Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara won Japan’s fourth gold medal of the 2026 Winter Olympics on Monday night in the pairs figure skating competition. The duo, collectively known as RikuRyu, produced the best performance of their careers to storm back from fifth place in the short program. Their score of 158.13 points for the free skate was a world-record under the current scoring system. It gave them an overall total of 231.24, securing Japan’s first ever gold in the event. Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava of Georgia finished second, while Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin of Germany took home the bronze.
“It still hasn’t really sunk in yet,” said Miura. “After the mistake we made yesterday, I’m just so happy that we were able to regroup and show the strength we’ve built up over all these years. That means more to me than anything.” She’s referring to their failure to execute a high-scoring signature lift on Sunday that put them down in fifth. “Four years ago, I was the one who pushed us forward, but Riku saved me here,” said Kihara. “I thought it was all over after yesterday, but Riku took the lead, and we are able to come back.”
About Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara
After announcing the end of his partnership with Miu Suzaki in April 2019, Kihara considered retiring from professional figure skating. While contemplating the decision, he was approached by Canadian pair skating coach Bruno Marcotte, who asked if he would be interested in a tryout with his student, Riku Miura. Kihara agreed, and the rest, as they say, is history. Kihara and Miura have gone on to become one of the most formidable partnerships in pair figure skating, winning the Four Continents title and the Grand Prix Final twice each. They’ve also won two golds and two silvers at the World Figure Skating Championships.
At their first Olympics together in Beijing four years ago, they scored 141.04, putting them down in seventh. It was a disappointing result, but they did both leave the Games with a medal, helping Japan secure silver in the team event. They finished behind the US, and it was the same result at the Forum di Milano last week. Also in the team were Yuma Kagiyama and Shun Sato, who won medals in the men’s singles figure skating competition on Friday, Kaori Sakamoto, who will compete in the women’s event later this week, and rhythm dance duo Utana Yoshida and Masaya Morita.
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Updated On February 17, 2026
