RikuRyu Turns Professional, Sets Sights on Building Japan’s Pair Skating Pipeline

“When we won the World Championships last year, we both started thinking, ‘This might be our last World Championships.'”

Riku Miura (24) and Ryuichi Kihara (33), the figure skating pair known as “RikuRyu,” who competed at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics and became the first Japanese pair to win an Olympic gold medal in figure skating, held a press conference announcing their retirement from competitive skating on April 28. Fighting back tears several times during the conference, they expressed gratitude to those who had supported their careers and revealed that they had already been thinking of it as their last season during the Olympic campaign. Miura also said, “I had decided to retire by the time the Olympics were over.”

Furthermore, on May 25 (local time in Los Angeles), the pair appeared together for the ceremonial first pitch at a Dodgers game, the team of Shohei Ohtani. Kihara lifted Miura while throwing the ball in a lift first pitch, delighting the crowd.

The true faces of RikuRyu witnessed by this magazine

In fact, on a certain day before their retirement announcement, this magazine witnessed the pair’s close and affectionate relationship.

Several hours after performing in STARS ON ICE JAPAN TOUR 2026, their first ice show appearance since the Olympics, the two appeared together at the convenience store inside the hotel where they were staying.

“I was surprised to see ‘RikuRyu‘ in the store! I had seen news reports about how they lived together in Canada while dedicating themselves to competition, but seeing them spending their off time together as well made me think, ‘So it’s really true’ (laughs). They were completely different from the tense atmosphere they show on the ice, shopping with calm expressions while chatting with each other, and it was heartwarming to watch,” said a customer who happened to be there.

After finishing their shopping, they got into the elevator together and returned to their hotel. It was a brief glimpse into the lives of two people who seemed inseparable both on and off the ice.

Regarding their future, the two clearly stated at their retirement press conference that they would continue working as professionals. Through ice shows, skating classes, and other activities, they plan to promote the appeal of pair skating.

What was particularly striking was their aspiration to become coaches.

Miura said, “I want to become a coach who can support each student individually, not just teach technique,” while Kihara said, “I want to be someone who can support athletes not only in skating but also with nutrition and mental aspects.”

Currently, the Japan Skating Federation is developing a coaching certification system, and the era is approaching in which even top athletes are expected to undergo specialized training and obtain coaching qualifications. The days when a great athlete could simply become a coach are coming to an end. That is precisely why the pair’s attitude of wanting to study for four or five years before coaching can be considered highly modern.

The structural challenges facing pair skating

Former figure skater Takahito Mura, who now works as a professional skater involved in commentary and the development of young athletes, analyzed their career transition as follows.

“The job of a coach is, in reality, completely different from that of an athlete. The mindset and the areas that require attention are vastly different between being a competitor performing on the ice and being a coach providing instruction. Of course, it is important to convey technique and performance concepts to athletes, but coaches must also learn how to conduct themselves in that role, understand what their athletes need, and even master social rules and responsibilities that they did not have to worry about during their own competitive careers. When RikuRyu said they wanted to spend four or five years learning, I believe that is the kind of preparation they were referring to.

Passing on technique and experience is probably something top athletes excel at. However, they will undoubtedly come to realize the different mindset required when approaching competitions as coaches and the difficulty of guiding athletes with a wide variety of personalities and needs.”

The pair also addressed the structural challenges facing pair skating in Japan.

In Japan, athletes who wish to seriously pursue pair skating often need to train overseas. In fact, RikuRyu themselves spent many years based in Canada. At the press conference, Kihara said,

“There are still very few pair skating coaches in Japan. Having to go abroad from the very first stage creates a significant barrier.”

He revealed that, in the future, he hopes to create an environment in which pair skaters can be fully trained within Japan. The president of their affiliated organization, Kinoshita Group, also mentioned that there are plans for establishing an academy in the future.

“Japan has long been regarded as weak in pair skating and other couple disciplines. I believe they are the ones who changed that trend. With the two of them eventually becoming coaches, the development of an environment where pair skating can be taught seriously within Japan should progress significantly.

As RikuRyu mentioned at the press conference, many Japanese athletes currently need an overseas training base if they want to continue pair skating at a high level. One reason is the shortage of qualified coaches. In addition, couple disciplines such as pairs and ice dance carry a higher risk of collisions when sharing the ice with singles skaters, making it difficult to secure suitable practice facilities. Reserving separate ice time, on the other hand, comes with considerable costs.

Overseas training bases also have their own challenges. In recent years, the weak yen, combined with rising coaching fees, choreography costs, and rink fees, has made training abroad financially difficult for many athletes, even if the facilities themselves are excellent. If these issues can be overcome and an environment is established where RikuRyu can coach domestically, I believe the number of pair skaters in Japan will continue to grow. Until now, Japan has been considered behind other countries in terms of coaching and rink infrastructure, but they have the potential to change that situation.” (same source)

This is not merely the second chapter of their lives after retirement. Having reached the pinnacle of the sport, RikuRyu are now setting their sights on a new challenge: building the foundation for the future of pair skating in Japan.