Saitama – 

As newly crowned figure skating pairs world champions Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara shed tears of joy in the kiss-and-cry at the 2023 ISU World Figure Skating Championships, their coach Bruno Marcotte embraced them like a proud parent.

The Montreal native had every reason to do so, having guided the pair from their 2019 formation to Thursday’s triumph at Saitama Super Arena — a development even he admits he might not have predicted when he started coaching them.
A huge thank you to the kind and generous Dave Oanzon for sharing 9 beautiful mobile wallpapers of Japan's Olympic pair champions Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara (#RikuRyu) for everyone to enjoy
 

“I’ve been working with Riku since she was 12, and I knew there was something very, very special with her,” Marcotte said. “And when I started working with Ryuichi, I cannot believe how talented he was, and how much he was such a beautiful soul.

“I really had hope. Starting … after (the 2021 world championships in) Stockholm, definitely, (world champions) was a dream for me. That fast? No, but definitely a dream.”

After earning 141.44 points in the free skate — 1.4 behind American defending champions Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier, but enough to protect a six-point lead established in Wednesday’s short program — Miura’s thoughts immediately went to her fall on the throw triple loop near the end of their program set to “Atlas: Two / Shared Tenderness.”

It’s the couple’s constant focus on improvement, says Marcotte, that has contributed to their success.

 
Figure skating coach Bruno Marcotte speaks to reporters after Thursday's pairs free skate. | DAN ORLOWITZFigure skating coach Bruno Marcotte speaks to reporters after Thursday’s pairs free skate. | DAN ORLOWITZ
 

“The main reason why they’re the world champion right now is because they’re never satisfied,” he said. “They always want to improve. And they don’t live in the past, they live in the present, but also in the future. I think it says a lot about their character, (that) it’s more about their performance … than the results.”

Having completed a Grand Slam by also winning at the ISU Grand Prix Final and Four Continents, Miura and Kihara will go into the 2023-24 season not as challengers, but as targets. While Marcotte admitted that title defenses will be on the pair’s mind, the highest priority will be to repeat that success at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina.

“I think that in any sport … baseball, football, figure skating, the most difficult thing is to repeat,” said the 48-year-old, whose wife Meagan Duhamel achieved pairs skating’s last Grand Slam in 2014-15 with partner Eric Radford. “And obviously, that will be the short-term goal. But I mean, the ultimate goal is to be standing at the top of the podium in Milan.”

As they aim for Olympic success, Marcotte hopes that Miura and Kihara’s success will encourage more Japanese skaters and coaches to get involved in the discipline. The pair, known by fans as “Rikuryu,” was Japan’s only entry at the world championships despite having two more slots available.

“I really, really hope it’s gonna create even more interest in the country,” Marcotte said. “ I hope it’s going to result in skaters but also coaches wanting to spend time and learn to discipline.

“If (Miura and Kihara) will ever want to coach, this country will be a powerhouse — just like they are in men’s and ladies — in pairs, and in that I am 100% convinced and I definitely want to be part of this journey.”
Ryuichi Kihara (left) and Riku Miura celebrate on the podium after winning pairs gold at the 2023 ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Saitama on Thursday. | Reuters
 

If there is to be a stiff challenge to the Japanese pair, it could potentially come from the north. Russian skaters last competed at the world championships in 2021 — where they finished first and third on the pairs podium — and have since been banned from international competitions due to the war in Ukraine.

But even if the International Skating Union once again opens the door to Russian and Belarusian athletes, Marcotte believes that Miura and Kihara are up to the task of holding them off.

“(Wednesday’s) short program, in my opinion, would have beat any team in the world,” Marcotte said. “I don’t care who was here. That was a world champion performance, no matter who is here, or who’s not here.

“I think (Miura and Kihara) will get better, I think they will get stronger, I think they will get more consistent, and I think they will get more confident.”