Kaori Sakamoto Wins Women's Free Skate Gold at Figure Skating Championships 2023 (2024)

Kaori Sakamoto Wins Women's Free Skate Gold at Figure Skating Championships 2023 (1)

AP Photo/Hiro Komae

Japan's Kaori Sakamoto remains the gold standard in women's free skating at the World Figure Skating Championships.

The 22-year-old won her second successive gold medal in this event at the World Championships on Friday with a total score of 224.61. She entered the day as a heavy favorite to win after opening up a big lead in the short program on Tuesday.

AbsoluteSkating @absoluteskating

<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WorldFigure?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WorldFigure</a> Women FS and final results.<br>🥇Kaori Sakamoto 🇯🇵 145.37, 224.61<br>🥈Haein Lee 🇰🇷 147.32, 220.94<br>🥉Loena Hendrickx 🇧🇪 138.48, 220.42<br><br>Protocols: <a href="https://t.co/SoSJpzf0xC">https://t.co/SoSJpzf0xC</a> <a href="https://t.co/92mc4Dc3wA">pic.twitter.com/92mc4Dc3wA</a>

Sakamoto's season-best score of 79.24 in the short program was 5.63 points ahead of Korea's Lee Hae-in in second place. The difference between those two was almost identical to the difference between Lee and Estonia's Niina Petrõkina in sixth place (5.62 points).

ISU Figure Skating @ISU_Figure

📺 The 👑 is back! ⛸🔥 With her outstanding performance Kaori SAKAMOTO (JPN) earns a new SB and takes the lead after the Short Program at <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WorldFigure?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WorldFigure</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FigureSkating?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FigureSkating</a> <a href="https://t.co/x7dn3S65bg">pic.twitter.com/x7dn3S65bg</a>

Making that performance even more impressive is the fact that Sakamoto admitted afterward that she wasn't fully confident in her short program coming into the event.

"I haven't been confident with my short program all season, so there was some concern coming in, but I thought I was thorough today," Sakamoto said in Japanese (h/t Nick McCarvel of Olympics.com). "I had fun out there. Performance-wise though, I feel like it was the best of the season. I was more nervous today than I've been all season."

Hae-in did put pressure on Sakamoto with her free-skate routine that was nearly flawless. The 17-year-old earned a score of 147.32, best in the field, for a total of 220.94 and comfortably in the lead before Sakamoto took the ice.

Sakamoto did leave the door open with some flaws in the execution. She didn't quite get her takeoff right and was only able to manage a single flip triple toe loop. Her routine was choreographed for a triple flip, but she salvaged it enough to avoid a significant loss in points.

The judges didn't take away too much from Sakamoto's routine. Her score of 145.37 in the free skate was still the second-best in the field.

Sakamoto is the first woman to win back-to-back gold medals at the World Championships since Russia's Evgenia Medvedeva in 2016 and 2017. This is also the first time Japan has won two straight golds at this event since 2010 (Mao Asada) and 2011 (Miki Ando).

Jackie Wong @rockerskating

Since 1991, when figures were no longer part of the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WorldFigure?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WorldFigure</a>, there have been 4 back-to-back champions in the women's event:<br>+ Kristi Yamaguchi 1991, 1992<br>+ Michelle Kwan 2000, 2001<br>+ Evgenia Medvedeva 2016, 2017<br>+ Kaori Sakamoto 2022, 2023 <a href="https://t.co/nTwwluk62x">https://t.co/nTwwluk62x</a>

Hae-in is the first Korean woman to medal at the World Championships since Yuna Kim won gold in 2013.

Loena Hendrickx of Belgium won her second successive medal at the World Figure Skating Championships. She took bronze this year after winning silver in 2022. The 23-year-old came in fourth in the free skate with a score of 138.48 after a strong 71.94 score in the short program.

Korea's Kim Chae-yeon made the biggest jump in the free skate with a score of 139.45. She entered the day in 13th place after the short program, but moved all the way up to finish fourth overall after Friday's result.

Kaori Sakamoto Wins Women's Free Skate Gold at Figure Skating Championships 2023 (2024)

FAQs

Kaori Sakamoto Wins Women's Free Skate Gold at Figure Skating Championships 2023? ›

Sakamoto captured gold again Friday at the Bell Centre, climbing from fourth place after Wednesday's short program to the top of the podium with a near-flawless performance in the free program. The 6,000 fans on hand to witness history roared with every sequence and serenaded Sakamoto with a standing ovation.

How long has Kaori Sakamoto been skating? ›

Sakamoto began learning to skate on November 18, 2003, in Kobe and has been with her coaches Sonoko Nakano, Mitsuko Graham, and Sei Kawahara since starting. She won the gold medal at the 2012–13 Japan Novice Championships and placed 9th at the Japan Junior Championships in the same year.

Did Kamila Valieva win gold? ›

Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva has been stripped of her 2022 Olympic gold medal following a two-year investigation into doping allegations, meaning Team USA will be awarded the honor.

Does Kaori Sakamoto have Instagram? ›

Kaori Sakamoto (@kaorisakamoto_grace) • Instagram photos and videos.

What skates does Kaori Sakamoto use? ›

Kaori Sakamoto - Edea Skates.

Who is the Japanese figure skater girl? ›

Kaori Sakamoto won her third straight figure skating world championship Friday in Montreal, becoming the first woman to achieve a singles "three-peat" since 1968. The 2022 Olympic bronze medalist rallied from fourth place in the short program to finish on top at Montreal's Bell Centre with a total of 222.96.

Who was stripped of gold medal skater in Russia? ›

The CAS judges upheld an appeal by the World Anti-Doping Agency which asked for a four-year ban and disqualification of her results after a Russian tribunal cleared Valieva of blame. The Russian team was stripped of its Olympic title by the International Skating Union, which declared the United States champions.

Does Valieva have a heart condition? ›

"At the same time the appellants also noted the fact that Valieva had developed something known as “athletic heart” — a harmless condition that can be caused by an intense period of training — in 2020.

Who was the Russian figure skater 15 years old? ›

Kamila Valieva, once a 15-year-old gold medal favorite, was punished in a case that upended the Beijing Games, and kept other athletes from receiving medals.

Why is Sakamoto so cool? ›

He is the perfect man who can solve any problem with a kind yet calm persona. He exudes a model persona of humility as he never intentionally draws attention to himself or tries to act as cool as people perceive him to be. Because of this, many girls fall for him, and his male classmates resent and respect him.

Who has a crush on Sakamoto? ›

Atsushi keeps a photo of Sakamoto and thinks of using it as his phone wallpaper after his Heel–Face Turn. Then in episode 2 he asks for a smile from him while being flustered the whole time. It's later confirmed right in the text that Acchan has a romantic crush on him.

Who is the Japanese girl famous on Instagram? ›

Kiko Mizuhara is the most followed model on Instagram in Japan.

How long has Yuto Horigome been skating for? ›

He began skating at Tokyo's Amazing Square Murasaki Skatepark when he was seven years old. He learned to skate from his father, who is a former Vert skateboarder. At age 14, Horigome began traveling to the United States for skating trips and eventually moved to Los Angeles, California, where he currently resides.

How long has Isabeau Levito been skating? ›

Began skating at age 3 because she enjoyed watching the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, Canada. Mother is Chiara Garberi-Levito (embryologist) ...

What age did Alexandra Trusova start skating? ›

Early career. Trusova began learning to skate in 2008 when she was four. She trained in Ryazan under Olga Shevtsova before relocating to Moscow in 2015, where she was coached by Alexander Volkov. She joined the Khrustalny (Crystal) rink where Eteri Tutberidze and Sergei Dudakov became her coaches in 2016.

How long did Tara Lipinski skate? ›

Tara Lipinski
Began skating1988
Competitive1993–1998
Professional1998–2002
Retired2002
12 more rows

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