Latest news with #AllJapanese
Kyodo News
11 hours ago
- Sport
- Kyodo News
3-time figure skating world champ Kaori Sakamoto to retire after Olympics
KYODO NEWS - 6 minutes ago - 13:56 | Sports, All Japanese figure skater Kaori Sakamoto, winner of three consecutive world championships through 2024, said Friday she will retire from competition after next year's Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. The 25-year-old, who claimed women's singles bronze at the 2022 Beijing Winter Games, finished second at the world championships in Boston in March. Sakamoto revealed her plan at the opening ceremony for a new skating rink in her home city of Kobe in western Japan. "I feel like I have less than a year left," she said. "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." Sakamoto made her Olympic debut at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games. She won her fourth straight Japanese championship, and fifth overall, last December. Related coverage: Figure skating: Retired star Mao Asada to open coaching academy Figure skating: Teen star Nishino signals big future with quad jumps FEATURE: Cool moves at any age: Japan's figure skating scene grows up
Kyodo News
12 hours ago
- Sport
- Kyodo News
3-time figure skating world champ Kaori Sakamoto to retire after Olympics
KYODO NEWS - 13 minutes ago - 13:17 | Sports, All Japanese figure skater Kaori Sakamoto, winner of three consecutive world championships through 2024, said Friday she will retire from competition after next year's Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. The 25-year-old, who claimed women's singles bronze at the 2022 Beijing Winter Games, finished second at the world championships in Boston in March. Related coverage: Figure skating: Retired star Mao Asada to open coaching academy Figure skating: Teen star Nishino signals big future with quad jumps FEATURE: Cool moves at any age: Japan's figure skating scene grows up
Kyodo News
08-06-2025
- Sport
- Kyodo News
Golf: Mao Saigo sinks rare albatross, moves up to 2nd at LPGA Classic
KYODO NEWS - 21 minutes ago - 13:13 | Sports, All Japanese golfer Mao Saigo scored a rare albatross Saturday on her way to a 6-under-par 65 that will see her tee off the final round of the ShopRite LPGA Classic trailing leader Lee Il Hee of South Korea by one stroke. The 23-year-old Saigo, a major winner at April's Chevron Championship, added to her highlight reel when she holed out with her second shot from 214 yards on the par-5 3rd hole at Seaview's Bay Course. She also had five birdies and a pair of bogeys to finish the second round of the 54-hole tournament tied for second at 10 under with compatriot Ayaka Furue, as well as Americans Jennifer Kupcho and Elizabeth Szokol. "I wasn't that accurate with my irons and off the tee, but I'm happy with my score," said Saigo, who already has four top-10 finishes in her brief LPGA career. "I didn't think the albatross was going in." Furue had five birdies in a bogey-free round of 66, while Lee followed her opening 63 with a 68. Japan's Miyu Yamashita and Chisato Iwai, who secured her first LPGA win at last month's Mexico Riviera Maya Open, both shot 66 to join four others tied for sixth at 8 under. Related coverage: Golf: Takeda finishes 2nd as Stark wins U.S. Women's Open Golf: Chisato Iwai wins 1st U.S. tour title in Mexico
Kyodo News
02-06-2025
- Sport
- Kyodo News
Golf: Takeda finishes 2nd as Stark wins U.S. Women's Open
KYODO NEWS - 2 hours ago - 11:00 | Sports, All Japanese rookie Rio Takeda finished tied for second at the U.S. Women's Open on Sunday as overnight leader Maja Stark of Sweden held on for a two-shot victory. Stark closed with an even-par 72 for a 7-under 281 total and her first major title. Takeda also shot a 72 and world No. 1 Nelly Korda of the United States carded a 71, leaving them two strokes back. "I didn't think I would be able to do it this week," Stark said of her win that earned her $2.4 million. "You always kind of know that it's possible, but there are so many good golfers on this tour." "I just had to stay calm. I didn't look at the leaderboard until I was on...I think 17. I wasn't as nervous as I thought I would be because I felt like I have somewhat control of my game and I kind of know what's going on." A trio of Japanese players, Takeda, Mao Saigo and Hinako Shibuno, tried to make up a two-shot deficit heading into the final round. But they struggled to make birdies on a tough layout at Erin Hills in Erin, Wisconsin. "If I had made a few more putts down the stretch, I think I could have tied for the lead," said Takeda, 22, who is having a strong rookie season on the U.S. tour with one victory in March. "It was a great experience for me to compete on this (tough) course for four days. I want to make use of this experience in my next chance to win." Saigo could only manage a 73 to share fourth place with South Korea's Choi Hye Jin and China's Yin Ruoning at 4 under for the tournament, the second major of the LPGA season. Saigo was the winner of the first major, the Chevron Championship, in late April. Shibuno tied for seventh a shot further back after a 74. Related coverage: Golf: Chisato Iwai wins 1st U.S. tour title in Mexico Golf: Hideki Matsuyama misses PGA Championship cut for 1st time in career Golf: Japan's Mao Saigo wins 1st LPGA major of year in 5-way playoff
Kyodo News
02-06-2025
- Sport
- Kyodo News
Golf: Takeda finishes 2nd as Stark wins U.S. Women's Open
KYODO NEWS - 16 minutes ago - 11:00 | Sports, All Japanese rookie Rio Takeda finished tied for second at the U.S. Women's Open on Sunday as overnight leader Maja Stark of Sweden held on for a two-shot victory. Stark closed with an even-par 72 for a 7-under 281 total and her first major title. Takeda also shot a 72 and world No. 1 Nelly Korda of the United States carded a 71, leaving them two strokes back. "I didn't think I would be able to do it this week," Stark said of her win that earned her $2.4 million. "You always kind of know that it's possible, but there are so many good golfers on this tour." "I just had to stay calm. I didn't look at the leaderboard until I was on...I think 17. I wasn't as nervous as I thought I would be because I felt like I have somewhat control of my game and I kind of know what's going on." A trio of Japanese players, Takeda, Mao Saigo and Hinako Shibuno, tried to make up a two-shot deficit heading into the final round. But they struggled to make birdies on a tough layout at Erin Hills in Erin, Wisconsin. "If I had made a few more putts down the stretch, I think I could have tied for the lead," said Takeda, 22, who is having a strong rookie season on the U.S. tour with one victory in March. "It was a great experience for me to compete on this (tough) course for four days. I want to make use of this experience in my next chance to win." Saigo could only manage a 73 to share fourth place with South Korea's Choi Hye Jin and China's Yin Ruoning at 4 under for the tournament, the second major of the LPGA season. Saigo was the winner of the first major, the Chevron Championship, in late April. Shibuno tied for seventh a shot further back after a 74. Related coverage: Golf: Chisato Iwai wins 1st U.S. tour title in Mexico Golf: Hideki Matsuyama misses PGA Championship cut for 1st time in career Golf: Japan's Mao Saigo wins 1st LPGA major of year in 5-way playoff
