{"id":11576,"date":"2026-03-09T11:13:47","date_gmt":"2026-03-09T11:13:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/?p=11576"},"modified":"2026-03-09T11:13:47","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T11:13:47","slug":"japans-star-pair-riku-miura-and-ryuichi-kihara-have-withdrawn-from-the-upcoming-world-figure-skating-championships-and-its-not-due-to-drama-or-conflict-after-publicly-shar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/?p=11576","title":{"rendered":"Japan\u2019s star pair Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara have withdrawn from the upcoming World Figure Skating Championships \u2014 and it\u2019s not due to drama or conflict. After publicly sharing one clear post-Olympic goal, the duo made a calculated decision that surprised fans: stepping back now to protect what comes next. It\u2019s about longevity. Recovery. Strategy. Still, the timing has sparked questions. Is this a temporary reset \u2014 or part of a bigger shift in their Olympic roadmap? Their full explanation hints at more than meets the eye."},"content":{"rendered":"
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Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara: \u201cAfter winning the Olympic gold medal, we realized it would be difficult to return our physical and mental condition to the pre-Olympic level in time for Worlds, so we made the decision to withdraw.\u201d<\/p>\n

Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara have withdrawn from the upcoming World Figure Skating Championship<\/p>\n

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Olympic gold medalists Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara have withdrawn from the upcoming World Figure Skating Championships, citing the difficulty of returning to peak condition so soon after the Olympics. Here\u2019s a translation of their comments.<\/p>\n

\"Japan<\/p>\n

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On the 27th, the Japan Skating Federation announced that Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara, who became Japan\u2019s first Olympic gold medalists in figure skating pairs at the Milano-Cortina Games, have withdrawn from the World Figure Skating Championships (to be held in Prague, Czech Republic, starting March 24).<\/p>\n

Through the federation, Rikuryu released a statement:<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe have decided to withdraw from the World Championships.<\/p>\n

\"Japan's<\/p>\n

This season, our main goal was the Olympics, and from the start of the season, we hadn\u2019t really considered whether we would compete at Worlds.<\/p>\n

After winning the gold medal at the Olympics, we realized it would be difficult to return our physical and mental condition to the pre-Olympic level in time for Worlds, so we made the decision to withdraw.<\/p>\n

As for our future plans, we will make an announcement ourselves after the season ends.<\/p>\n

We kindly ask for your continued warm support for Rikuryu.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

\u201cI share the same goal, so I hope to always support Ryuichi by his side,\u201d says Riku Miura on her partner\u2019s goal to \u201cbecome coaches for the next generation and make Japan a pair skating powerhouse.\u201d<\/h2>\n

Olympic gold medalists Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara reflected on their dramatic victory at the Milano-Cortina Games, emphasizing their partnership, mutual support, and their dream to help Japan become a pair skating powerhouse.<\/p>\n

Riku Miura (24) and Ryuichi Kihara (33), who won Japan\u2019s first-ever gold medal in pairs figure skating at the Milano-Cortina Olympics, appeared live on TV Asahi\u2019s \u201cHodo Station\u201d on the February 25th. They looked back on their dramatic finish, marking the world\u2019s highest score in the free skate after placing fifth in the short program. Here\u2019s a translation of their comments posted on Nikkansports.<\/p>\n

\"Rikuryu,<\/p>\n

Miura, raising her fist high, and Kihara, completing the final lift, created a scene so moving that even the TV cameraman filmed it through tears. Reviewing the historic moment, Miura said, \u201cWe made no major mistakes. Because of what happened the day before, the pressure was really intense, but we were able to give everything we had, so that fist pump was filled with emotion.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the short program, Kihara was devastated, even shedding tears.<\/p>\n

Still, Kihara explained, \u201cAfter the official practice in the evening, we had various exchanges, and after resetting my mindset, I was able to face the competition without showing weakness, fully believing in the training we had done.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Japan<\/p>\n

Miura, who famously said, \u201cI\u2019m the big sister,\u201d saving Kihara, also reflected on her growth.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese past seven years, there\u2019s always been support\u2014encouragement at every competition, genuine support from the heart, and that\u2019s why I was able to take on that role this time.\u201d<\/p>\n

There were times when injuries or poor health prevented them from training, but Kihara recalled, \u201cWhenever one of us returned, we were always prepared to get moving right away. We watched each other\u2019s efforts up close.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Riku-Ryu"<\/p>\n

Usually, Miura doesn\u2019t respond to Kihara\u2019s encouragement before competitions due to nerves, but she expressed gratitude: \u201cHe\u2019s not shy and always honestly shares what he feels from the bottom of his heart.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both spoke of their dream to lead Japan to become a pair skating powerhouse. Kihara pledged, \u201cThis time, many people learned about pairs. I don\u2019t want our generation to be the last for pairs in Japan. If there\u2019s anything we can do to help Japan become a pair skating powerhouse, we\u2019ll do it. There haven\u2019t been many pair coaches in Japan, so we want to work hard to become coaches for the next generation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Miura agreed, \u201cI share the same goal, so I hope to always support him by his side.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara: \u201cAfter winning the Olympic gold medal, we realized it would be difficult to return our physical and mental condition to the pre-Olympic… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11577,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11576","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11576","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11576"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11576\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11578,"href":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11576\/revisions\/11578"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11577"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11576"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11576"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11576"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}