Kaori Sakamoto to retire from figure skating after Olympic season
"I feel like I have less than a year left," she said in her native Japan on Thursday, according to a Kyodo News translation. "I'll be 29 at the following Olympics (in 2030), which is out of the question. I'll try to bring things to a close the year I turn 26.
Advertisement
"I've made the decision really fast. I felt now was the time. I was more or less fixed on it since saying, 'I see two years as one cycle' last year."
Sakamoto, speaking at the opening of a new rink in her hometown of Kobe, said she plans to continue in the sport as a coach, according to Japanese media.
Sakamoto followed her 2022 Olympic team silver and individual bronze medals by becoming the first women's singles skater to win three consecutive world titles (2022-24) since American Peggy Fleming from 1966-68.
This past March, she earned silver at the worlds, just missing becoming the first woman to win four titles in a row since American Carol Heiss from 1956-60.
Advertisement
At worlds in Boston, she was fifth after the short program and improved to second in the free skate. She finished 4.99 points behind Alysa Liu, who won both programs to become the first American to claim a women's singles world title since 2006.
Sakamoto had the highest total international event score over the entire season, recording that in last fall's Grand Prix Series.
Sakamoto's short program for the 2025-26 season is set to "Time To Say Goodbye" by Sarah Brightman and Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, a fitting choice for her final season and the Milan Cortina Games.
"Winning at least silvers in both the individual and team events (at the Olympics) would be mission completed," she said, according to Kyodo. "The time left is short, so I'll live each day to the fullest, and hopefully the results turn out to be what I'm wishing for."
Kaori Sakamoto
Kaori Sakamoto prepares for nerves, history at world figure skating championships
Kaori Sakamoto bids for a feat not seen in 56 years at the world figure skating championships.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
LA 2028 Olympic organizers release first look at the flag football schedule
The 2028 LA Olympics has announced its schedule, and flag football will be held from Saturday, July 15, through Saturday, July 22, at Exposition Park Stadium. Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts is now the face of the NFL's flag football initiative, having put the world on notice in an ad campaign featuring the NFL that debuted last summer. The campaign promoted the arrival of men's and women's flag football as an Olympic event in 2028. It's unclear if Hurts will be the quarterback for Team USA in four years. Still, the newly named global flag football ambassador could play in the Olympics and return to Philadelphia for training camp, thanks to the now-released eight-day schedule. If the game were held this summer, the finale would take place on the day Philadelphia was supposed to report to the NovaCare Complex for training camp. The first Eagles practice would take place the following day on July 23. Back in May, NFL owners unanimously voted to allow players to play flag football at the Olympics. The 2028 Summer Games will be held from July 14 to 30. 'There's more work to be done there,' NFL executive Jeff Miller said. 'It will certainly be an important topic of conversation. ... I would expect it to be an engaging and robust conversation on that topic.' With the news eliciting reactions from every corner of the NFL, we're looking at five Eagles who would flourish as members of Team USA. Flag Football Rules If passed, no more than one player from each team would be permitted to participate in the 2028 Olympics, plus each team's designated international player on his country's team, opening the door to a juggernaut roster. The framework would include 12-player rosters, a 50-yard field, and a 5-on-5 format, eliminating offensive and defensive lines. QB Jalen Hurts The Eagles' 2022 All-Pro is the face of the NFL and advocates for the sport. Last June, Hurts attended the Eagles Girls Flag Football League Championships at the NovaCare Complex to watch the title games and pose for pictures with the winning teams from Pennsylvania (Archbishop Wood) and New Jersey (Kingsway). RB Saquon Barkley A 2,005-yard rushing season, a reverse hurdle over an opponent, and one of the most electric athletes on the planet would flourish in open space. CB Cooper DeJean DeJean dominates in space. As a rookie in 2024, the cornerback was among the highest-rated players in the slot, holding opponents to 50 receptions. He had five pass breakups, and quarterbacks had an 82.2 passer rating against him. DeJean logged 51 tackles (38 solo) as a rookie, including 0.5 sacks, one forced fumble, and three fumble recoveries across 16 regular-season games in 2024. DeJean's biggest and best moment came in Super Bowl LIX against the Chiefs, when he picked off Patrick Mahomes for a 38-yard interception return for a touchdown on his birthday. WR DeVonta Smith Smith would be a star without the pads, a technician, and an elite pass catcher. Smith is known for his exceptional route-running abilities, particularly his ability to create separation from defensive backs. CB Kelee Ringo The former Georgia cornerback stands at 6 feet 2 inches and weighs 207 pounds, possessing the length, physicality, and speed to dominate the competition. Ringo's 40-yard dash time at the 2023 NFL Combine was 4.36 seconds, which was the fifth-fastest among all players at the combine and the fifth-fastest among cornerbacks.
CBS News
2 hours ago
- CBS News
LA 2028 Olympic organizers release first look at competition schedule 3 years out from games
Organizers of the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles released the first look of the competition schedule three years out from the Opening Ceremony on Monday morning. At an event outside of the LA Memorial Coliseum marking three years until the start of the games, LA28 Chief Executive Officer Reynold Hoover announced the first look of the competition schedule, including dates for medal ceremonies. Hoover highlighted that the upcoming games will be the return of the Games to the U.S. for the first time since 1996. It will be LA's third time hosting the Olympics, having previously hosted the 1932 and 1984 games. Sporting events will kick off two days before the Opening Ceremony on July 14, 2028. Hockey, archery, basketball, water polo, handball and cricket will begin on July 12, 2028. Hoover said the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games will feature more sports than any other games before. Sporting events will be held at venues around the city, including Dodger Stadium, the Convention Center, the Galen Center and Long Beach. The first medal will be awarded for the triathlon on July 15 in Venice Beach. Swimming will close out the last medal ceremony on July 30 at Sofi Stadium. "We are now three years away from the LA Memorial Coliseum hosting the opening of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics and I'm proud that the first medal will be awarded at the iconic Venice Beach," said LA Mayor Karen Bass. "When the world comes here for these Games, we will highlight every neighborhood as we host a Games for all and work to ensure it leaves a monumental legacy. Use this link to access the first look at the competition schedule.
New York Times
3 hours ago
- New York Times
Why England's win over India proves Test cricket delivers the best sporting drama
He stood with his head bowed, barely believing what had just happened and barely able to drag himself from the crease. Mohammed Siraj had just seen India's extraordinarily disciplined defiance come to nothing in the split second it took a ball from Shoaib Bashir to trickle back off his bat and on to his leg stump with just enough velocity to dislodge a bail. Advertisement India's No 11 batter had started the day being fined 15 per cent of his match fee for his overly aggressive reaction to dismissing Ben Duckett on the fourth morning, but ended it being consoled by the England players with whom he had clashed so fiercely. At the other end stood the warrior-like but helpless figure of Ravindra Jadeja who had defied everything England threw at him for almost four and a half hours, facing 181 balls for an unbeaten 61. He had dragged India to within 23 runs of their target of 193. England looked certain to win when they reduced India to 82 for seven and then 112 for eight on the last day of the third Test but Jadeja stood firm, marshalling the tail and eschewing the majority of his opportunities to score to try to inch India towards victory. It was a Herculean effort that was to end in heartbreak for Siraj, Jadeja and India when England's inexperienced spinner Bashir, bowling just his sixth over of the Indian second innings because of a fractured finger, took a bizarre and almost freak final wicket. But it was one that brought joy and a large measure of relief to an England team who had finally come out on top in a monumental tussle that will go down as one of the greatest of the 2,000 plus Test matches that have been played since the very first in 1877. This is why Test cricket delivers the best sporting drama in the world. This is why the five-day game, and a five-game series, provides so much richly nuanced entertainment, so many plot twists and such a fierce examination of the ability and character of cricketers. Test cricket is so often these days played in fast-forward, England's Bazball style in particular an attempt to drag a format that could be regarded as an anachronism kicking and screaming into an impatient modern world. But it does not have to be like that. Advertisement This compelling spectacle at Lord's was in contrast to the modern way. It was a throwback of a last day when every wicket and run was eked out in front of a near full-house and the tension became unbearable as India crept closer towards a 2-1 lead in the series that had, for a while, felt fanciful. But it was no less enthralling for that. By the end, as the clock ticked towards 5pm on the final day, England looked out on their feet, the ball had gone soft after being used for one delivery short of 75 overs and a pitch that had provided uneven bounce on day four had effectively curled up and gone to sleep. Yet just when the large number of Indian fans at the home of cricket started to dare to dream of one of their greatest triumphs, an exhausted England captain Ben Stokes threw the ball to the off-spin bowler he has shown such faith in for one last throw of the dice. Jadeja had been farming the strike expertly, leaving the India tailenders no more than one or two balls to face each over, but he put faith in Siraj to survive three balls from the slow bowler and saw the penultimate delivery of the over deliver the cruellest of blows. Cue an ecstatic reaction from a bowler who had spent most of the day sitting on the sidelines — Bashir was allowed to bowl without previously fielding because he had suffered an external injury — and one who will play no part in the last two Tests because of the left-hand injury he suffered trying to take a return catch from Jadeja in the first innings. Test Cricket. Wow. 😍 — England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 14, 2025 England will not worry about that for now. This is a significant victory for them and a captain who gave everything to carry his team almost single-handedly at times towards that all-important 2-1 series lead. What a performance from Stokes, and how crucial this was for a captain who will see his leadership defined by the result of this series and the Ashes in Australia this winter. Advertisement No one did more to win this third Test for England than Stokes; no England captain has ever had such an impact on his team than this colossus of a cricketer. The direct hit run-out of Rishabh Pant in the first innings by Stokes was the turning point of a fluctuating Test. The wicket of Akash Deep with what became the last ball of the fourth day was the moment England started to believe they really could defend a below par 192. And the two long spells Stokes put his body through on the final day — the first of 9.2 overs and the second of 10 overs — were the ultimate examples of leading from the front. In all Stokes, who had to be told to stop bowling in the first innings by coach Brendon McCullum to protect his battered body, bowled 44 overs in this Test for his five wickets and proved beyond doubt that he has fully recovered from his latest serious hamstring injury and is still genuinely fit for all-round purpose. 'I'm pretty cooked,' he said afterwards. 'But if bowling to win a Test for your country does not get you going, I don't know what will. 'The Test was on the line and I didn't even think about stopping bowling. It's hard to get my head round this win. It was a game of cat and mouse. I reckon I'll be pretty pumped about it in two days time but I'm knackered at the moment. 'I was pretty tired at Headingley (where England chased 371 to win the first Test) but after walking off the field here a whole new level of tiredness hit me. It shouldn't be under-estimated how the emotional and mental tiredness does get to you as well. But I'll be fine for Manchester (the fourth Test at Old Trafford on July 23). We've got a break now.' Then there was Jofra Archer, returning to the England Test team after more than four years out through injury and again sprinkling stardust on England and making a crucial impact on the final day. Advertisement Archer took two huge wickets, bowling Pant with a beauty and holding a superb return catch to dismiss Washington Sundar, and showed he could maintain speeds around 90 miles per hour on the final day — and all on the sixth anniversary of his starring role, along with that of Stokes, in England's World Cup final victory on this ground. 'I had a feeling in my tummy that Jof was going to do something this morning to break this game open,' said Stokes. 'Your gut feel doesn't always work but those two wickets swung the game massively in our favour. To back up spells like he has here will do him the world of good.' What a Test this was and how apt that Zak Crawley was the first of the England players to cut short his own celebrations and go over to shake the hand of Siraj at the end, quickly followed by Stokes and the rest of the team. It was Crawley who was the catalyst for the unusual level of bad feeling between these sides that has been such a feature of the third Test when he enraged India with his time-wasting tactics at the end of the third day. That was to reach a crescendo on the final morning with Stokes having to step between Jadeja and Brydon Carse when the India batter, looking to complete a run, ran into the England bowler with neither prepared to give an inch. And when Archer, encouraged from the sidelines by England coach McCullum, gave firstly Pant and then Sundar verbal send-offs that could easily have seen him joining Siraj on the naughty step in match referee Richie Richardson's office. Washington Sund-Off 🗣 As Washington Sundar walked out to bat, an instruction came down from Brendon McCullum. And then Jofra Archer produced something special! — Test Match Special (@bbctms) July 14, 2025 'In a big series like this there was always going to be a moment when the teams were going to clash,' said Stokes. 'I'm all for it and it never really crossed the line. I don't think anyone in our dressing room nor theirs will cry themselves to sleep over what happened.' His views were echoed by India captain Shubman Gill, who added: 'You are giving everything, mentally and physically. There will be times when there's a bit of heat but there's a lot of admiration between the sides. 'I don't think there will be trouble next time.' That next time will come in eight days at Old Trafford when England will be without Bashir — Jack Leach is his probable replacement — and India could well be without their explosive batter-keeper Pant, who is nursing his own finger injury. For now both sides will let the dust settle on a game that included everything a Test should; one that leaves this series deliciously poised. It was a third Test for the ages in a series that keeps on giving. And a five-act play with two acts left building towards the most thrilling of finales. Click here to read more cricket stories on The Athletic, and follow Global Sports on The Athletic app via the Discover tab.
