Thread by @InTheLoPodcast

#4ContsFigure Pairs Press Conference

#RikuMiura/#RyuichiKihara: We were quite nervous coming into the comp due to the altitude, but despite the small misses, they were so happy that they were able to win the gold medal.

#EmilyChan: It was a really special moment for us to be able to go out there and connect the way we did. We're both very happy to be able to put it together and have confidence in each other and ourselves today

#SpencerAkiraHowe: It was definitely one of our best performances this season so we're super excited. A lot of us were battling with the high altitude and I think that we were able to come together and not really be too affected. We're super grateful and ready to move onto Worlds

#DeannaStellatoDudek: I was really happy with our performance, we had a couple of bobbles but I thought that we were better here than we were at Nats. The goal is to be better than yourself every time. I'm really looking forward to the next event

Q to Riku and Ryuichi about being the first Japanese Pair to win an ISU championship.
#RikuMiura: 3 years ago they were at 4CC, they were saying that one day they would really like to sit here in the centre (of the press con), and now they are so they're really happy.

#RyuichiKihara: They were very happy to make it here. All the practices paid off. To the younger generations of skaters in Japan, when they see us here winning the gold, [hopefully] they would think that we should try doing Pairs as well.

(cont.) If many more skaters in Japan try Pairs then we might be able to see more Japanese flags at these competitions in the Pairs event. I think we should try harder to inspire the younger generations.

Q for Emily/Spencer and Deanna/Max about PB's in the FS despite the altitude.

#SpencerAkiraHowe: Like I said before, I think this was one our best performances of the season and to see that score in the FS was super thrilling and exciting for the both of us

(cont.) It just paves the road for us to continue moving on an upward slope. We talked about injuries, and we're all dealing with our own things on and off the ice. So just being able to come here and grow, it really paves a great path for us as we move into Worlds

#DeannaStellatoDudek: For us, this was the first time that we added the side by side Salchow. That was our plan, regardless of the altitude. Max doesn't usually fall on it, so I was surprised to see him down, but I was really proud of him because he got back up and three

(cont.) crossovers later, had me over his head in the lifts. I was really proud of our skate today. Emily and Spencer skated before us , we knew they were lights out, and I said to Max "It's on! It's time to go!" If you want to be good, you have to learn how to skate after people

(cont.) who skate well. I think we had a lot of challenges here and I'm really happy with how we did. It's our best score by like a point so we've never skated the best that we can yet. So we're looking to have a clean skate at Worlds.

Q to Riku and Ryuichi about what they were thinking about after the end of their FS while lying on the ice.

#RyuichiKihara: Today program was not perfect so it definitely wasn't coming from our happiness or anything, it was more the lack of oxygen.

#RikuMiura: Ryuichi always does that anyway, but today it was a little bit extreme. I think that was due to the air.

Q to Deanna about how 23 yrs ago at Junior Worlds she podiumed at an ISU championship and now she's on it again.

#DeannaStellatoDudek: Was 23 years ago JWC? Wow, oh my gosh. Everyone says this math and I haven't even done this math - it's a long time!

(cont.) It feels pretty amazing. I'm pretty happy with this season. Max and I have had and the improvements we've made. We've had big hurdles - I was sick for 3 months and it definitely inhibited our training. Now I'm 90% almost through it and we're back, hoping to have an upward

(cont.) trajectory for the rest of the season. I'm really proud to be on all of these podiums, it really means a lot to me personally. I have every intention of continuing on until 2026.

Q to each of the team about how the mics were turned up loud in the kiss & cry for the TV stream.

#DeannaStellatoDudek: I think we're all just panicking thinking about what we said in the K&C cause no we did NOT know that. (Press room laughs)

#EmilyChan: Yeah, we did not know, but at the moment we're just very grateful and being present in the moment - so everything is all good.

#RikuMiura/#RyuichiKihara also didn't know that the mics were on and were, in fact, really exhausted after their program that they barely made it to the K&C. They hope that they can check what was recorded and maybe make cuts before it goes onto any broadcast 😂

Q to Emily & Spencer about managing their training to peak at 4CC.

#SpencerAkiraHowe: I think I have to give our biggest thanks to our coach. He really knows what he's doing and we all work together. It was a quick turn around from Nats but it wasn't a bad thing for us

(cont.) We were able to keep the ball rolling and stay in a really good training environment. The whole team back home, they really push us to do our best. We're really fortunate to be able to stay injury-free as we've continued through this season. We started with some injuries

(cont.) but as we got better, we were able to start training more and we're really able to reflect on this now at the end of the season.

#EmilyChan: Our coach guided us really well and we have complete faith and trust in him.

And that's a wrap on the Pairs Press Con! ❤️