Miura and Kihara put together their best free skate of the year on Monday, earning 158.13 points, thunderous applause and, most importantly, an Olympic gold medal.

Japanese figure skaters have been conquering Olympic events over the last two decades and following the successes of Shizuka Arakawa in the women's and Yuzuru Hanyu in the men's, Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara will be hoping to make a golden impact in the pairs at the Milano Cortina Olympics.

The "Blade Angels" of the U.S. begin their quest for gold with the short program in a stacked women's field. Follow the results.