Olympic Gold Medal-Winning Pairs Skaters Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara Get Engaged on Ice

Japanese pairs figure skating champions Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara announced their engagement on Instagram on Aug. 22. The athletes won a gold medal at the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic Games.

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NEED TO KNOW

Pairs figure skating champions Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara announced their engagement on Instagram on Aug. 22

The athletes won a gold medal at the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic Games

“Over time, we became irreplaceable parts of each other’s lives,” Miura wrote alongside photos of the proposal, which fittingly took place on ice

From the Olympic rings to an engagement ring …

Japanese pairs figure skating champions Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara are engaged. They announced the happy news on Instagram on Saturday, Aug. 22, sharing photos of the proposal — which fittingly took place on ice.

“We’re engaged. Through both the happy times and the difficult ones, we’ve shared so many moments together, supporting each other every step of the way,” Miura, 24, wrote in both Japanese and English.“Over time, we became irreplaceable parts of each other’s lives — someone neither of us could imagine life without,” she continued of their partnership both on and off the rink.“We’re truly happy to finally be able to share this news with all of you,” Miura wrote. “As we begin this new chapter, we’ll continue to support each other and move forward together, one step at a time, while always staying true to who we are. We hope you’ll continue to warmly support us and watch over us.”

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In one photo, Kihara is down on one knee on the ice, holding out a ring box to Miura. Other shots capture the pair — often referred to as “RikuRyu” — smiling and admiring Miura’s ring. In another playful photo, Miura points to her fiancé as he wears the ring on his finger.

Some of the couple’s fellow Olympians shared their love in the comments, including pairs skater Madison Chock, who wrote, “Congratulations friends!!! 🥹💞.”

Piper Gilles commented, “Congratulations you two!! So happy for you 💕💍.”

The newly engaged athletes began their pairs skating partnership in 2019 and made their international competitive debut together at that year’s NHK Trophy competition. They went on to win a silver medal in the team event at the 2022 Beijing Olympics.

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At this year’s Milan Cortina Olympic Games, they earned another team silver medal and made history in the free-skate competition, becoming the first Japanese pair to win gold in figure skating. They also set a world record with their score of 158.13 points.

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The duo overcame years of challenges together, including Kihara struggling with recurring back injuries and Miura continuing to compete with a chronically dislocated shoulder.

They announced their retirement in April, writing on Instagram at the time, “We feel deeply grateful to all of you who have supported us from the beginning of our partnership. ‘RikuRyu’ could not have competed for as long as we have without the help of people around us.”

They continued, “While our competitive careers are coming to an end, we truly feel that we gave it our all, and have no regrets. We are proud of everything we went through, and feel we gained so much along the way. The two of us will now take on new challenges so that we can bring wider recognition to pair skating in Japan.”

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