A little video of the book with all your lovely messages and art - thank you @JudithDomi1 for printing and @AriaTrente for the beautiful cover! And thanks to @tuerush for organizing the fan meeting with the opportunity for him to receive it!
a legend of our sport ๐ค
kaori sakamoto โ 3x world champion, 6x national champion, 4 olympic medals, one of the greatest skaters that we have ever seen. a wonderful person and competitor. kind, generous, funny, brave. she has made figure skating a better place.
THANK YOU ๐โจ
Sonoko Nakano, Kaori Sakamoto's coach:
"Kaori has become a strong skater in so many ways. To shoulder such high expectations and power through with only minor mistakes is incredible. I was so happy when we earned bronze last time. Feeling sad about silver this year is truly a luxury."
photo: Ryota Miyazaki / Hochi News
#iceskate #iceskating #ใใฃใฎใฅใขในใฑใผใ #figureskate #figureskating #MilanoCortina2026
Kaori Sakamoto ๐ฏ๐ต 77.23
On her impression after skating
"Today, I was nervous like usual, but I had so much fun while skating. I was probably smiling a lot, wondering why it was so much fun. I'm very satisfied."
On whether it was fun from the start:
"No, it wasn't fun at the start. Maybe right before the Axel. After the flying camel, I suddenly entered this strange, relaxed mode I'd never experienced before. From then on, I just wanted to enjoy the moment."
On watching RikuRyu:
"Honestly, that was incredibly huge for me. Watching RikuRyu's comeback gold medal. In the team event, I couldn't watch either the short or the free, so I told myself I'd absolutely watch both in the individual event, and I did, and I was really moved. After the short program, Ryuichi kept saying he'd do his best and pass a good baton to me. Of course, receiving a good baton makes me happy, but I told them Iโd be even happier if they skated a performance they were truly satisfied with. So I said, just go all out and leave everything on the ice. And then they delivered a golden baton, and I was like, 'Wow. I thought, 'there's no way I can drop this.' I received such a wonderful baton, so I felt like I could only succeed from here. All the anxiety I had until yesterday cleared away at once, and only good tension remained. It really felt like an amazing, almost too good baton had been handed to me."
On Ami:
"It's easier to be the one chasing, so I'm grateful to Ami for letting me stay in the chasing position until the very end. I think the generational change is already secure. Japan is in a good place. Heading into the free skate, I don't feel like I have anything to protect. So until the very end, I want to give my all and show my full power. If I can do that, I think I'll be able to deliver a good performance. I don't want to skate defensively. I want to skate with an attacking attitude."
#FigureSkating #MilanoCortina2026 #Olympics #WinterOlympics
Russia remains banned from participating in the Olympics for being at war with Ukraine.
Israel is allowed to participate after killing nearly 73,600 people in a genocide, around 20,000 of whom are children.
Can someone explain this to me?
2026 Olympic Figure Skating Team Event
Congratulations again to all the winners! Job well done! ๐๐ป๐ช
๐ฅ USA ๐บ๐ธ
๐ฅ Japan ๐ฏ๐ต
๐ฅ Italy ๐ฎ๐น
๐ท @hella_hoeppner
#MilanoCortina2026#figureskating#Olympics#WinterOlympics
Sakamoto: โWhen Utana and Masaya started skating, the crowd erupted in applause. I was so moved I almost cried, thinking, โDonโt cry, donโt cry,โ but when I glanced over and saw Yuma crying, I thought, โWell, Iโll cry too,โ and we both ended up in tears.โ
https://t.co/SfBlxOpUBY
Click the link to read the full translationโธ
#iceskate #iceskating #ใใฃใฎใฅใขในใฑใผใ #figureskate #figureskating #MilanoCortina2026
Kaori Sakamoto ๐ฏ๐ต 78.88
Kaori:"Personally, I didn't really feel like I was in a competition at the start. But as time went on, I felt more and more nervous."
- About crying at Utana Yoshida/Masaya Morita's Performance
"Ice Dance is really demanding, and at this Olympics, when Utamasa started to skate there was a storm of applause. Seeing that made me feel completely overwhelmed, and I started to cry within the first ten seconds. I kept telling myself to stop but when I looked to the side, Yuma (Kagiyama) was crying his eyes out, so I thought, 'Well, whatever, I'll cry too.' It's not even a song that makes you cry, but I just felt so glad that all the effort they put in until now was finally rewarded."
"The idea of getting the perfect 10 points had been something that made me put pressure on myself internally. But today, I skated with the mindset of simply doing what I needed to do properly, so instead of it becoming overwhelming pressure, it turned into a good, healthy level of tension."
"I first experienced the Team Event in Pyeongchang Olympics. At that time I thought it was amazing to just be able to compete. Even whether everyone could make it through to the free skate felt like an achievement. But four years later, everyone has leveled up, and in Beijing Olympics, we were in a position where we could realistically think about a medal. I was truly happy and I realized if we do our best, this was something we could achieve. From there, it became a big turning point. We started talking about the Team Event a lot more, and going into Milan, especially in recent years, the conversation has really been about steadily raising our level as a team. I think Day 1 of this competition had a really good start. I can really feel that what we've been aiming for over the past four years is slowly but surely getting closer. It's hard to put into words, but I'm happy and I feel proud. "
"I go into every competition with a strong determination that I will absolutely make the podium. So no matter how bad the situation is or how things go, I'm determined to definitely make a comeback in the free skate. Because Iโve gone through so many different competitions and gained so many different experiences, I think thatโs why Iโm able to do this when it really matters. Up until now, whenever there are moments where I might start being lenient with myself, Coach Nakano and Coach Furuyama always tighten things up together, and thanks to that, I feel like Iโve finally been able to reach this point.โ
#MilanoCortina2026 #figureskating #Olympics #WinterOlympics