“I really lost sight of myself. I reached my limit and just felt so scared that I cried a lot. Seeing even Malinin and RikuRyu made mistakes, I thought, ‘If these people don’t win gold, who will?’ and I completely lost confidence.” Kaori Sakamoto on the Olympics

Kaori Sakamoto, silver medalist at the Milano-Cortina Olympics, spoke on TV about the intense pressure she felt in Milan and how witnessing the RikuRyu pair’s gold medal comeback helped her regain confidence.

original source: sponichi.co.jp dd. 18th May 2026

Kaori Sakamoto (26), who held her retirement press conference on the 13th and is a silver medalist in women’s figure skating at the Milano-Cortina Olympics, appeared in a video segment on TV Asahi’s “GET SPORTS” late at night on the 17th. She spoke about the pressure she felt in Milan. Here’s a translation of her comments.

At her final Olympics in Milan, she contributed to winning a silver medal in the team event for the second consecutive Games. However, before the individual event, she experienced a change. In a group interview, she tearfully admitted, “Honestly, I’m worried about what will happen if all this hard work doesn’t pay off. I’m feeling incredibly anxious right now.”

Reflecting on the day, Sakamoto said about her fear, “It was exactly as I felt.” She explained, “Even though I said I was aiming for a medal, at least silver, I had been training for gold. Whether I could achieve that result or not became something I really couldn’t figure out.”

She continued, “I really lost sight of myself. Normally, when I approach things aggressively, I don’t have time to think about these things. But staying in the same place for a long time made it hard to keep a fresh mindset, and I kept falling into a negative spiral. I reached my limit and just felt scared – so scared that I cried a lot.”

In Milan, Ilia Malinin (USA), considered the top contender for the men’s gold medal, finished eighth, and the world champion RikuRyu pair started the pairs event in fifth place after the short program – unexpected results.

Sakamoto said, “When I saw Malinin’s performance, I thought, ‘Oh no.’ Then, seeing RikuRyu’s mistake in the short program, I felt, ‘This could be bad.’ Their training quality was so high that I thought, ‘If these people don’t win gold, who will?’ But even they made mistakes, and I completely lost confidence. My mental state really collapsed at that point.”

When asked how she overcame it, Sakamoto replied, “The biggest thing was seeing RikuRyu win gold.” Watching the RikuRyu pair’s dramatic comeback in the free skate reminded her of the importance of never giving up, and she expressed her gratitude.

When told that it gave her courage, Sakamoto said, “I really bounced back,” and explained that she was able to win the silver medal in the individual event that started the next day.

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