Three-time world champion figure skater Sakamoto to retire

TOKYO: Japan’s three-time world figure skating champion Kaori Sakamoto said Friday she will retire after the Winter Olympics in February.

“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.