Kaori Sakamoto: “At my first Junior GP, here in Czech Republic, there were only a few people in the audience. But now, at Worlds, I can perform surrounded by so many people. Rather than aiming for a fourth title, I want to leave the sport with no regrets.”
Kaori Sakamoto leads after the short program at her final World Championships, focusing on a performance without regrets rather than sentimentality as she prepares for her last free skate.
original source: Nikkansports 24th March 2026 by Daisuke Fujitsuka
Kaori Sakamoto (25), who will retire after this competition, took the lead with a season-best 79.31 points. Here’s a translation of her comments posted on Nikkansports.
“About ten seconds in, I thought, ‘I’m not going to stop, I’ll skate clean again today.’ Rather than thinking it was my last, I approached it just like a regular practice.”
After announcing last June that she would retire at the end of this season, she had decided the Olympics would be her last, but she still had unfinished business.
“I couldn’t give it my all. I could have done a bit more. I want to reclaim what I left behind at the Olympics.”
Leading up to this event, she repeatedly practiced “mistake stops,” starting over from the beginning whenever she made an error during run-throughs. She pushed herself with her usual rigorous training.
In today’s short program, ten seconds in, she remembered her “mistake stops” and immersed herself in the performance. “I just wanted to do everything I could right now.” She landed all three jumps and skated with speed, delivering a clean program.
“I’m satisfied because I was able to do in competition what I do in practice.”
In the fall of 2013, her first Junior Grand Prix series was also in the Czech Republic. Thirteen years later, by coincidence, the same place became the stage for her final competition, with towels and banners for Sakamoto waving throughout the arena. “At the Junior GP, there were only a few people in the audience. But now, at Worlds, I can perform surrounded by so many people.”
“Rather than aiming for a fourth title, I want to leave the sport with no regrets.”
Related topics: Kaori Sakamoto, world championship
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