*This article is based on the official results and reports of the 2025 World Figure Skating Championships in Boston and the Aichi/Nagoya 2025 ISU Grand Prix Final.*
Two-time world champions and GP Final winners again
Japan’s first-ever pair world champions, Riku Miura / Ryuichi Kihara – known as “RikuRyu” – rewrote history once again in the 2025 season. They reclaimed the world title at the World Figure Skating Championships 2025 in Boston and went on to stand on top of the podium at the ISU Grand Prix Final Nagoya 2025, their first GP Final triumph in three seasons.
At Worlds they won a dramatic battle by just 0.71 points, while at the Grand Prix Final they showed the mental strength to protect a slim lead all the way to the end. Above all, the way they visibly rediscovered the joy of skating on the ice feels like a powerful tailwind as they head towards the Milano–Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics.
World Championships Boston 2025: reclaiming the crown by 0.71 points
The pair event at the World Figure Skating Championships 2025 was held at TD Garden in Boston. In the short program (SP), skating to “Paint It Black”, Miura / Kihara delivered a clean triple twist, throw jump and lift to score 76.57 points, taking the lead ahead of Italy’s Sara Conti / Niccolo Macii and Germany’s Minerva Fabienne Hase / Nikita Volodin.
Their free skate (FS) was a passionate program set to “Adios”. They landed a big triple twist, strong side-by-side triple Salchows and high-difficulty lifts. However, the landings on the throw loop and throw flip were a little unstable, and they placed second in the free with 143.22 points. Even so, their combined total of 219.79 points was enough to hold off Hase / Volodin, who closed in with 219.08 points, giving RikuRyu a second world title after 2023 by just 0.71 points.
After the competition, Miura reflected: “The first world title was just pure joy. But the last two years have brought injuries and slumps, and there were really tough times. That’s why this second title has a very special meaning for us.” Kihara added: “There was a period when we forgot how to enjoy skating, but in this competition we could feel again what it means to really enjoy being out there on the ice.”
| Rank | Pair | Nation | Total score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riku Miura / Ryuichi Kihara | JPN | 219.79 |
| 2 | Minerva Fabienne Hase / Nikita Volodin | GER | 219.08 |
| 3 | Sara Conti / Niccolo Macii | ITA | 210.47 |
*Table based on final results published on the official ISU and Olympic websites.*
Grand Prix Final Nagoya 2025: back on top of the Final for the first time in three seasons
The ISU Grand Prix Final 2025 in Nagoya, held at Aichi International Arena, was a decisive event for RikuRyu as they chased a first GP Final title in three seasons. Having already won Skate America and the Grand Prix de France earlier in the series, they arrived in Nagoya as series leaders and two-time world champions, skating in front of a passionate home crowd.
The short program was once again “Paint It Black”. There was under-rotation on the side-by-side triple toe loops and a step-out on the throw flip, issues that had been flagged since the early part of the season. Even so, they covered those errors with high grades of execution on the triple twist, lifts and other elements, and posted 77.32 points to take a narrow lead – just 0.10 points ahead of Conti / Macii in second place.
The free skate used dramatic music from “Gladiator”. Kihara briefly lost balance in a step sequence near the start, but from there the pair delivered a huge triple twist, high and flowing throw jumps and tightly controlled lifts right to the end of the program. They earned 147.89 points in the free and a total of 225.21 points, holding off Conti / Macii (223.28 points) and the fast-finishing Hase / Volodin (221.25 points). With this, Miura / Kihara once again gave Japan a Grand Prix Final victory in pairs, matching the achievement first seen back in the 2012–13 season.
| Rank | Pair | Nation | Total | SP / FS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riku Miura / Ryuichi Kihara | JPN | 225.21 | SP 77.32 / FS 147.89 |
| 2 | Sara Conti / Niccolo Macii | ITA | 223.28 | SP 77.22 / FS 146.06 |
| 3 | Minerva Fabienne Hase / Nikita Volodin | GER | 221.25 | SP 71.68 / FS 149.57 |
*Results compiled from official ISU protocols and international media reports.*
Looking back through official social media and video
The ISU’s official X (Twitter) account captured the drama of the Nagoya Grand Prix Final with posts such as:
“What. A. Final. A wild ride from start to finish. Pairs medallists: Miura / Kihara, Conti / Macii, Hase / Volodin.”
ISU Figure Skating (@ISU_Figure)
Another post highlighted how special the night was in front of more than 8,000 fans in Nagoya and shared links to detailed reports and photos from the event. Together, these official posts convey just how intense and memorable the pairs competition was.
RikuRyu by the numbers: world-leading consistency
At the end of the 2025 season, Miura / Kihara sit at No. 1 in the ISU world rankings for pairs and continue to lead the Grand Prix series standings. Alongside their two world titles, they have added a Grand Prix Final victory and a Four Continents Championship win, making them a pair who are “world class” in both name and reality.
The fact that they were able to win both the World Championships and the Grand Prix Final in 2025 in such tight contests is sure to give them huge confidence heading into the Milano–Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics. Now that they have truly regained the feeling of “enjoying skating”, this season feels like another big step towards the historic goal of a first-ever Olympic pair gold medal for Japan.
