What Fueled RikuRyu to Olympic Gold? A Sports Nutritionist Explains

Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara, the two-time world champion Japanese figure skating pairs team known as "RikuRyu," skated to gold at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. Their performance capped years of preparation.

Behind the scenes, one key figure supporting their achievement was Hideko Nishiyama, a certified sports nutritionist who oversees the pair's diet. "One athlete does the lifting, the other is lifted. So the kind of body each needs is completely different," Nishiyama said. She explained the diet that helped build bodies fit for gold.

Advice Delivered Online

Nishiyama recalled watching the pair's performance live on television from home. "I'm usually up early anyway, so I watched them skate at home," she said. "I was on the edge of my seat, clapping and shouting." She works for Aim Services, a Tokyo-based company that provides nutritional support to many athletes.

*An example of a breakfast that athlete Ryuichi Kihara receives as part of his nutritional support.*

Aim Services, a subsidiary of Mitsui & Co, is primarily known for its institutional meal and corporate cafeteria operations. Nishiyama meets the Canada-based pair online once a month, offering dietary guidance, suggesting recipes, and advising them on what foods to bring when traveling for competitions.

Building Better Recovery

The relationship began with Kihara. After injuring his lumbar spine in 2023, he approached Nishiyama in 2024, saying he wanted to build a body better able to recover from injury and fatigue.

Her first step was to study the food environment in Canada. Kihara said he cooks almost all three meals himself each day. Nishiyama asked him to keep a full record of everything he ate over three days. She also had him send photos of supermarket shelves and restaurant meals.

Based on those records, Nishiyama analyzed how much energy and which nutrients Kihara needed to maintain his physique while improving recovery. She found he was falling short on calcium, protein, and vitamin D.

Nishiyama advised him to add dairy and fruit three times a day. He said to do this in addition to meals with carbohydrates such as rice, bread, or noodles, a main dish, and sides. Kihara had kept his carbohydrate intake low to manage his weight. However, Nishiyama said carbohydrates were essential for recovery after training and urged him to eat as much rice as his body needed.

Inspired by Kihara's example, Miura joined the nutrition program the following year, in 2025.

Until then, she ate too little, especially at breakfast, out of concern about weight. To ensure she had enough energy for training but avoided adding body fat, Nishiyama advised fuller breakfasts and lunches, with a lighter dinner.

Nishiyama also tailored the advice to Miura's preferences. "I heard she wasn't fond of dairy," Nishiyama said. "So I suggested having milk in her café au lait or replacing it with soy milk. I also told her not to finish the broth in hot-pot dishes, so she wouldn't take in too much salt and feel bloated."

Miura later told her that since the support began, she hadn't fallen ill once all season, a report Nishiyama said she was delighted to hear.

There may be no "magic food" that heals injuries faster or speeds recovery. But the body is built from what it consumes. Nishiyama smiled as she reflected on the pair's success. "Diet matters," she said. "By helping them get that foundation right, maybe I was able to play a small part in the result."

No Skipping Meals, and a Balanced Japanese-Style Diet

The athlete's diet, Nishiyama recommends, is hardly exotic.

*Kihara’s breakfast about six months after the nutritional support began. Vegetables and fruit were added, improving the overall nutritional balance.*

Her advice comes down to two basics: eat three meals a day, and make them balanced. The foundation, she said, is ichiju-sansai, meaning one soup and three smaller dishes. On top of that, she recommends adding dairy and fruit once a day for most people. For athletes, she recommends adding them three times a day.

That said, Nishiyama is realistic. "Almost no one manages a proper ichiju-sansai three times a day," she said. Even athletes, Nishiyama noted, sometimes rely on fast food or convenience-store meals. "The goal isn't perfection at every meal, but balance over time," she said. "What matters most is not skipping meals, understanding the basics, and learning to manage your own diet." That, she added, holds true for athletes and everyone else.

(Read the article in Japanese.)

Author: Maki Tanaka, The Sankei Shimbun