Kaori Sakamoto: “Three years ago, my trainer told me as I get older, it would only get harder to skate if I kept relying on brute strength. Since then, I’ve worked on improving how I use my body.”
Kaori Sakamoto: Overcoming Challenges and Aiming for Olympic Success in Milan-Cortina
original source: news.yahoo.co.jp dd. September 28th, 2025
Kaori Sakamoto, preparing for her third Olympic appearance at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Games, reflects on overcoming challenges, refining her techniques, and improving her conditioning to sustain top-level performances. Here’s a translation of her comments.
As she gears up for the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics in February 2026, Sakamoto shares her thoughts on the season and her determination to keep improving.
Sakamoto began her season at the Kinoshita Group Trophy (September 5–7), where she finished second. Reflecting on her performance, she said:
“Both my short program (SP) and free skate revealed the same challenges I’ve been facing in practice, so the result was as expected. It was my first time competing in a while, so I felt a mix of nervous energy and the need to recover the feeling of competition. I was quite exhausted afterward.”
The free skate, lasting around four minutes, comprises up to seven jump elements. Sakamoto compared it to an 800-meter race:
“It’s like sprinting the first 400 meters, then tackling hurdles every 100 meters until the finish. You need to run full speed while managing your stamina.”
However, she finds the shorter, approximately 2-minutes-40-seconds-long SP more challenging:
“The free skate has moments to showcase choreography and steps – each section feels like progressing from chapter one to two, then three. But in the SP, there’s no ‘pause’ or clear breaks. Before you know it, you’re already moving into the next jump takeoff. It feels like sprinting through the first chapter without stopping.”
To endure the physically demanding season, Sakamoto recognizes the importance of conditioning and recovery. She noted that earlier in her career, she relied on stronger muscles in her thighs for power, but this led to fatigue building up toward the end of her performances:
“Three years ago, my trainer told me as I get older, it would only get harder to skate if I kept relying on brute strength. Since then, I’ve worked on improving how I use my body.”
Sakamoto now focuses on maximizing the strength of her glutes, hamstrings, and core, areas she hadn’t utilized fully before: “Even basic exercises like squats were challenging at first – I remember my trainer being surprised, saying, ‘You can’t do even this?’ I started from zero. But over time, I started to feel which angles and movements allowed me to engage the muscles better. For instance, my triple lutz, which used to be unstable, has become much more consistent.”
This season, Sakamoto has also partnered with Ajinomoto for nutritional support:
“I’ve been receiving advice on meal planning, like adding plenty of vegetables to miso soup and pairing high-protein salads. When fatigue builds up, immunity decreases, and during flu season, combined with cold temperatures in ice rinks, it’s easy to get sick. Maintaining a balanced diet helps me stay in top condition.”
A newly built rink in her hometown of Kobe has allowed Sakamoto to train for 3–4 hours daily in an ideal environment. After the Kinoshita Group Trophy, she worked with her choreographer to fine-tune her step sequences and other movements. Looking ahead to her next competition, the Grand Prix Series opener in France (October 17–19), she expressed her determination:
“In European competitions, I haven’t had the best scores in the past, but with the Olympics also being held in Europe, I want to deliver a flawless performance here.”
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