TOKYO - Japan's Olympic pairs figure skating champions Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara revealed Tuesday they decided to retire immediately after winning gold at February's Milan Cortina Winter Games, but they vowed to keep raising the profile of their sporting discipline.

The star duo known as "Riku-Ryu" announced the end of their competitive career on April 17 after winning every major senior title including the world championships, Grand Prix Final and the Four Continents.

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