Japanese figure skater, Kaori Sakamoto, is a force to be reckoned with. By the age of 23, the young star has already etched her name in the history of the sport. Sakamoto is the first Japanese woman to bring home the World Championship trophy since Mao Asada. Her constant wins at various international competitions landed her a spot at the Olympics too. But with success came the added baggage of expectations.

Having won a bronze medal at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, nothing less than a podium finish was expected from the skater in the following season. In a recent interview, Sakamoto opened up about how the Olympics weighed heavy on her shoulders and how she bounced back from it.

Kaori Sakamoto sheds light on her struggles during the 2022-2023 seasons

The 23-year-old Olympics figure skater, Kaori Sakamoto, recently appeared in an interview with Olympics.com. While talking about the 2022-2023 season, the champion reflected on how her season began. She said, “I’ve never wanted to say this but I was pretty burned out at the time. I was practicing, but…didn’t feel like I was getting better. I was static or getting worse.”

Sakamoto further recalled how she wanted to give her best in the competitions. However, the exhaustion would make her lose track of the form she was in. She adds, “I didn’t know how I’d turn out. I was basically gambling out there.” The finals of the ISU Grand Prix were particularly “infuriating” for the star. She made several mistakes in the free skate, which didn’t go unnoticed by the audience.

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It was then that Sakamoto decided to break free from the constraints of expectations and results. She further added, “But there I decided to just forget about everything and start from scratch. Then I felt the weight of the Olympics come off me. And just stopped overthinking everything.” So, did that eventually pay off?

Well, that move and determination paid off for Kaori Sakamoto. Overcoming the mental hurdles, Sakamoto won her second world championship. With that, she also became the first Japanese woman ever to win consecutive world titles. Reflecting on her recent achievements, the world champion said, “For me to accomplish that, I feel like I’ve come far… to a pretty special place.”

Moving forward, Sakamoto aims to keep up the same spirit for the 2023-2024 seasons. In the long run, Sakamoto’s next target is the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics. Over the coming weekend, Sakamoto will compete in the World Team Trophy, and post that, she’ll be entering her off-season.

Watch this story: Top-10 Moments of Olympic Sporting Spirit

It would be interesting to watch Kaori Sakamoto hopefully unleash her full potential in the coming seasons.