BOSTON (Kyodo) -- Japanese figure skating pair Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara clinched gold Thursday at the world championships in Boston, recapturing the title they won in 2023.

Starting with a 1.96-point lead from the short program, they placed second in the free skate on their way to a winning total of 219.79 at TD Garden.

Germany's Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin took silver after winning the segment, with Italy's Sara Conti and Niccolo Macii claiming bronze.

For the Japanese duo, affectionately known to fans by the nickname "Rikuryu," the victory wiped away the disappointment of narrowly missing out on gold last year.

Japan's Yuma Kagiyama, a three-time world championship runner-up, placed second in the men's short program and will head into the free skate 3.32 points behind U.S. star Ilia Malinin.

Beijing Winter Olympic silver medalist Kagiyama and reigning world champion Malinin appear to be in a two-horse race for the title after finishing head and shoulders above the rest of the field in the opening segment.

Both executed a pair of quads and a triple axel in their routines, with Malinin earning a season-best 110.41 points and Kagiyama nearly setting his own career-best with 107.09.

Japan's Shun Sato scored 91.26 to place fifth, while countryman and fellow world championship debutant Tatsuya Tsuboi scraped into the free skate after placing 24th with 73.00 points.