Miura and Kihara: From Pairs Skating Partnership to Olympic Success

This would drastically change their destiny.

It was the moment he casually threw Miura into the air.

From the feeling when we first skated, I was convinced in an instant that our timing was in sync.

We were in sync without even trying. The best partners whose chemistry was natural and effortless.

It was a moment both of them felt instinctively.

Seeing the smiles on their faces, I thought, "Oh my goodness, this is going to be something special."

Having decided to form a pair, in less than a month, they moved their training base to the suburbs of Toronto, Canada.

And just four months after forming, they competed in the All Japan Championships.

I wasn't feeling very well, so I was just working on this quest.

After that, in order to get perfectly in sync, their warm-up start times, rest timings, and even meal timings were all aligned, they say.

- How is your diet in Toronto? - We cook properly for ourselves.

- Any dishes you make often?

I often make curry. - Pressure cooker. Cooker.

Does Kihara make it? Rather than Kihara making it, it's the pressure cooker.

He always says things like that. - I won't share any with you.

I'm sorry. - It's delicious.

Before long, the two of them made their breakthrough.

Contributing to a team medal at the Beijing Olympics, they placed seventh, the first ever for a Japanese pair.

But a series of injuries struck the pair.

It dislocated. It dislocated. How? How did you hurt it in daily life?

Miura's repeated dislocations. Kihara was sidelined from practice for months due to lumbar spondylolysis.

Last year, our positions were reversed, so while being the injured one is tough, the other person also had it tough, I realized.

I realized that this year.

How much I was supported— that's what I realized this year.

Through hardship, the two realized how important they were to each other.