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The Mainichi
7 hours ago
- Sport
- The Mainichi
Figure skating: 3-time world champ Sakamoto to retire after Olympics
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- 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.
France 24
8 hours ago
- Sport
- France 24
Three-time world champion figure skater Sakamoto to retire
"I think it's better for me to make this a clean break than to continue for two or three years," said the 25-year-old, who won team silver and singles bronze medals at the 2022 Beijing Winter Games. "I'll be 29 at the Olympics (in 2030) so I thought that's not possible," Sakamoto told reporters at an event in Kobe. "I want to finish every competition with no regrets, so I want to seek perfection more than ever before," she said. Sakamoto finished second at the world championships in Boston in March, missing out on becoming the first woman in 65 years to win four consecutive world crowns. She said after Boston that the experience would help her as she looked forward to the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympics. © 2025 AFP
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
San Francisco Chronicle
2 days ago
- Sport
- San Francisco Chronicle
Canada's Marie-Philip Poulin named IIHF's female player of the year; US goalie Gwyn Philips 2nd
Canada's 'Captain Clutch' Marie-Philip Poulin has another honor add to her already celebrated hockey career in being voted the IIHF's Female Player of the Year. Poulin earned 33.1% of the votes in finishing ahead of five Americans, with Ottawa Charge rookie goalie Gwyneth Philips second with 22.3% of the votes, the IIHF announced Wednesday. U.S. national team captain and the inaugural winner of award three years ago, Hilary Knight, finished third at 20.2%. The IIHF did not reveal the specific totals submitted by more than 100 voters made up of media and federation officials. The 34-year-old Poulin is coming off a year in which she earned MVP honors at the world championships in April with a tournament-leading 12 points (four goals, eight assists) for Canada's silver medal-winning team. The Montreal Victoire captain is also a PWHL MVP finalist after leading the league with 19 goals and finishing fourth with 26 points in 30 games. Poulin is a four-time Olympian and earned her 'Clutch' nickname for scoring key goals, including the game-winners in Canada's past three gold-medal championship wins at the Winter Games. She's the second Canadian to earn the honor, following Natalie Spooner's win last year. Philips, meantime, made a splash both professionally and internationally this season by capably stepping in as a backup. From Athens, Ohio, she went 3-0 at the world championships, including a 17-save performance over the final 32 minutes of the Americans' 4-3 overtime win over Canada in the title game. Philips entered the game after starter Aerin Frankel was hurt in the third period. In the PWHL, Philips won the Ilana Kloss Trophy as playoff MVP despite Ottawa losing the Walter Cup finals to defending champion Minnesota. Philips went 4-4 in the postseason in allowing just 13 goals on 270 shots for a .952 save percentage and 1.23 goals-against average. Drafted by the Charge out of Northeastern, Philips took over the starting duties and helped the Charge clinch their first playoff berth after Emerance Maschmeyer was sidelined by a lower body injury in mid-March. U.S. national team and Wisconsin defenseman Caroline Harvey (12.9%) finished fourth in the voting, followed by Frankel (7.3%). Also receiving votes were Wisconsin's Laila Edwards and Finland national team and Charge defenseman Ronja Savolainen.
