The battle for participation in the Milan-Cortina Olympic team event seems to be becoming fierce!
This hochi article also states that Rika aims to do "double duty" in ice dance and singles (like Ikura Kushida and Tuskasa Yajima, who both switched recently):
フィギュアスケート女子で２０１８年ＧＰファイナル覇者の紀平梨花（トヨタ自動車）が２９日、アイスダンスに挑戦すると発表した。この日、新パートナーの西山真瑚（しんご、オリエンタルバイオ）とオンライン会見
hochi.news
Machine translation (native speakers please correct any mistranslations):
Rika Kihira and Shingo Nishiyama form new ice dance partnership “Rikashin”
Keeping hopes alive for 2026 Milan Olympics: “We'll strive to seize every opportunity”
29 September 2025 13:14 Sports Hochi #Sports #WinterSports #FigureSkating
Rika Kihira (Toyota Motor Corporation), the 2018 Grand Prix Final champion in women's figure skating, announced on the 29th that she will take up ice dancing. That day, she held an online press conference with her new partner, Shingo Nishiyama (Oriental Bio), stating her determination: ‘I'm really enjoying ice dancing and think it will be an exciting, major challenge going forward. I want to give it my absolute best.’
Kihira, who had been trying to recover from a right ankle injury, announced on the 16th that she would not be competing in the Chubu Championships, which serve as a qualifier for the All Japan Championships (December, Tokyo). Her Olympic participation seemed hopeless, but Nishiyama, who shares a training base in Canada, said: ‘Rika-chan and I had the opportunity to skate together in Montreal, and I found it incredibly enjoyable. Rika-chan felt the same way, and since we share the same goals, we decided to form a partnership.’ Nishiyama had previously competed as part of the ‘Azushin’ pair with Azusa Tanaka until last season, announcing their split in July.
Regarding a nickname for the new pair, Kihira suggested, ‘Rikashin feels like the most fitting, doesn't it?’ Nishiyama smiled, adding, ‘We'd be delighted if people supported us under that name.’ Kihira plans to continue competing in both singles and ice dance. Nishiyama stated, ‘Our major goal is 2030, but Japan has outstanding skaters, and we must catch up with them quickly.’ As a team, they retain the possibility of competing at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics. Kihira looked ahead, saying, ‘We won't give up; we want to strive to seize every opportunity.’ Their debut competition is scheduled for the Western Japan Championships in Shiga this October.
I enjoyed Rika as a singles skater and I hope she can make a successful transition to ice dance!
I like Rika and I like Shingo so that was a no-brainer.
