Now a college graduate, Sakamoto Kaori hones in on skating goals: ‘I aim for a three-peat at Worlds’
The two-time reigning world champion from Japan opened her season with a win at Autumn Classic before heading back home to receive her diploma.
Figure Skating
Sakamoto Kaori, the Olympic bronze medallist and world figure skating champion the last two seasons, is making her intentions clear for 2024.
“I aim for a three-peat at Japanese Nationals and the World Championships,” she said recently, according to Japanese media outlets.
The 23-year-old Sakamoto’s focus this year is singular after she received her college degree last month from Kobe Gakuin University in Japan, graduating just six months late due to her demanding on-ice career.
“Balancing sports and studying was incredibly tough,” she said in Japanese. “But I thought that being a student was something I could only do now, so I did my best.”
A graduate of the school of business administration, Sakamoto also received the President’s Award in recognition of her athletic achievements.
With no more assignments to loom over her head or papers to write, Sakamoto turns her focus solely on retaining her national and world titles – and working towards the coming Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026.
“My life will revolve even more around skating,” she said. “I’m not young in the world of figure skating, so I’ll take care of myself to stay injury-free.”
Sakamoto Kaori: New free skate set to Lauryn Hill medley
This season marks the halfway point to the next Winter Olympics, and Sakamoto kicked off her international competition schedule last month with a win at the ISU Challenger event in Montreal, the Autumn Classic.
Sakamoto has debuted two new programs this year (both of which she used in Montreal). Her “Baby, God Bless You” short is choreographed by 2006 Olympic bronze medallist Jeffrey Buttle, and her Lauryn Hill medley free skate was done by Marie-France Dubreuil, who also helped craft her “Elastic Heart” free in 2022-23.
Sakamoto told reporters at Autumn Classic that she is experimenting with different genres of music to find the right fit for her for the coming Olympic season, 2025-26.
Her short program, for example, showcases her softer side. She feels connected to the music (written by Japanese artist Kiyozuka Shinya) in particular because it marks a happy event: “I have a new niece and nephew, and I wanted to share my joy with as many people as possible," Sakamoto explained.
The lyrical nature of “Baby, God Bless You” is a challenge, however: "I would say I am more of a powerful skater," she added.
Sakamoto hit a double Axel in her short program at Autumn Classic, then was called for an unclear edge on her triple Lutz. She did a triple flip-triple toe-loop in combination.
“I wanted to do this event to see where I am at,” she said. “My Lutz was a bit off, but my other jumps and spins were good."
In the free skate, she opened with a double Axel and then triple Lutz, with five more triples in the program, scoring a 203.20 overall.
Sakamoto is set to kick off her Grand Prix Series schedule later this month at Skate Canada (27-29 October), then three weeks later will participate at the Grand Prix Espoo in Finland (17-20 November).
This weekend (7 October), Sakamoto headlines the unique team event, the Japan Open, where each skater (singles only) will compete their free skate programs to add to their respective squad's total.