Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara, the popular Olympic and world champion figure skating pair known as ¡°RikuRyu,¡± paid tribute to fans and each other on Tuesday to mark their retirement from competition.
In an emotional, often tearful news conference in Tokyo packed with reporters, the pair emphasized that their decision to retire was the planned conclusion of one chapter of their story together.
The decision had effectively been made before the season began, according to Miura ¡ª though they considered changing their minds after an early slipup at the Milano Cortina Olympics in February.
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