Figure Skater Kaori Sakamoto Says Ajinomoto Helped Her Eat Better

このページを 日本語 で読む

Figure skater Kaori Sakamoto, who won a team silver at the Beijing Olympics and silver medals in both the individual and team events at the Milan Olympics, visited Ajinomoto's headquarters in Tokyo on April 23.

There, she revealed that she had been taken to the hospital by ambulance with gastroenteritis during the two Olympics before Milan, and stressed the importance of proper nutrition.

40 Days of Poor Health

Sakamoto began by expressing her gratitude to Ajinomoto for its support, saying, "Thank you very much for all your help over the past year."

During a talk session with Rui Takashiba of Ajinomoto, who had supported her with nutrition guidance, Sakamoto said that although she loves white rice more than anything, she used to cut back on it during her competitive career. She also revealed that last season (2024–25), she spent as many as 40 days in poor physical condition.

"With so many competitions, eating starts to feel like something bad," she said, reflecting on her time as an athlete. "All figure skaters think about how to lose weight, and the first thing we do is reduce how much rice we eat."

The athlete explained that cutting back too much can lead to a lack of energy, reduced stamina, injury, and slower recovery, creating a vicious cycle.

"I personally didn't suffer any injuries, but I was often unwell," she said. "I would quickly come down with gastroenteritis and end up bedridden, which meant wasting a lot of time."

A Message to Younger Skaters 

Sakamoto said she had to change her mindset and stop seeing eating as something negative. Under Takashiba's guidance, she made major changes to her diet, including eating rice—a vital source of energy—at all three meals, and drinking soup after late competitions to warm her stomach after long hours on the ice.

Carbohydrates are often seen as the enemy in dieting, but rice is actually a powerful source of energy, the athlete explained. It also fuels the brain and supports the endurance and concentration needed for jumps.

"As an active skater, I tried every diet imaginable," Sakamoto said. "Even if I lost weight during competitions, it would rebound once they were over. You have to eat properly, build strength, and train. That leads to more effective practice." 

Sakamato hopes to use what she has learned through her own experience to pass that message on to younger skaters.

A Toast With Reward Tiramisu

Before the Milan Olympics, figure skaters gathered locally for a pre-Games send-off, where they raised a toast with a special tiramisu based on an Ajinomoto recipe containing fewer than 100 calories. At the April 23 event, the same tiramisu was served to Ajinomoto employees.

To suit the athletes, the tiramisu was made with decaffeinated coffee, and the usual high-calorie mascarpone was replaced with cottage cheese.

Sakamoto seemed delighted with the reward dessert, saying it "got me fired up."

Sakamoto is also known for describing a fall with the sound "scone," a playful twist on her own sound effect for a fall. Fans have turned that into a running joke, eating scones and posting about them on social media to cheer her on, saying they have "taken on Kaori's scones" themselves. 

So at the event, Sakamoto and Ajinomoto employees ate scones together and posed for a commemorative photo.

RELATED: 

• Ajinomoto's Frozen Meals Powering Up Paralympians in Italy
• How Sensory Science is Redesigning Food in Japan and Thailand
• Nutritious Dumplings Fuel Olympians With a Taste of Home
• Rice 'Power Balls' Turn Up the Energy for Japanese Athletes at the Paris Olympics

Author: Mika Sugiura

このページを 日本語 で読む