Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara of Japan compete during the pairs free skate program at the Skate America figure ... of the U.S. took another step on his path toward the 2026 Winter Olympics by opening the slimmest of leads over Japanese rival Kao Miura.

The 2022 Olympic team medallist came from fourth after the short program to take the crown in the Grand Prix season opener in Texas.

Wakaba Higuchi won the women's title at Skate America on Saturday, leading Rinka Watanabe in a Japanese one-two in the first figure skating grand prix event of the season.She delivered an elegant, technically crisp routine to Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill" to claim the first grand prix title of her career.

Wakaba Higuchi won her first Grand Prix event after more than eight years of trying Saturday night, putting together an error-free program at Skate America to edge Japanese teammate Rinka Watanabe and American star Isabeau Levito.

Instead, Japan's Wakaba Higuchi, who was arguably the most accomplished active skater without a Grand Prix title, earned the biggest victory of her career. She h

Wakaba Higuchi of Japan finishes first in the women's competition at Skate America with a total score of 196.93.