“It feels like the time has finally come. I’m really looking forward to it. It’s not so much sadness or wishing I could keep going. So I want to enjoy the competition.” Kaori Sakamoto on start of her final season
Kaori Sakamoto expressed her determination and excitement ahead of her season debut at the Challenger Series Kinoshita Cup
original source: Hochi News dd. September 4th, 2025
Kaori Sakamoto, last season’s World silver medalist, fine-tuned her preparations during official practice at the competition venue ahead of her first event for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics season. Here’s a translation of her comments posted on Hochi News.
With her final competitive season underway, Sakamoto shared that her theme for this event is simply, “Do my best. For now, it’s all about giving it my best. The goal of this competition is to find new areas to improve.”
Sakamoto, who announced in June that she will retire at the end of this season, reflected on the significance of the moment. “It feels like the time has finally come,” she said. “I’m really looking forward to it. It’s not so much sadness or wishing I could keep going. Instead, I feel as pressured as I always do, so I want to enjoy the competition while working through those nerves.”
Speaking about competing in her home region of Kansai, she joked, “The venue is about an hour away by car. Driving to a competition is rare for me – and for it to be an international event feels surreal, like a glitch in the system!”
“At this time of year, I still feel like there are a lot of things to work on. For this competition, I just want to push myself and identify those areas to improve,” she told.
Sakamoto is scheduled to skate second in the short program group on September 5. With her characteristic cheerfulness, she quipped, “That’s common for me. I actually do pretty well in the first group,” giving a thumbs-up and leaving the rink with a smile.
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