Japan’s Olympic pairs champions Riku Miura, Ryuichi Kihara engaged

FILE–Gold medalists Japan’s Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara pose after the victory ceremony of the figure skating pair skating free skating final during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at Milano Ice Skating Arena in Milan on February 16, 2026. (Photo by JULIEN DE ROSA / AFP)

TOKYO–Japan’s Olympic figure skating pairs champions Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara announced their engagement on Sunday.

Two-time world champions Miura, 24, and Kihara, 34, became media darlings after they won Japan’s first Olympic pairs gold medals at the Milan-Cortina Games in Italy in February.

They retired from competition in April.

婚約しました。

嬉しい時も、辛い時も、たくさんの時間を共に過ごし、支え合いながら歩んできました。いつしか、お互いにとってかけがえのない、なくてはならない存在となりました。

こうしてようやく皆様にご報告できることを、心から嬉しく思います。… pic.twitter.com/wcfYNHRIFr

— Ryuichi Kihara(木原龍一) (@ryuichi_kihara) August 22, 2026

“We’re engaged,” the pair said in a statement.

“Through both the happy times and the difficult ones, we’ve shared so many moments together, supporting each other every step of the way,” they said.

“Over time, we became irreplaceable parts of each other’s lives.”

In February’s Olympics, Miura and Kihara, popularly known in Japan as “Rikuryu”, went into the decisive free skate in fifth place after errors in their short programme.

They then stunned the world by topping the podium with personal-best scores, making them national heros in Japan.