Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara: “We want to enjoy the performance and deliver to the audience the joy we’re experiencing while skating.”
Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara about their short program at the 2025 World Championships.
original source: Nikkansports dd. March 26th 2025
Riku Miura (23) and Ryuichi Kihara (32) are leading after the short program at the World Championships with a score of 76.57. Here’s a translation of their comments posted on Nikkansports.
“We received scores close to our season best, so I felt that everything we’ve built up this season is real — it wasn’t meaningless,” said Miura, sharing her thoughts on the performance, including the scores.
“It wasn’t quite our best score, but we managed to showcase the expression and performance themes we’ve been focusing on this season while executing the technical elements cleanly. I’m happy that we delivered the final, complete version of this program today. I didn’t worry too much about the levels — I can honestly say I feel pleased with how it went,” added Kihara.
“I was able to approach the performance with confidence from the start, so I’m smiling because I’m glad we ended without any major mistakes,” said Miura when the interviewer mentioned that they looked very happy. “It’s been a while since we competed as the first pair, so I was wondering how it would go. I’m relieved we finished without injuries—it made me feel at ease,” admitted Ryuichi Kihara.
“My nervousness was well-balanced — I wasn’t overly stiff. And I think the support from the audience gave us strength,” told Riku answering the question of whether they were nervous. “Honestly, I felt just the right level of tension, without putting too much pressure on myself. Whether it was warming up or traveling by bus, I was able to enjoy everything and approach the competition with a positive mindset,” told Kihara.
“I think we’ll keep going one by one, executing what we’ve practiced without focusing too much on the results and staying true to ourselves,” said Riku about their mindset for the free program. “Our approach since Four Continents has been to enjoy our performance, and I believe continuing with that mindset, even during the short program, has led to today’s positive outcome. Of course, tomorrow we want to aim higher, even if just a little. But more importantly, we want to enjoy the performance — even just by a fraction — and deliver to the audience the joy we’re experiencing while skating.”
Related topics: Riku Miura Ryuichi Kihara, world championship
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