Kaori Sakamoto’s full potential, Yuma Kagiyama’s impressive comeback, and the appearance of a new star! Figure Figure Summer Games”: Achievements and Challenges

On August 11-12, “Kinoshita Trophy Contest” was held at Kinoshita Academy Kyoto Ice Arena in Uji City, Kyoto Prefecture, and “Gensan Summer Cup” was held at Kinoshita Kansei Ice Arena in Otsu City, Japan.

These two competitions can be called the “summer camp” of figure skating, and are a prelude to the new season, where each skater will find out the results of their off-season and the issues they need to work on in their programs.

My goal is to win the World Championships and the All-Japan Championships three times in a row,” said Japan’s women’s ace, Kaori Sakamoto.

I want to win the World Championships and the All-Japan Championships three times in a row,” said Japan’s women’s ace, Kaori Sakamoto (23). If she wins the 2012 World Championships in Montreal for the third straight year, she will be the first Japanese woman to do so in 56 years, since Peggy Fleming of the United States. Last season, after winning the bronze medal at the Beijing Winter Olympics and her first victory at the World Championships, she suffered from a lack of motivation. Last year, she was late in making adjustments, and had to skip the “Gensan Summer Cup,” which she had competed in every year. Therefore, her return to the familiar stage this year shows that she is in high spirits.

The short program (SP) was “Kounodori,” a medical drama featuring an obstetrician/gynecologist, and the free skating program was “Wild Is The Wind/Feeling Good,” in which he played a mysterious adult character accompanied by female vocalists. Sakamoto explains how and why he decided on each performance.

My niece was born in January of this year and my nephew in March. （The videos and photos sent to me from my two sisters, like the niece and nephew today, gave me a lot of strength, and I wanted to turn this strength into my performance, so I decided for the first time which song I wanted to perform. Free skating is sexy. I think I can do this song because I’m at this age (23), and I think it’s the choreography I think the choreography is perfect for me.

She had performed in “THE ICE” in Morioka until August 4, “Both short and free skating were like homework during the summer vacation, and I had to push hard right before the show,” she said!　In the SP, she had a rare misalignment of her double axel, which is regarded as the best in the world, and in the FS, she got stuck in a groove during a step, fell on her buttocks, and fell at the end of three jumps in a row .

Still, to Sakamoto, “I need to know what I am missing now,

I was able to grasp what I am lacking now,” said Sakamoto. It is very important to experience the tension in the beginning of the season, which you can only experience in competitions. My physical movements are better than they were in the beginning of the season, and I don’t have much hesitation. I feel like I’ve reached the point where I think I can make it if I keep practicing,” he said.

He had time to look back with a cheerful expression on his face.

He left the venue with a big smile on his face, saying, “I’m going to work him hard.