“The theme isn’t about battles; it’s about the destiny we’ve paved for ourselves. It’s about forging our own path.” Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara changed their free program to Gladiator
Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara shared their thoughts and ambitions ahead of their season debut at the Challenger Series Kinoshita
original source: Hochi News dd. September 4th, 2025
At the Challenger Series Kinoshita Cup, set to open on September 5 at the Kansai Airport Ice Arena, Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara, last season’s pair skating world champions, spoke to the media at the competition venue. Here’s a translation of their comments posted on Hochi News.
Miura expressed her enthusiasm for the event, saying, “This is our first competition of the season, and we’ve changed our free program. I want to use this opportunity to assess where we stand right now.”
As the pair prepares for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics season, they revealed their new free program, based on the film Gladiator.
Kihara shared, “The theme isn’t about battles; it’s about the destiny we’ve paved for ourselves. It’s about forging our own path.” Miura added, “Our coach tells us every day, ‘Approach practice as if it’s the Olympics,’ and we’ve been training with that mindset.”
Miura and Kihara made history as the first Japanese pair to place seventh at the 2022 Beijing Olympics and further broke new ground by winning the World Championships in 2023. Reflecting on their previous season, Kihara said, “Last season, I started off overly focused and it led to some missteps. This time, I want to take things naturally and perform each element confidently.”
Related topics: Riku Miura Ryuichi Kihara
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