<figure id="attachment_458078" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-458078" style="width: 3968px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="3dc9790f"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/02/5b32a3456d2ac421aff47f0478deff36.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-458078" class="wp-caption-text">Rira Miura and Ryuichi Kihara, the gold medal-winning pair of figure pairs at the Milan Cortina Olympics</figcaption></figure>
<h2><span class="strongInContent"> I was the big sister.&#8221;</span></h2>
<p> It is a historic accomplishment for the Rikuryu pair.</p>
<p> On February 16 (local time), the Rikuryu pair of Rirai Miura (24) and Ryuichi Kihara (33) won the gold medal in the Pair Free Figure Skating event at the Cortina Winter Olympics in Milan.</p>
<p> In the team competition held from February 6 to 9, they took first place in the short program. In the free skate, they scored the highest score in the world this season, bringing Japan the silver medal. Kihara was the most likely candidate for the gold medal, but she unexpectedly made a mistake in the lift of the short program on the 15th, and started 5th place.</p>
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<p><span class="strongInContent"> Immediately after her performance, Kihara&#8217;s shoulders slumped in disappointment, and she seemed so shocked that she could hardly look up. Miura was still holding her hand on Kihara&#8217;s shoulder and seemed to be cheering her up. Although Kihara is nine years older than Miura, I thought the relationship seen in this scene was a testament to the strength of the two since last year.</span></p>
<p> Then, in the Free Skate, she perfectly executed all the lifts she had missed the day before, to score the world&#8217;s highest score of all time. She overturned the 6.90-point gap between herself and the top skaters, and won the gold medal with the &#8220;biggest&#8221; upset in the history of the Olympics.</p>
<p> In an interview after the awards, Miura said, &#8220;I have been able to recover from yesterday&#8217;s mistake,</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> I am really happy that we were able to recover so much from yesterday&#8217;s mistake, and show our strength that we have been working on,&#8221; said Miura, expressing her joy.</span></p>
<p> Miura expressed his joy as he looked at Kihara, who was in a half-crying state,</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Ryuichi is crying all the time. Ryuichi is the one who always pulls me along. So this time, I was the big sister.</span></p>
<p> He smiled. Kihara, on the other hand, said, &#8220;Four years ago (&#8217;22), I was a big sister,</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Four years ago, I was the one who had to pull him along, but this time, he helped me all the way. Yesterday, when it was over, I thought that everything was really over, but Rirai pulled me back strong, and I managed to come back.</span></p>
<p> I think it was really good that I didn&#8217;t give up,&#8221; she said, expressing her joy.</p>
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<p> FRIDAY Digital witnessed a scene in April of last year that hinted at their relationship. It was a scene at the final round of last season&#8217;s &#8220;World Figure Skating Championships.</p>
<p> On the last day of the competition, an exhibition was held, and the Rikuryu pair appeared in the grand finale. After the crowd was excited, the two appeared in front of the fans who were waiting outside the venue.</p>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" The two were seen by the fans waiting outside the venue."></div>
<h2><span class="strongInContent">Very well balanced.&#8221;</span></h2>
<p> Kihara was dressed in top and bottom jerseys. Kihara was dressed in top and bottom jerseys and carried a large suitcase next to him with large bags under his arms. Miura, on the other hand, was wearing large sunglasses and all in black in a fashionable, celebrity-like style. Kihara was like a &#8220;male manager supporting a female celebrity&#8221; as he loaded their luggage onto the bus for the trip.</p>
<p> In an interview with &#8220;web Sportiva&#8221; (April 19, 2012), Kihara said, &#8220;At first, I was the one who took the lead,</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> In the beginning, I took the lead, and I still do, but recently I&#8217;ve been getting the back end of the stick. I feel that my position is getting weaker and weaker (laughs).</span></p>
<p> (Laughs.) I was able to catch a glimpse of the exact moment he was talking about.</p>
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<p> Pro skater and commentator Takahito Mura commented on the strength of the duo,</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Compared to the other pairs, their overall level of perfection was overwhelming. In terms of technical points, they were more than 10 points ahead of the German pair that placed first in the short program. It was truly the best performance ever in my opinion. In a sense, because I wasn&#8217;t satisfied with my performance in the short, I thought it gave me a chance to go into the free skate with a renewed spirit,&#8221; he praised.</span></p>
<p> As for their personal side, he said, &#8220;Before the team competition, Ryuichi was also a very good skater, but he was not so good at the team competition.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Ryuichi said, &#8220;Before the team competition, Ryuichi said, &#8216;Let&#8217;s beat everyone together. We can definitely take on the challenge. However, like in this case, Rirai-chan pulls him along when the situation calls for it. I felt again this time that they are a very well-balanced pair, supporting each other in various situations.</span></p>
<p> The rapid progress of the strongest pair in history has only just begun.</p>
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<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" Riku-Ryu in a friendly two-shot"></div>
<figure id="attachment_458009" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-458009" style="width: 5082px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="393bcd35"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/02/0d237266ddbd4d19c08fe69c93577183.jpeg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-458009" class="wp-caption-text">The two after the &#8220;World Figure Skating Championships&#8221; last April. Ryuichi Kihara tries to load his luggage onto the bus next to Rira Miura, who is wearing sunglasses.</figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_458010" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-458010" style="width: 5082px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="07ee622a"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/02/5ce920509fe5b715121b2627959f313f.jpeg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-458010" class="wp-caption-text"> The two are well-balanced, with their positions reversed in some cases.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_458008" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-458008" style="width: 4402px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="208ca6b5"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/02/af13897b0da020443d2544222972a15b.jpeg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-458008" class="wp-caption-text"> Ryuichi Kihara smiles when he notices a fan.</figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_458018" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-458018" style="width: 1462px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="e3b958d5"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/02/c7e5c7874af598ae3a5f852028363d02.png" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-458018" class="wp-caption-text"> Ryuichi Kihara and his coach Bruno Marcotte pose for a photo with their silver medals after the &#8220;World Figure Skating Championships&#8221; awards ceremony (from Ryuichi Kihara&#8217;s Instagram @kihara_ryuichi).</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_458012" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-458012" style="width: 1488px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="be6462c5"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/02/7fb6ef13f131415e0938b99ba9032cdd.png" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-458012" class="wp-caption-text"> Ryuichi Kihara and his coach Bruno Marcotte pose for a photo just before boarding their flight home from Canada for the GP Finals last December (from Ryuichi Kihara&#8217;s Instagram @kihara_ryuichi).</figcaption></figure>


 Kyodo News (1st photo), Kumataro Arai (2nd-4th photos)

 On February 16, the final of Figure Skating Pairs Free Skate was held at the Winter Olympics in Milan, and the "Rikuryu" pair of Rirai Miura and Ryuichi Kihara won the gold medal. This website had taken a heartwarming shot of the strongest pair in history last year.

Kihara loaded up the luggage for two&#8230;and celebrated the gold medal! This magazine was watching the two-shot of the &#8220;strongest&#8221; Rikuryu pair.

Kihara loaded up the luggage for two…and celebrated the gold medal! This magazine was watching the two-shot of the “strongest” Rikuryu pair.

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