A new figure skating pair will be crowned world champions this March after Japan’s Miura Riku and Kihara Ryichi announced they will not be defending their title at the 2026 ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Prague, Czechia.

The Japanese skaters won the world title in 2023 and 2025, and went on to claim gold at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 earlier in February.

Initially on the list to compete at the 2026 Worlds, which take place from 24 to 29 March, Miura/Kihara explained through the Japan Skating Federation on Friday (27 February) that they have decided to withdraw due to the short turnaround between the two major competitions of the season.

“This season, our main goal was the Olympics, and from the start of the season, we hadn’t really considered whether we would compete at Worlds,” the pair said in a statement.

“After winning the gold medal at the Olympics, we realised it would be difficult to return our physical and mental condition to the pre-Olympic level in time for Worlds, so we made the decision to withdraw.”

MiuraKihara added that they will make an announcement about their future plans once the season is over.

With the defending champions and 2024 world champions, Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps of Canada, missing the event, the road is now wide open for a new winning pair.

Olympic silver medallists Anastasiia Metelkina/Luka Berulava of Georgia and bronze medallists Minerva Fabienne Hase/Nikita Volodin of Germany are the top contenders for that world title, which would be the first for either pair.