Riki Miura and Ryuichi Kihara, who have made great strides by winning all major international competitions as a pair figure skating pair, held a debriefing session for this season and vowed to continue their success, saying, "I want to move up even more."
The pair of Miura and Kihara, affectionately known as "Rikuryu," became the first pair to win the Grand Prix Final and the Four Continents Championships this season, as well as the World Championships held in Saitama City in March, both of which were the first in a Japan pair to win the Grand Prix Final.
The two men held a press briefing session in Tokyo on the 3th, and when they appeared with three gold medals hanging from their necks, they were first presented with a reward of 2 million yen each by their company.
Miura expressed his gratitude, saying, "I started with an injury, but I was able to ski to the end with the support and encouragement."
Referring to the fact that the world's top Russian team was excluded from international competitions this season due to the military invasion of Ukraine, he said, "I'm happy with the result, but there are still good people in the world of pairs. He vowed to be even more successful next season.
Kihara also expressed his enthusiasm, saying, "There were times when we couldn't get results, but this season we were able to enjoy every match to compete for the top spot in the world, and we will do our best to show our personality next season even more than this season."
At the debriefing session, Mr. Hayabusa Mizutani, a sports ambassador for his company and an Olympic medalist in table tennis, was also present, and when asked about his hobbies and exchanges outside of competition, the two responded with a lighthearted exchange that was typical of "Rikuryu," which caused laughter in the audience.