Figure skating: Sakamoto heads to world championships with eyes on Olympics

Japanese figure skaters, including Yuma Kagiyama and Kaori Sakamoto, third from right, front row, pose for a photo in Kadoma, Osaka Prefecture, December 23, 2024. They were selected to participate in the championships of the world in March in Boston. (Kyodo)

KADOMA, Japan (Kyodo) — Newly crowned national champion Kaori Sakamoto said Monday she will focus on the big picture, including qualifying for the 2026 Winter Olympics, when she will compete for a fourth consecutive world title in March.

A day earlier, the 24-year-old won her fourth consecutive women’s national championship and fifth overall, holding off a challenge from 16-year-old Mao Shimada with a near-perfect free skate at the Towa Pharmaceutical RACTAB Dome in Kadoma. Osaka Prefecture.

With this result, Sakamoto punched his ticket to the world championships in Boston. Although she will have the chance to become the first woman in 66 years to win four world championships in a row, Sakamoto said she is looking further ahead.

“I’m not thinking specifically about back-to-back titles. I’m looking at this as a two-year event, so it’s a stepping stone (towards the 2026 Olympics),” Sakamoto said of the March competition, where quotas Olympic Games for each country will be at stake.

Sakamoto’s Beijing Olympics teammate Wakaba Higuchi earned her first spot on the Japanese team in three years after finishing third at the national championships.

On the men’s side, Beijing silver medalist Yuma Kagiyama will aim for his first world title after finishing runner-up three times.

“It’s time for me to try my best to aim for the gold medal,” he said.