Riku Miura, Ryuichi Kihara announce retirement as Olympic pairs' figure skating champions
NBC Sports • • sports
Key Points:
- Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara announced their retirement from competitive figure skating after becoming the first Japanese pairs team to win an Olympic gold medal at the Milan Games.
- The pair expressed pride in their careers and intend to promote pair skating in Japan through new challenges beyond competition.
- Miura and Kihara formed their partnership in 2019, overcoming past setbacks and injuries, and achieved historic success including two world titles in 2023 and 2025.
- Their final competitive performance featured a world record free skate score, securing a dominant Olympic gold despite a fifth-place short program finish.
- Their coach highlighted the lasting significance of their achievement as the best in the world, emphasizing the importance of their gold medal moment.
