Ryuichi Kihara

is a Japanese retired pair skater. He and pair partner, Riku Miura, are the 2026 Olympic pair skating champions, two-time Olympic team event silver medalists (2022, 2026), two-time World Champions (2023, 2025), two-time World silver medalists (2022, 2024), two-time Four Continents champions (2023, 2025), two-time Grand Prix Final champions (2022–23, 2025–26), eight-time ISU Grand Prix medalists (five golds, two silvers, one bronze), three-time ISU Challenger Series medalists (one gold, two silvers), and two-time Japanese national champions (2019–20, 2024–25).

Miura and Kihara are the first Japanese pair skating team to win gold at an ISU Grand Prix event, an ISU Grand Prix Final, an ISU Championships, and a Winter Olympic Games. They are also one of only few skaters to achieve a Career Golden Slam.

He also previously competed with Narumi Takahashi and Miu Suzaki, representing Japan at the 2014 and 2018 Winter Olympics, respectively.

As a singles skater, he is a two-time bronze medalist on the ISU Junior Grand Prix series and the 2010–11 Japanese Junior silver medalist.

Personal life Kihara was born on August 22, 1992, in Ichinomiya, Aichi. In addition to figure skating, he enjoys playing baseball in his spare time.

On 23 August 2026, Kihara announced his engagement with pair partner Riku Miura.

Career Singles skating Kihara began learning to skate in 1996.

Miura/Kihara made their international competitive debut at 2019 NHK Trophy, where they finished fifth.

During the 2024 Paris Olympics, a medal ceremony was held for Miura/Kihara and their teammates from the 2022 Olympic Figure Skating Team Event, where they were awarded their Olympic silver medals.

2024–25 season: World and Four Continents champions

Miura/Kihara started the season by competing at the 2024 CS Lombardia Trophy. The pair placed second in the short program. However, during their free skate, Kihara slipped while dismounting Miura from a lift, causing him to fall on his back with Miura landing on top of him. The pair placed third in that segment of the competition and finished second overall behind Italian pair team, Sara Conti/Niccolò Macii.

Miura/Kihara's Grand Prix results allowed them to qualify for the 2024–25 Grand Prix Final in Grenoble, France. At the Final, Miura/Kihara won the silver medal behind Hase/Volodin of Germany. The pair went on to place second in the free skate segment behind Hase/Volodin due to Miura two-footing both pair throw landings, however their short program lead was enough to keep Miura/Kihara in first place overall, thus winning their second World title.

Selected to compete for Team Japan at the 2025 World Team Trophy, Miura/Kihara won all segments of the pair's event, scoring personal bests in the process and aiding Team Japan in finishing second overall.

On February 6, Miura/Kihara competed in the 2026 Winter Olympics Figure Skating Team Event where they placed first in the short program with a new personal best score. "We were able to show the results of our practice today, so I’m very happy," said Miura. "This is our second Olympics, and over the past four years we’ve had injuries, but those experiences made us stronger than before. We’re really proud of that!" Two days later, they won the free skate segment with another personal best score, helping secure Team Japan an Olympic silver medal for a second consecutive time. "It wasn't a small mistake... It can't be helped," said Kihara following their performance. "There's nothing to do now but to face ahead. The competition isn't over yet. There are still things we have to do. I just don't understand why it happened, though." Miura added, "We just have to take things step by step. We made a mistake today. So we reset. We can do it if we believe that we can. We'll reset and do our best tomorrow."

The following day, Miura/Kihara delivered a flawless free skate, achieving a personal best, and breaking the world record for a pairs free skate score that had previously been held by Anastasia Mishina and Aleksandr Galliamov from the 2022 European Championships. With their combined total score, Miura/Kihara were able to move into first place, winning Japan's first ever pair skating gold medal.

"I honestly have nothing but words of gratitude," Kihara expressed. "Yesterday, we thought a comeback was still possible. The encouragement of those words helped me turn my mindset forward. I'm truly thankful to everyone." He added, "I couldn't stop crying today. I was so frustrated, I couldn't sleep last night... I couldn't stop my tears since I arrived at the rink, even at practice, from warm-up. It was a feeling I didn't understand, something I never experienced before. But the messages I got from people, and our coach, lifted me up again... This is the place where we fight. There's no way we could give up at these Olympics. We told ourselves we would absolutely attack until the very end. I had been crying since morning, but unlike me, Riku was really strong today. Before the competition, I reset mentally and told the team I was okay."

Miura reacted by saying, "In the past, I wouldn't have been able to be this strong. It's because of all the work we built together, and the support he's given me through every competition, that I was able to become strong at this event... Ryuichi's disappointment was really strong, so instead, I shifted into the role of supporting him. I didn't fall that much emotionally. We still had the free program, and in the team event, we were able to score 150. I kept thinking that if we skated without mistakes, we still had a chance." Following this win, Miura/Kihara achieved a Career Golden Slam, becoming only the second Japanese skaters to do so after Yuzuru Hanyu.

A couple weeks after their Olympic win, Miura/Kihara announced that they would not compete at the 2026 World Championships due to feeling that they would be unable to mentally and physically prepare for the event on time. They also stated that they would make an announcement regarding their future plans following the end of the season.

On April 17, 2026, Miura/Kihara announced their retirement from competitive figure skating.

Post-competitive career Following their retirement announcement, Miura/Kihara expressed their desire to become pair skating coaches with the goal of promoting the discipline in Japan and helping nurture the next generation of Japanese pair skating. "When you want to learn pairs skating, the first place you have to go is overseas," stated Kihara. "I think that if we can one day teach what pairs skating is in Japan, we can eliminate one of the factors that makes pairs skating difficult. Miura understands a lot more about the women's part than I do. Rather than coaching alone, I want to coach together as a team."

In May 2026, it was announced that Miura/Kihara had produced their own ice show called "THE DESTINY," featuring a cast of the world's top-ranking pair skating and ice dance teams.

Honours and awards Aichi Prefecture Sports Achievement Award (2022) Hyogo Prefecture Sports Award: Special Athlete Award (2022) Inspirational Osaka Award (2022) Japanese Olympic Committee, JOC Sports Award: Excellence Award (2022) Japanese Olympic Committee, JOC Sports Award: Special Award (2026) Japan Skating Federation: JOC Cup MVP Award (2022) Mayor's Key to the town of Oakville, Ontario, Canada honoured by Mayor Rob Burton on 19 March 2026. TV Asahi: Big Sports Special Award (2022) TV Asahi: Big Sports Award (2023)

World record scores +Combined total records Segment Score Event Date Pairs Free skate 158.13 2026 Winter Olympics February 16, 2026

Programs Pair skating with Riku Miura

Season Short program Free skating Exhibition 2025–2026 Paint It Black Strength and Honor Nelle tue mani (Now We Are Free) Can't Stop the Feeling! 2024–2025 Let it go Move Together

Pair skating with Narumi Takahashi Season Short program Free skating 2014–2015