In June 2015, Japanese media reported that Kihara had teamed up with former single skater Miu Suzaki, with whom he would continue to train in Michigan.[8] In December, they received the bronze medal at the Japan Championships. They did not appear internationally in their first season together.
2016–2017 season
After winning their first international medal (bronze) at the Asian Open Trophy in early August 2016 in Manila, Suzaki/Kihara took silver at the Japan Championships in December. Ranked twelfth in the short program and fourteenth in the free skate, they finished thirteenth overall at the 2017 Four Continents Championships, held in February in Gangneung, South Korea.
2017–2018 season: Pyeongchang Olympics
Suzaki/Kihara began their season with silver at the Asian Open Trophy in August 2017. Making their Grand Prix debut, they finished eighth at the 2017 NHK Trophy in November. They won their first national title at the 2017–18 Japan Championships and were assigned to Japan's lone pairs spot at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang. In February, they competed at the Olympics in both the team event and the individual event.[9] They placed 21st in the latter and missed the free skate. They concluded their season at the 2018 World Championships, where they placed 24th, again missing the free skate.
Following the end of his partnership with Suzaki, Kihara contemplated retiring from competitive figure skating until he was contacted by Canadian pair skating coach, Bruno Marcotte, who Kihara already knew due to having previously taken part in some of Marcotte's past training camps. Marcotte asked Kihara if he would be interested in having a pair skating skating tryout with his student and fellow Japanese pair skater, Riku Miura. Kihara agreed to it and following a successful tryout, he and Miura moved to Oakville, Ontario, Canada to train at the Skate Oakville Skating Club fulltime under Marcotte, Meagan Duhamel, and Brian Shales.[1][12]
Miura/Kihara made their international competitive debut at 2019 NHK Trophy, where they finished fifth.[13] They were the only pair competing at the 2019–20 Japan Championships and had two falls in the short program.[14] The free skate proved more successful, allowing them to claim the Japanese national title and assignments to the ISU championships in the second half of the season.[15]
Miura/Kihara was assigned to compete at the 2020 Skate Canada International, but the event was cancelled due to the pandemic.[17] Making their season and Worlds debut at the 2021 World Championships in Stockholm, they placed tenth.[18] As Japan's only pair, they were named to the team for the 2021 World Team Trophy. On April 8, he was named team captain. They finished third in both segments, helping Team Japan to the bronze medal.[19][20][21]
2021–2022 season: Beijing Olympics and World silver
Miura/Kihara spent the period after the World Team Trophy training in Japan and the United States before returning to Canada in September upon the reopening of the borders. They began their season at the 2021 CS Autumn Classic International, where they won both segments of competition and set new personal bests to take the gold medal overall.[22]
At their first Grand Prix assignment of the season, the 2021 Skate America, Miura/Kihara again scored new personal bests in both segments of competition, as well as overall. Despite placing third in both the short program and the free skate, due to shifting ordinals from their competitors, the team won the silver medal between Russian competitors Tarasova/Morozov in first and Boikova/Kozlovskii in third. Their medal marks the first medal for Japan in the pairs event on the Grand Prix circuit since 2011.[23][24] Competing at the 2021 NHK Trophy at home for their second event, they were third in both programs to take the bronze medal. They finished less than four points behind silver medalists Tarasova/Morozov, a gap more than accounted for by jump and throw errors by Miura. She noted training issues and expressed dissatisfaction that she had been unable to fix the problem but that they were nevertheless satisfied to have achieved their goal of winning a medal.[25] Miura/Kihara's results qualified them to the Grand Prix Final, but it was subsequently cancelled due to restrictions prompted by the Omicron variant.[26]
Due to the Omicron variant, Miura/Kihara did not travel to Japan to participate in the 2021–22 Japan Championships but were instead named directly to the Japanese Olympic team. They began the 2022 Winter Olympics as the Japanese entries in the Olympic team event. They placed fourth in the short program, securing seven points for the Japanese team.[27] Skating the free segment as well, they finished in second place there, taking nine points for the Japanese team, which went on to win the bronze medal. This was the first time that Japan had taken a medal in the team event, and Miura/Kihara's presence as a strong pair team was widely cited as the biggest factor in Japan's increased competitiveness.[28] In the pairs event, Miura doubled her triple jump attempt in the short program, as a result of which they placed eighth in the segment.[29] In the free skate, they finished fifth in the segment, rising to seventh place overall.[30]
Days after the Olympics concluded, Vladimir Putin ordered an invasion of Ukraine, as a result of which the International Skating Union banned all Russian and Belarusian skaters from competing at the 2022 World Championships. As well, the Chinese Skating Association opted not to send athletes to compete in Montpellier. As those countries' athletes comprised the entirety of the top five pairs at the Olympics, this hugely impacted the field, and Miura/Kihara entered as medal favourites.[31] In the short program, Miura put a hand down after stepping out on their throw triple Lutz, but they finished third in the segment, taking a bronze small medal.[32] They had a rough free skate, with errors on both jumping passes and Miura falling on a throw triple loop. They also finished third in that segment but took the silver medal overall. They became the second Japanese pair team to win a World medal. Miura opined afterward, "now we secure the medal, but I don't think our performance was worth winning a medal today. We regret our performance today, so next season I want to push ourselves hard and to the very end, and we want to practice hard."[33] Their coach, Bruno Marcotte, countered that "I told them to look at their silver medals and think: 'This is the result of all the work you did, all the competitions, the year and a half that you had to stay in Canada, away from your families, because of COVID-19. These medals represent all of that.'"[34]
2022–2023 season: World, Grand Prix Final and Four Continents champions
In July, Miura injured her left shoulder while skating in a Japanese ice show during the off-season, which kept the pair from significant training until September. Despite this, Miura/Kihara managed to win gold at their first Grand Prix event, the 2022 Skate Canada International, becoming the first Japanese pair team ever to do so.[35][36] Their free skate program earned praise from Sleeping at Last, the artist of the program's music.[37] Weeks later, they competed at their second assignment, the 2022 NHK Trophy in Sapporo, winning the short program with a new personal best score, nearly 14 points clear of Americans Chan/Howe in second.[38] They won the free skate by a wide margin, with only two minor errors, winning their second Grand Prix gold and becoming the first Japanese team to win Japan's home Grand Prix event. These results qualified them for the Grand Prix Final.[39][40]
Miura/Kihara entered the Final in Turin as the top-seeded team and won the short program over American reigning World championsKnierim/Frazier by a 0.43 point margin, with the latter team having a jump error.[41] They won the free skate by a similarly narrow 0.87 point margin after Miura doubled an intended triple toe loop and Kihara put his hand down on their triple Salchow. Kihara lamented the latter mistake, saying it was "the first time in eight years" that he had done so. He added that "we were saved by the power of the audience." They were the first Japanese pair to both medal at and win the Grand Prix Final.[42][43]
Miura/Kihara were next scheduled to compete at the 2022–23 Japan Championships, but their travel from Canada to Japan was disrupted by the onset of a major winter storm, which resulted in their luggage being lost. Because of their lost skates, they were unable to compete at the championship, though the federation said they would still be considered for international assignments in the second half of the season.[44]
With principal rivals Knierim/Frazier not attending the 2023 Four Continents Championships in favour of Art on Ice shows, Miura/Kihara entered the event as heavy favourites for the gold medal.[45] Miura fell on a downgraded triple toe jump attempt in the short program, but the team still won that segment by a margin of 2.80 points over Canadians Stellato/Deschamps. Miura attributed the mistake to nervousness, but said she was pleased that even with the error they had scored over 70 points.[46][47] Miura/Kihara won the free skate as well, albeit narrowly over Chan/Howe, with some jump errors and Kihara visibly struggling with low oxygen levels due to the high mountain location in Colorado Springs. They won the gold medal, another first for a Japanese pair.[48][49]
The 2023 World Championships were held on home ice in Saitama, with Miura/Kihara enters as one of the title favourites. They won the short program by a wide margin over Knierim/Frazier, clearing the 80-point threshold for the first time in their careers, which Miura described as "our goal for this season" afterward.[50] They finished second in the free skate, Miura having doubled a planned triple jump and fallen on a throw, but remained comfortably in first place overall and took the gold medal.[51] Miura/Kihara became the first Japanese World pairs champions, as well as the first team to complete the "grand slam" in pairs in almost a decade.[52][51]
Miura/Kihara joined Team Japan for the 2023 World Team Trophy in Tokyo. They finished second in the short program after Miura had a difficult jump landing.[53] In the free skate, Miura doubled her planned triple jump, and they finished second in that segment as well. Team Japan won the bronze medal overall.[54]
In December, the team decided to resume training with the goal of making the 2024 Four Continents Championships in Shanghai. They finished second in the short program after Miura doubled her jump and two-footed her throw landing, but having scored 65.61 points, Kihara said they had achieved their own target of hitting 65 points. Miura/Kihara were second in the free skate as well, despite another doubled jump and several other minor errors. They won the silver medal.[57]
At the 2024 World Championships in Montreal, Miura/Kihara had minor errors on their throw and side-by-side jumps that saw them place second in that segment with a score of 73.53, 3.95 points behind leaders Stellato-Dudek/Deschamps of Canada. In the free dance, Miura slightly underrotated a triple toe loop and doubled her planned side-by-side triple Salchow, but they were otherwise clean and finished first in the segment, 0.27 points ahead of Stellato-Dudek/Deschamps. Remaining second overall, they won the silver medal. Shortly following their performance, Kihara began hyperventilating and suffering from a sudden decrease in blood sugar. As a result, Miura/Kihara missed the initial medal ceremony due to Kihara requiring immediate medical attention.[58] After the competition, Kihara was diagnosed with exercise-induced asthma and eventually prescribed medication for the condition.[59][60]
Miura/Kihara started the season by competing at the 2024 CS Lombardia Trophy. The pair placed second in the short program. However, during their free skate, Kihara slipped while dismounting Miura from a lift, causing him to fall on his back with Miura landing on top of him. The pair placed third in that segment of the competition and finished second overall behind Italian pair team, Sara Conti/Niccolò Macii.[62][63]
Going on to compete on the 2024–25 Grand Prix series, the pair took gold at 2024 Skate America.[62] They would then go on to win silver at the 2024 NHK Trophy behind Georgian pair team, Metelkina/Berulava.[64] During the event's gala exhibition, all members of the 2022 Olympic Team Event, including Miura/Kihara, were invited to center stage, wearing their Olympic costumes and Olympic medals, in celebration of their achievement.[65]
Miura/Kihara's Grand Prix results allowed them to qualify for the 2024–25 Grand Prix Final in Grenoble, France.[66] At the Final, Miura/Kihara won the silver medal behind Hase/Volodin of Germany.[67] Two weeks following the event, they won their second national title at the 2024–25 Japan Championships.[68] They were subsequently named to the Four Continents and World teams.[69][70]
^On 29 January 2024, the CAS disqualified Valieva for four years retroactive to 25 December 2021 for an anti-doping rule violation. On 30 January 2024, the ISU reallocated medals to upgrade the United States to gold and Japan to silver, while downgrading the ROC to bronze.
^フィギュア:高橋・木原の新ペア、佐藤有香コーチに師事 [Takahashi / Kihara pair skating team learns from Yuka Sato]. Mainichi (in Japanese). January 30, 2013. Archived from the original on February 3, 2013.
