Latest news with #figureSkating
The Independent
08-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
British figure skating duo set for Milan hoping to prove there is more to pairs
Think of Olympic figure skating and the mind invariably turns towards Torvill and Dean, whose string of perfect sixes in Sarajevo in 1984 remains the unattainable peak to which subsequent British ice dancers have aspired. John and Sinead Kerr, and Penny Coomes and Nick Buckland, have scraped top 10 finishes at the Games, while current number ones Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson last year became the first domestic duo to claim a world medal in the discipline since their illustrious predecessors over 40 years earlier. While ice dance has become as quintessentially British as four minute miles or old soldiers hurling themselves head-first down the Cresta Run, its more classic companion, pairs, has slid by comparatively unnoticed. But having landed a quota place for next year's Winter Olympics in Milan by virtue of an unexpected 12th place finish at last year's World Championships, British team Anastasia Vaipan-Law and Luke Digby are on a mission to prove there is more to their sport than step sequences and Bolero's. 'UK figure skating has always been about Torvill and Dean, so people see us together and assume we're just the same,' said Vaipan-Law, who grew up as a singles skater in Dundee before switching to link up with the Sheffield-based Digby in 2019. 'I'm never offended, because Torvill and Dean were absolutely incredible. But we're actually completely different.' Pairs fundamentally differs in its requirement for acrobatic lifts and throws, as opposed to ice dance, which emphasises interpretation and connection. Whereas pairs has been contested at every Winter Olympics and even some summer Games prior to that, ice dance only made its debut at the Games in 1976. The dramatic nature of pairs has earned the respect of Britain's number one ice dancers, Gibson and Fear, who will go to Milan as arguably Britain's best figure skating medal hopes since Torvill and Dean, having won a bronze medal at last year's World Championships. 'Our lifts are scary and he's holding on to me, so the fact of being thrown across the ice and landing, that takes a lot of courage,' said Fear. 'I always watch pairs in awe.' Although ice dancing appears a more natural path, Digby said it was never a question of following the crowd when he came to terms with the fact that his prospective career as a singles skater was over. 'It was always going to be pairs,' he added. 'We both came from being quite good solo skaters and had already individually done the jumps that were required. The two disciplines might seem similar, but the elements and routines we're doing actually make it completely different.'
Independent Singapore
23-06-2025
- Sport
- Independent Singapore
Kaori Sakamoto to end figure skating career after the 2026 Winter Olympics
Well-known figure skater Kaori Sakamoto plans to retire from competitive sports after the 2026 Winter Olympics, a decision she has hinted at for the past year. Sakamoto, who won three world championships and secured both silver and bronze Olympic medals, recently declared on Kyodo News (translated): 'I feel like I have less than a year left… 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.' She added: '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.' 'Winning at least silvers in both the individual and team events (at the Olympics) would be mission completed… 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,' Sakamoto remarked. Furthermore, Sakamoto also admitted that she will continue to be part of the figure skating community but now as a coach, in hopes of strengthening and nurturing future athletes from her country. A social media post made by a fan account said: 'Kaori announced she'll retire from competitive skating after next season at Sysmex Kobe Ice Campus opening ceremony today. She's set to become a figure skating coach afterward. Wishing Kaori an awesome final season!!❤️🔥' Fans commented on the post to express their support: 'I'm so sad right now – I hope her final season is everything she wants and more', 'I am so glad I got to see her skate at Worlds in Boston… her skating made my heart sing! ❤️', 'Wishing Kaori all the best for her last season. ❤️', and 'I expected this but when it comes to the announcement, sadness creeps in🥲🥲🥲… I'm only praying and cheering you on for the last season where you'll see the best smiles 😭🙏✨🫶' Sakamoto's figure skating achievements At the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, she won a team silver and an individual bronze medal. She became the first women's singles skater to win three consecutive World Championship titles from 2022 to 2024, following American Peggy Fleming from 1996 to 1968. This season, Sakamoto won the silver medal at the World Championships, narrowly missing the opportunity to secure four consecutive world titles. In Boston, she ranked fifth after the short programme, but eventually went up to second place after her free skate. She finished the competition only 4.99 points behind champion Alysa Liu. Throughout the season, the athlete achieved the highest combined score in international events.
CBC
20-06-2025
- Sport
- CBC
Kaori Sakamoto to retire from figure skating after 2026 Olympic Games
Social Sharing Kaori Sakamoto, the three-time figure skating world champion, will retire after next year's 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina, she said Friday. The 25-year-old Japanese star won an Olympic bronze medal in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing and took the silver medal in the world championships in March with gold to American Alysa Liu. Sakamoto acknowledged that age is catching up with her.
Washington Post
20-06-2025
- Sport
- Washington Post
Why three-time world champion Kaori Sakamoto will retire after the 2026 Winter Olympics
TOKYO — Kaori Sakamoto, the three-time figure skating world champion, will retire after next year's 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina, she said Friday. The 25-year-old Japanese star won an Olympic bronze medal in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing and took the silver medal in the world championships in March with gold to American Alysa Liu .
Yahoo
20-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Kaori Sakamoto to retire from figure skating after Olympic season
Kaori Sakamoto, a three-time world champion and Olympic silver and bronze medalist, plans to retire from competitive figure skating after the upcoming 2026 Olympic season, a move she previously hinted at over the past year. "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.
