Kaori Sakamoto: “On the day the team event ended, I was so nervous and stressed that my stomach got weak. I was taken to the hospital by ambulance during the 2018 Games.”
Kaori Sakamoto who claimed her fourth NHK Trophy title and second consecutive win, delighted the audience with a lively and humorous talk.
original source: Nikkansports, November 9th 2025
Kaori Sakamoto, after winning her fourth NHK Trophy, entertained fans with a humorous talk event, sharing stories from her Olympic experiences and expressing her determination for her final competitive season. Here’s a translation of her comments posted on Nikkansports.
During the intermission, Sakamoto participated in a talk event with Satoko Miyahara, who also competed at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics, energizing the venue together.
When the topic turned to “the real Kaori Sakamoto as known by Miyahara,” Miyahara revealed a flipboard with “Chinjao Rosu” (green pepper steak) written on it. Sakamoto burst out laughing, exclaiming, “Hahaha! That’s Kaori’s trauma,” and the conversation took off from there.
Miyahara: “I wrote ‘Chinjao Rosu’ because during PyeongChang, there was an incident where Kaori had stomach trouble…”
Kaori Sakamoto: “On the day the team event ended, I was so nervous and stressed that my stomach got weak, and then I ate chinjao rosu. The heavy oil was too much for me, and I ended up with gastroenteritis. I was taken to the hospital by ambulance during the Games… I rode in a Korean ambulance. It really drained my strength, and afterward, I returned to Kitakyushu (my training base) to prepare for the individual event. Since there were only two women on the team, I thought, ‘I can’t leave Satoko alone,’ so I worked hard to recover and skated, but honestly, I don’t think I was able to practice properly.”
Now, Sakamoto is spending her final season aiming for her third Olympics. At the end, she declared, “Japan is fiercely competitive, and this year there are many skaters with a chance to go to the Olympics. I have to win through and achieve results. There are two competitions left this year—the Grand Prix Final in Nagoya in December and Nationals. I want to skate true to myself and make this a season I can be satisfied with.”
Related topics: Kaori Sakamoto
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