Kaori Sakamoto: “The fact that I couldn’t win even with scores like these – it’s exciting. I’m feeling this special sense of adrenaline.”
Kaori Sakamoto Scores a Season Personal Best at Grand Prix France
original source: Nikkansports, October 19th, 2025 by Matsumoto Wataru, correspondent Matsumoto Aika
Kaori Sakamoto, 25, representing Sysmex, finished second at the Grand Prix France with a free skate score of 148.03 points and a total of 224.23 points, marking her personal best for the season. Here’s a translation of her comments posted on Nikkansports.
After her performance, Sakamoto shared her thoughts on the score during a press interview. “I thought the score was incredibly high. I expected it to be somewhere in the high 130s, so I was surprised it was nearly 10 points higher than I imagined,” she admitted.
Despite the impressive score, Sakamoto expressed mixed feelings about her performance. “I couldn’t skate the way I normally do. My skating felt a bit chaotic and rushed. Still, I’m content with the result,” she said, showing humility about her second-place finish.
Sakamoto’s upcoming competitions include the Hyogo Prefecture Championships (October 25–26) before heading to her next Grand Prix appearance at the NHK Trophy (November 7–9 in Osaka).
The competition was won by 17-year-old Ami Nakai (TOKIO Inkarami), who scored an impressive 227.08 points overall. Sakamoto expressed her excitement at how unpredictable and thrilling the competition has become.
“The fact that I couldn’t win even with scores like these – it’s exciting. I’m feeling this special sense of adrenaline,” she said. Looking ahead to her next event, the NHK Trophy in Osaka, Sakamoto said, “The nerves you feel from competing are something you can only overcome through experience. I’ll keep working through it with each event.”
Related topics: Grand Prix de France, Kaori Sakamoto
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