Kaori Sakamoto is a key figure in the Japanese national figure skating team. Behind the shoulders of an athlete performing in single skating - victories in championships of various levels and the Grand Prix. In 2018, the figure skater won a gold medal at the Four Continents Championship, and in 2019 she became the best at the Japanese Championship.
The path to big sport
Kaori Sakamoto was born on April 9, 2000 in Kobe. This Japanese city, located on the island of Honshu, is the country's leading port and center of international trade.
The family decided that the girl would go in for figure skating from an early age, the choice turned out to be the right one. Young Kaori made her debut at the Grand Prix in the Czech Republic in 2013. This series of prestigious competitions is organized for junior skaters and takes place in several stages on ice rinks in different countries. In addition, the athlete first entered the ice of the Japanese Junior Figure Skating Championship. The girl repeated her success the next year and received the right to represent her country at the international junior championship in Tallinn, where she entered the top six, and for the first time entered the adult national championship ice.
The 2015/2016 season was very successful for the skater. She started at the Asian Cup along with eminent adult athletes, but performed very confidently and won bronze. Then she spent several stages at the junior competitions in Latvia, where she received a silver medal, and in Poland, where she became the fourth. At the Winter Youth Olympics in Norway, the Japanese figure skater was among the top six. On the eve of the Olympics, the athlete won the Grand Prix at home and became the second in Paris. She was also one of the winners of the Junior Grand Prix in Marseille. Having become the winner of the Junior Championship, Kaori boldly entered the struggle of the national championship, the debutante took 8th place. During many sports competitions, the skater has been able to improve her previous athletic performance.
Olympic season
Sakamoto started the new 2017-2018 season at the Asian Cup, where she won a landslide victory. The athlete held several more tournaments in the United States, but she lacked the confidence to climb the podium. This was followed by a series of Grand Prix in Russia, at this stage luck turned away from her and Kaori finished in the middle of the tournament table. But at the American stage of the Grand Prix, the figure skater from Japan became the second. The Japanese singles athlete spent the end of the year at the national championship, fought for gold, but in terms of total points, only the second step of the podium was taken. A month later, at the continental championship in Taipei, the skater presented a surprise to the judges and spectators, confidently winning the champion title and improving her results.
At the Olympics in South Korea, she came out as a substitute in the free program and took last place. According to the results of the competition in the individual tournament of the Olympics, the girl was in 6th place, and the team from Japan was in the 5th line of the tournament table.
Other achievements
In 2018, the Japanese figure skater continued her career and became the absolute winner of the Four Continents Championship, and her teammates took places on the podium nearby. Their contribution to the development of national figure skating was enormous, because such a victory for the Japanese team was only in 2003 and 2013. The annual competition appeared in 1999 as an analogue of the European Championship. It is attended by athletes from America, Asia, Australia and Oceania. A free program called "Amelie", with which Sakamoto performed, pleasantly pleased the audience with an abundance of cascades of jumps, consisting of a triple sheepskin coat and a double axel, as well as steps of the fourth level. Thus, the skater set her personal record in the program - 142, 87 points, and in the total amount of competitions - 214, 21 points. The skating rink in Taipei has become one of the favorite skaters and bring her victory. She comes back here every year, here she feels confident and calm.
Smiling and charismatic Kaomi has become a real discovery of the season. He brought the girl victory in the national championship and silver in the American Grand Prix stage. At the world figure skating championship, the Japanese woman was only fifth, despite the fact that she skated excellently in the short program, and her result - 76, 86 points - became an athlete's personal record at competitions of this level. Sakamoto began her free program with a choreographic path, which imperceptibly flowed into the final leap of the entire program - dynamic development reached its climax.
Emphasis on jumping
There are many victories in the sports biography of the Japanese figure skater. A real samurai character, which she demonstrates in all competitions, helps her achieve results. During training in Helsinki, she hit her head and practically failed the short program. But I managed to pull myself together and brilliantly skate the free program, which impressed everyone. The figure skater managed to keep the bar and became the third at the competition in Finland.
Kaori's main advantage is great jumps, which she includes in large numbers in her programs, alternating them with choreographic connections. Her coaches set a super task - to strengthen the emphasis on jumps, which Sakamoto perfectly combines with the music and turns out to be incredibly soft, with "cat" landings and exits.
Each performance of the famous Japanese figure skater is bright and spectacular, with well-chosen music and filled with complex sports elements. But behind her flight on the ice is a lot of work and hours of training. Already, she is preparing for the new stages of the Grand Prix, which will be held soon in the United States, as well as for the tournament in Grenoble. The fight will be hot, because the competition will bring together many strong and stable athletes, including from Russia. Today, in the personal life of 19-year-old Kaori Sakamoto, sports are in the first place, as well as a huge love for figure skating and the desire to win.
