They Competed Against Her — But What Kaori Sakamoto And Ami Nakai Revealed After Alysa Liu’s Olympic Gold Surprised Everyone
U.S. star Alysa Liu tops Kaori Sakamoto and Ami Nakai to take Olympic gold
Milan – American skater Alysa Liu edged a strong Japanese field to claim gold in the women’s singles event on Thursday at the Milano Cortina Olympics, while Kaori Sakamoto settled for silver in the final Olympic performance of her career.
Ami Nakai captured the bronze medal, with Mone Chiba finishing just outside the podium in fourth place.
The outcome was a bittersweet one for Sakamoto, a three-time world champion who brings her competitive career to a close with three Olympic silver medals and one bronze.
“Honestly, I’m extremely frustrated that I couldn’t perform the way I wanted, especially after everything I put into getting here,” she said. “It’s really disappointing.”
Sakamoto revealed last June that the Milano Cortina Games would be her final competition, with hopes of ending her decorated career atop the Olympic podium for the first time.
During the post-event news conference, Sakamoto suggested her Olympic journey may continue one day, though in a different role.
“My coach told me that as a silver medalist, I might one day help raise a future gold medalist,” she said. “So maybe you’ll see me back at the Olympics as a coach.”
Buoyed by a large and vocal American crowd, Liu delivered a near-flawless free skate set to Donna Summer’s “MacArthur Park Suite.” The arena erupted as she finished, and again when her free skate score of 150.20 appeared on the scoreboard, sealing a winning total of 226.79.
“I felt really calm when I started,” Liu said. “I focused on my breathing throughout the program, staying smooth and taking in the crowd during my transitions. I could feel their energy — and my own.”
Liu stepped away from competition after placing sixth at the Beijing Games before returning to the sport in 2024.
“Oh, my god. That decision was absolutely the right one,” she said.
Sakamoto skated second-to-last and delivered a clean, elegant performance, soaking in the cheers from her supporters. A missed triple flip combination, however, proved costly in the final standings.
The Kobe native, skating to a medley that included the French classic “Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien,” broke down in tears in the arms of longtime coach Sonoko Nakano as she left Olympic ice for the final time. She scored 147.67 in the free skate and finished with 224.90 overall, narrowly behind Liu.
Nakai, the final skater of the event, opened her routine with a rare triple axel that set the tone, though she later admitted she wished she could have executed the entire program more cleanly.
“I was really happy to land the axel, but I made a mistake on the lutz and felt some regret afterward,” she said.
Skating last under intense Olympic pressure, Nakai acknowledged feeling nervous at the start, unlike earlier in the competition.
“I began pretty nervous, but I was able to settle into my usual mindset, and that felt really good,” she said.
She earned 140.45 points in the free skate for a total of 219.16, narrowly edging Chiba’s 217.88.
At just 17 years old, Nakai led after the short program and left her Olympic debut with a medal and a rapidly growing fan base.
Chiba, who has faced nerves at times in her young career, rose to the occasion with a confident skate. She landed nearly all of her jumps cleanly, earning 143.88 in the free skate, the fourth-highest score of the night.
“There’s frustration that’s hard to describe,” Chiba said. “But performing on this Olympic stage, feeling happy and grateful while staying calm and true to myself, was an experience that will carry forward into future competitions.”
Chiba’s score briefly moved her into the lead, pushing American Amber Glenn out of the leader’s chair after Glenn rebounded from a difficult short program to post one of the strongest free skates of the evening. Glenn finished fifth with a free skate score of 147.52.
Competing in the final group, Adeliia Petrosian, skating as a neutral athlete, stumbled on her opening quad toe loop but recovered with a solid program, earning 141.64 in the free skate and finishing sixth overall with 214.53.
The women’s singles event capped an outstanding two weeks for Japan’s figure skaters in Milan, as the nation collected a record six medals — twice as many as any other country at the Games.
SOURCE: japantimes.co.jp
