Kaori Sakamoto, whose Beijing Olympic bronze made her the fourth Japanese woman to win an individual figure skating medal, said Friday the Russian skaters who dominate the ice give her a reason to keep working hard.
Despite all the attention on Russian skater Kamila Valieva, who is at the center of a doping scandal, Sakamoto, who added a singles bronze to her team bronze, said she is grateful for the opportunity to share the rink with the powerhouse of the icy stage.
"Every year a new wave of skaters who land quad jumps emerges from Russia, and that surprises me every time," Sakamoto told a Beijing press conference.
"But I feel fortunate to be in an environment where I'm able to compete against next-level skaters. Russia gives me something to chase," the 21-year-old said.
In Thursday's free skate, Sakamoto was briefly second behind 17-year-old Aleksandra Trusova before fellow Russian Olympic Committee skater Anna Shcherbakova took over first place at the Capital Indoor Stadium.
The wild finish to the women's figure skating final included Valieva crumbling and placing fourth, more than nine points behind Sakamoto, and Trusova erupting in tears upon hearing the results that left her with silver despite landing five quadruple jumps.
Sakamoto finished with the third-best short program and free skate scores.
Valieva was allowed to skate at the event because of an arbitration decision. Had the 15-year-old prodigy won a medal, the ceremony would have been postponed because of an investigation into her failed drug test.
Related coverage:
Olympics: Kaori Sakamoto wins bronze as ROC goes 1-2 with Valieva 4th
Olympics: IOC's Bach says Valieva figure skating spectacle "chilling"
Amidst the drama, Sakamoto was intent on keeping her focus on herself. She thinks she was able to do that, but said she has come to understand that artistry, expressiveness and mathematics all have to come together to score big in figure skating.
"I got higher presentation scores than I expected this time. That makes me feel like my artistry and skating skills were rewarded," Sakamoto said.
"But there has to be more. I have to earn more points for technique or else I'm no match (for the Russians) and that became visibly clear. I've got work to do for next season."
Sakamoto achieved personal bests in both the short program (79.84) and free skate (153.29), but her two-day total of 233.13 points was well behind Shcherbakova's 255.95 and Trusova's 251.73.
A third-year student in college, Sakamoto said a slump during her freshman year made her consider giving up the sport upon graduation. But now she has her sights set on the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy.
"I can't be doing the same thing I have been doing. When I go back (to Japan) I have to work on my big tricks. If I'm going to try the quad jump it's either going to be the toe loop or loop," she said.
