Figure skating-Japan's Olympic pairs champions Miura and Kihara to retire

TOKYO, April 17 : Olympic champions Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara will retire from competitive skating at the end of the season having become Japan's first pairs gold medallists at Milano Cortina.

The duo, who teamed up in 2019, said on Instagram they had given their all to their careers and had no regrets.

"We are proud of everything we went through, and feel we gained so much along the way," they wrote in a post.

"The two of us will now take on new challenges so that we can bring wider recognition to pair skating in Japan."

Miura, 24, and Kihara, 33, savoured a dramatic triumph on the Milan ice, coming back from fifth place with a brilliant free skate that earned a world record 158.13 points under the revamped scoring system.

The pair also claimed back-to-back team silver medals at Beijing 2022 and Milano Cortina.

Their announcement comes days after Olympic teammate Yuma Kagiyama said he would take a break from competitive figure skating during the 2026-27 season.