during the second half against the Denver Nuggets in game one of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images Minnesota Timberwolves guard Donte DiVincenzo was ruled out after injuring his lower right leg in the first quarter of Saturday’s game against the Denver Nuggets.
DiVincenzo sustained the injury on a non-contact play. He planted his foot to go toward a loose ball, and he quickly went down as he grabbed toward the back of his right leg.
The team ruled out DiVincenzo before the end of the first quarter.
DiVincenzo averaged 12.2 points per game and shot 37.9% from 3-point range during the regular season. He averaged 14.3 points in the first three games of the playoff series against the Nuggets.
-Field Level Media
Sports
Oilers in familiar spot trailing high-scoring Ducks in series
Apr 24, 2026; Anaheim, California, USA; Anaheim Ducks defenseman Pavel Mintyukov (98) and Edmonton Oilers left wing Zach Hyman (18) fight for the puck during the third period of game three of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images The Edmonton Oilers need to repeat history. Again.
The Oilers are looking to kick off yet another series comeback when they continue their Western Conference first-round playoff series on the road against the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday.
During runs to the Stanley Cup final in each of the past two springs, the Oilers have erased a handful of series deficits. They were down 2-0 to the Los Angeles Kings last year before rallying to win the opening-round series. Edmonton also won series after trailing 2-1 against both the Vancouver Canucks and the Dallas Stars in 2024 and the Kings the year before that ahead of a second-round exit.
Therefore, trailing the Ducks by a 2-1 margin is not uncharted waters for the core group which boasts plenty of playoff experience.
“There’s a lot of hockey left to be played, right?” Oilers defenseman Mattias Ekholm said. “The momentum shifts, the swings, we’ve all been through it in here. So lean on that, take a deep breath and know that the sun’s going to come up tomorrow. We’ve got a big game coming.”
That said, Edmonton also must start playing better defensively. Anaheim has racked up 13 goals over the past two games, including a 7-4 throttling on Friday.
Run-and-gun hockey may be more entertaining and fun, but the Oilers learned over their past couple of years that it does not lead to success. Plus, the younger Ducks are beating them at that game.
Whether the Oilers make a goaltending change and turn to Tristan Jarry over Connor Ingram remains to be seen, but their struggles are not all on the netminder.
“Any time you let in seven, it’s not a goalie problem,” forward Zach Hyman said. “It’s just defending better. You’re not going to win. We didn’t give ourselves a chance with the amount of goals we gave up.”
The Ducks are flying high in more ways than one.
Not only is the young, up-and-coming team ahead in the series in its first trip to the playoffs since 2018 and igniting the rush among the fans, but the Ducks also are excelling with an exciting brand of hockey.
They have scored six or more goals in consecutive playoff games for the first time in franchise history, and the seven markers last outing is a franchise record for the postseason.
Even more exciting for their long-term future is that the young guns are firing on all cylinders.
Beckett Sennecke and Leo Carlsson scored 42 seconds apart in the third period to break open Friday’s game.
“Hopefully, they turn out to be great players because they’ve shown all the ingredients,” said Anaheim coach Joel Quenneville, who has guided more than a few young players into champions. “They want to be the best they can be on a daily basis, and I think that kind of pushes them and they’re showing that’s their mindset and that’s their objective.”
Anaheim has netted four power-play goals on eight chances in the series. The Ducks may not yet have their defensive game perfected, but it’s worth noting the Oilers failed to register even one shot on goal in the final 11:24 after making it a one-goal game.
And now the Ducks have the extra confidence of knowing they can beat the Oilers.
“I think we got an exciting team,” Sennecke said. “We can score goals, we can defend and we’re dangerous.”
–Field Level Media
Jayson Tatum's improvement bodes well for Celtics in Game 4 vs. 76ers
Donte DiVincenzo (leg) ruled out for T-Wolves after non-contact injury
