Rikuryuu Pair Riko Miura and Ryoichi Kihara Announce Engagement After Olympic Gold

Riko Miura and Ryoichi Kihara, the Japanese figure skating pair known as Rikuryuu (りくりゅう), announced their engagement on Sunday, August 23, 2026, posting proposal photos and a joint message on Instagram. The surprise news came four months after the duo retired from competition following their Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic gold medal — Japan’s first Olympic medal of any color in pairs skating.

Editor’s note: This article draws on reporting from NBC Sports, ORICON NEWS, the International Skating Union (ISU) athlete bios, and social posts from Miura and Kihara, August 22–23, 2026.

What they posted

On the morning of August 23 in Japan, both skaters updated their Instagram accounts with matching posts. The images show Kihara on one knee on the ice, presenting an engagement ring to Miura, along with shots of the couple smiling with their rings visible.

Their joint message — written in Japanese and English — opened with “We’re engaged.” and was signed “Riku & Ryuichi.” The English text read:

Through both the happy times and the difficult ones, we’ve shared so many moments together, supporting each other every step of the way. Over time, we became irreplaceable parts of each other’s lives — someone neither of us could imagine life without. We’re truly happy to finally be able to share this news with all of you. We will continue to support each other and move forward step by step, staying true to who we are.

The pair framed the announcement in the same collaborative voice they used throughout their skating career, rather than separate individual statements.

Who is Rikuryuu?

Detail	Information
Nickname	Rikuryuu (りくりゅう) — from Riku/Riko + Ryuichi
Riko Miura	Born December 17, 2001 (Hyogo Prefecture)
Ryoichi Kihara	Born August 22, 1992 (Aichi Prefecture)
Formed as a pair	2019
Coach	Meagan Duhamel (2015–16 World pairs champion with Eric Radford)

Miura and Kihara became one of Japan’s most successful pairs teams in a discipline where the country had rarely reached the global podium. Before their Olympic breakthrough, they were the first Japanese pair to win the ISU World Championships, Four Continents Championships, and Grand Prix Final — achieving a season grand slam in 2022–23.

From Beijing to Milan Cortina

Their trajectory accelerated after a seventh-place pairs finish at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, where Japan also won team silver. Kihara, a three-time Olympian (2014, 2018, and 2022), rebuilt his career with Miura after earlier partnerships.

Milestone	Result
Beijing 2022	Pairs 7th; team silver
2022–23 season	World, Four Continents, and Grand Prix Final titles
2025 World Championships	Gold
Milan Cortina 2026	Olympic pairs gold — first Japanese Olympic pairs medal of any color

At Milan Cortina, Miura and Kihara rallied from fifth place after the short program to win gold in what became their final competitive event. The victory ended a long drought for Japanese pairs at the Olympics and capped a career they later described as having no regrets.

Roughly two months after the Games, the pair announced retirement from competitive skating. In that post, they said they would pursue new challenges to raise the profile of pair skating in Japan and asked fans to follow their next chapter.

Public reaction

The Olympic Games’ official social account congratulated the couple in Japanese: “Congratulations on your engagement! We sincerely wish you both lasting happiness.”

Messages of support spread quickly from skating federations, fellow athletes, and fans in Japan and abroad. For many followers, the engagement confirmed a relationship that had drawn speculation after the duo began sharing more personal photos on social media following their retirement announcement.

What comes next

Miura and Kihara have not announced wedding dates or detailed post-skating plans. Their retirement statement emphasized promoting pair skating in Japan rather than a return to the ice as competitors. The engagement suggests their partnership will continue off the rink as well — a narrative that resonates in a sport where pairs chemistry is both artistic and deeply personal.

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Discussion

1. Does an Olympic pairs gold make Rikuryuu Japan’s most influential figure skating duo of this era?

Their titles span Worlds, Grand Prix, and the Olympics — but Japanese singles and ice dance have also produced global stars. Where do you rank this pair in the country’s winter-sports history?

2. After retirement, should elite pairs stay in the sport as coaches or ambassadors — or is stepping away entirely healthier?

Miura and Kihara said they want to grow pair skating’s visibility in Japan. Is that the right path, or does the sport need structural investment beyond celebrity?

Share your memories of their Milan Cortina free skate — or what you hope they do next.