Figure Skating
Kaori Sakamoto Reveals Plan to Retire After 2026 Olympics
Three-time world champion Kaori Sakamoto believes her window for success is coming to a close. "I feel like I have less than a year left," she said in Kobe.
Kaori Sakamoto, who won three straight world titles in women's figure skating from 2022-24, has decided to retire from competition after the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics.
Sakamoto made an announcement on Friday, June 20 in her hometown of Kobe. She revealed her plans during the opening ceremony at the Sysmex Kobe Ice Campus, a new ice rink set to open to the public on July 12.
The popular skater, who turned 25 on April 9, believes her window for success as a competitor is coming to a close.
"I feel like I have less than a year left," Sakamoto was quoted as saying by Kyodo News.
She added, "I'll be 29 at the following Olympics [in 2030], which is out of the question. [So] I'll try to bring things to a close the year I turn 26."
Sakamoto competed in the Winter Games twice. At the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics, she placed sixth in the women's event. Four years later, she collected the bronze medal at the Beijing Olympics. She also helped Japan nab the silver in the team event. The medals were handed out at the 2024 Paris Olympics due to Russia's medal disqualification for doping. Japan had originally earned the bronze.
Aspirations for Kaori Sakamoto
Now, she has her sights set on reaching the podium in the women's singles event and the team competition in Italy.
"Winning at least silver in both the individual and team events [at the Olympics] would be mission completed," Sakamoto said, according to Kyodo News.
Looking ahead to the final chapter of her competitive career, Sakamoto said, "The time left is short, so I'll live each day to the fullest and hopefully the results turn out to be what I'm wishing for."
Sakamoto said she plans to become a skating instructor after her retirement.
Success in Japan and on Global Stage
In the 2015-16 season, Sakamoto claimed the silver medal in her Junior Grand Prix debut in Riga, Latvia. It signaled her rise to prominence on the global scale.
In the 2016-17 season, she was the bronze medalist at the Junior Grand Prix Final and the World Junior Championships.
Sakamoto also achieved notable success in the Japan Championships, winning the national women's title five times, including four consecutive times (2021-24).
On the Grand Prix circuit, she was a dynamic performer. She won the NHK Trophy three times, triumphed twice at Skate Canada and once apiece in Skate America and the Grand Prix of Finland.
Sakamoto also captured the Grand Prix Final title in the 2023-24 campaign, and followed that up with a third-place finish the next season.
By winning her third consecutive world title in March 2024, in Montreal, Canada, Sakamoto became the first woman to do so since American Peggy Fleming (1966-68).
"At the start of my performance, I accidentally caught an edge, but I managed to regain my composure and delivered a performance that left me satisfied," Sakamoto told reporters after her title-clinching free skate. "Once I landed the first double axel everything was OK again and I trusted my training."
Longtime journalist Jack Gallagher, who has penned articles and Ice Time columns for JAPAN Forward and SportsLook for several years, analyzed the essential ingredients of Sakamoto's sustained on-ice success in one of his columns.
"Ice Time has been covering Sakamoto since early in her days as a junior," Gallagher wrote in March 2024, "and what has always set her apart from her competitors is her strength, speed and mental fortitude. She is a powerful jumper, who is faster than the other skaters, and tougher."
Reactions from Skating Fans
Sakamoto's retirement announcement grabbed the attention of skating fans around the world.
For example, a number of thoughtful and upbeat tributes to the three-time world champion were posted on the popular Reddit r/FigureSkating online community, which has more than 78,000 members.
One commenter wrote, "When I think of her coaching, I just imagine her happily chasing skaters around the rink to make sure they're skating with speed, energy and joy."
Another posted the following: "Not a shock, but it still makes me sad ― she's probably my favorite current female skater. Skating will miss her."
Sakamoto brought happiness to scores of skating fans in her homeland and elsewhere.
Another Reddit commenter's remarks underscore that point.
"Oh, I'll miss her so much," the skating fan wrote. "I started following skating right before the '22 Olympics, and can't really imagine it without her. Her strength, her confidence, her positivity; she brings so much joy to skating, and she's been such a lovely role model. Hoping this last season goes well for her. Wishing her all the best."
On X (formerly known as Twitter), numerous figure skating aficionados also paid tribute to the popular skater.
"Kaori Sakamoto had a lovely and long career, she will end her career after participating in Olympic Games thrice!" wrote one skating fan on X. "I'm hoping she can retire with [an] OGM (Olympic gold medal). But if she doesn't achieve it, I'm most proud of her amazing and long career."
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Author: Ed Odeven
Find Ed on JAPAN Forward's dedicated website, SportsLook. Follow his [Japan Sports Notebook] on Sundays, [Odds and Evens] during the week, and X (formerly Twitter) ＠ed_odeven.
