Kaori Sakamoto: “After winning a medal in Beijing, I started to see the team event as just as important as the individual event.”
Kaori Sakamoto won the women’s free skate in the team event at the Milano-Cortina Olympics, helping Japan secure its second consecutive silver medal.
original source: sponichi.co.jp dd. 9th February
At the Milano-Cortina Olympics, the figure skating team event was held on February 8th. Kaori Sakamoto, who competed in the women’s free skate, scored 148.62 points, taking first place in both the short program and the free skate. Japan earned the silver medal for the second consecutive Olympics. Here’s a translation of her comments.
“When I started warming up, (Ryuichi) Kihara said, ‘I’ll pass you a good baton, Kao-chan,’ and he really did, almost too well (laughs). It made me feel like I had to do my part, too. Not being able to do the triple-jump combination was a painful mistake, but I’m relieved I was still able to score over 140 points.”
This was Sakamoto’s third time competing in the team event, having won silver at the previous Beijing Olympics. Her journey toward this competition began four years ago.
“Since Beijing, RikuRyu (Miura/Kihara), Yuma Kagiyama, and I talked about working hard to win a medal at the Milan Olympics. After winning a medal in Beijing, I started to see the team event as just as important as the individual event. Of course, there are concerns about stamina, but I’m happy that we’re relied on as the ones who can help Japan win. I think everyone has grown even more than four years ago, and I’m really glad to be part of such a great team.”
At the end of last year, the Japan Skating Federation asked her to compete in both the short program and the free skate, and she made up her mind to do so. She became the first Japanese singles skater to be assigned both programs in the team event.
Related topics: Kaori Sakamoto, Olympic Games
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