Official retirement announcements by figure skaters in 2025-2026

[fan]

Have we heard anything confirmed about kihira/miura?

 

[YukiNieve]

US Pair

Olivia Flores and Luke Wang, who were the 2024 U.S. junior national champion, 2024 World Junior silver medalist, 2024 Junior Grand Prix Final silver medalist, among other things, have parted ways.

Luke Wang on Instagram: "An end of an era. After much thought, Olivia and I have made the difficult decision to officially part ways and continue our skating & academic journeys on separate paths. I’m incredibly grateful for everything we shared t

267 likes, 19 comments - lukeawang on April 13, 2026: "An end of an era. After much thought, Olivia and I have made the difficult decision to officially part ways and continue our skating & academic journeys on separate paths. I’m incredibly grateful for everything we shared these last 4...

www.instagram.com

 

[Ikari]

Josefin Taljegård to retire:

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

 

[Belsornia]

I’m so glad I got to see her fabulous free skate in Sheffield.

 

[Aceon6]

To me, Josefin was Alysa before Alysa knew she wanted to be Alysa.

 

[tangerine dream]

Josefin Taljegård to retire:

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

Sign her up for all the skating shows. Heck give her her own show.

 

[genevieve]

To me, Josefin was Alysa before Alysa knew she wanted to be Alysa.

oh goodness they could not be more different!

 

[Elisheba]

Josefin exemplifies what I like about figure skating. She worked really hard to add things like a lutz toward the end of her career and she always sold the hell out of everything she did and I was totally buying it and invested in her and her results.

 

[Karen-W]

Riku Miura & Ryuichi Kihara have decided to retire.

Riku Miura on Instagram: "この度、三浦璃来・木原龍一は今シーズンをもちまして現役を引退することを決断しました。 チーム結成当初から応援してくださった皆様、本当にありがとうございました。 私たち「りくりゅう」は、たくさんの方々に支えていただきながら競技活動を続けてくることができました。 困ったときには、いつもそばで手を差し伸べてくださる方々がいました。 その一つ一つの支えが、私たちを強くし、ここまで歩んでくる原動力になりました。 また、木下グループ様をはじめ全ての

1,574 likes, 25 comments - riku9111 on April 16, 2026: "この度、三浦璃来・木原龍一は今シーズンをもちまして現役を引退することを決断しました。 チーム結成当初から応援してくださった皆様、本当にありがとうございました。 私たち「りくりゅう」は、たくさんの方々に支えていただきながら競技活動を続けてくることができました。 困ったときには、いつもそばで手を差し伸べてくださる方々がいました。 その一つ一つの支えが、私たちを強くし、ここまで歩んでくる原動力になりました。...

www.instagram.com

 

[Colonel Green]

I’ll miss them a lot, but it doesn’t surprise me. No more worlds to conquer, and Kihara has been at this a very long time.

 

[clairecloutier]

I'll miss Riku/Ryu, but I can see why they would retire after this Olympics (aside from Ryuichi's age). They had some incredible moments in Milano that would probably be difficult to top, or even equal, in the future. Their SP in the team skate was, to me, one of the best pairs SPs I've ever seen, and their free skate in the individual event was also in that category. They definitely went out in a blaze of glory! (LOL.)

My only regret is I wish they'd had more programs in their career that really showed off their talent. Of all their competitive programs, I only really loved two--the Hallelujah SP and the Paint It Black SP.

 

[Sally1214]

I will miss Riku and Ryuichi more than words can say. But, my feelings aside, I think this is the right decision for them. Kihara has a dream ... he wants to be instrumental in inspiring young Japanese skaters to go into pairs skating and help to make Japan become a pairs skating powerhouse in the future. It seems that Riku shares this dream and they plan to work together towards this goal. They certainly have the credentials and recognition (and financial backing from large sponsors) to help them get this plan off the ground. They just might make it happen. Who knows? Maybe in 10-15 years (or less) they may be coaching elite pairs teams at Worlds/Olympics. They must be excited to tackle the challenges ahead. I wish them all the best .... and I will never forget their incredible charisma on the ice.

 

[PRlady]

Ryu’s career should give hope to every skater who’s in there plugging after the common wisdom says give up. I’d never have guessed he’d end up an OGM all those years ago.

 

[victorskid]

Ryu’s career should give hope to every skater who’s in there plugging after the common wisdom says give up. I’d never have guessed he’d end up an OGM all those years ago.

They got to speak to the Emperor and Empress at the Spring Garden Party

 

[victorskid]

Another photo from the Spring Garden Party

 

[SidelineSkater]

Looks like Ioulia Chtchetinina made a retirement announcement on IG.

Ioulia Chtchetinina OLY on Instagram: "2001–2026 ⛸️ So much love. So much gratitude. And no words that would do justice to the way I feel about my journey in figure skating.❤️ I promise to pursue my new goals with the same commitment, passion, and

499 likes, 42 comments - iouliachtchetinina on April 19, 2026: "2001–2026 ⛸️ So much love. So much gratitude. And no words that would do justice to the way I feel about my journey in figure skating.❤️ I promise to pursue my new goals with the same commitment, passion, and fire in my eyes...

www.instagram.com

 

[Karen-W]

Looks like Ioulia Chtchetinina made a retirement announcement on IG.

Ioulia Chtchetinina OLY on Instagram: "2001–2026 ⛸️ So much love. So much gratitude. And no words that would do justice to the way I feel about my journey in figure skating.❤️ I promise to pursue my new goals with the same commitment, passion, and

499 likes, 42 comments - iouliachtchetinina on April 19, 2026: "2001–2026 ⛸️ So much love. So much gratitude. And no words that would do justice to the way I feel about my journey in figure skating.❤️ I promise to pursue my new goals with the same commitment, passion, and fire in my eyes...

www.instagram.com

Based upon the comments from others skaters in her training group - Michel Tsiba and Maria Pavlova - it is most certainly a retirement announcement for her.