When Riku met Ryuichi: Miura/Kihara are going where no Japanese pair have gone before
The first figure skaters from Japan to have won the Grand Prix Final in pairs, Miura and Kihara continue on a historic path - bonded by a chemistry like no other.
Figure Skating
Miura Riku and Kihara Ryuichi knew.
From the day they formed their partnership in August 2019, it clicked.
Things have gone pretty well for the Japanese figure skating pair since. This season, their fourth together, they have won every competition they've entered - including their maiden Grand Prix Final appearance in December.
Miura/Kihara made history in Turin, where they became the first-ever Japanese couple to win the Final. They achieved a similar feat just two months later, capturing the Four Continents Championships title in Colorado Springs, USA - another first for a Japanese pairs team.
But the two are nowhere close to resting on their laurels. They have more history to write as far as they are concerned. They cast their eyes next on the upcoming World Figure Skating Championships on home soil in Saitama, Japan (22-26 in March.
“Of course we’re very happy about having won the Grand Prix Final,” Miura said in an interview with Olympics.com in Turin. “It’s given us a lot of confidence for sure.
“But we feel like we were far from our best. I hope we can wrap up the season at the world championships by making even more history.”
Added Kihara, “I’m glad we won the title and achieved something. But we owe this to our predecessors who carved out the path we’re on right now.
“So it’s our turn, to keep working hard and keep this going for future generations. Our work is cut out.”
Miura/Kihara: Arriving on the global stage
For Miura, Kihara is her second career partner after one season with Ichihashi Shoya. For Kihara, Miura indeed is third time’s a charm.
While the pair’s start was derailed by the global pandemic, there was never any concern over how Miura, who is nine years younger than Kihara, would mesh.
Watching them do media, at times, can be like watching seasoned Japanese stand-up, with Kihara often having a dig at Miura’s expense (in a cute, Meg Ryan-sort-of way, Miura is funnier than she realises).
The beauty of it is that the synergy comes naturally, completely unforced. This was from Day 1, and it’s only gotten better - on and off the ice.
“We don’t have to try to be on the same wavelength. We just are,” Kihara said. “I don’t really know how to describe it in words.
“We got along from the very start of our partnership. But each year, we’ve added an agent of change to our chemistry which has made it even better.”
Ironically, the ground-breaking 2022-23 campaign for Miura/Kihara didn’t get off on the right foot: Miura dislocated her shoulder during a summer ice show, sidelining her for two months.
But the two passed this chemistry test with flying colours, as the season has gone to show. Miura said missing time together only strengthened the bond.
“I think the injury brought us closer. I really feel that, having gotten through half the season,” she said.
A showdown with the reigning world champions, Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier, awaits in Saitama. Miura/Kihara were runners-up to the Americans at Worlds in 2022, but turned the tables at this season's Grand Prix Final.
Saitama is set to be the blockbuster.
But already, Miura and Kihara have their sights set on things further down the road - like three years down the road, for Milano Cortina 2026.
“We (placed third) in Beijing as a team,” Miura said of the figure skating team competition. “Next time, I hope we can win a medal as a pair.”
Said Kihara, “Before the Beijing Olympics, I thought winning a medal at the Games was a farfetched dream. But after the team event, I learned that it wasn’t just a dream.
“It was a goal, a target we’re allowed to aim for. And that’s where we’re headed for right now.”