Three-time world champion Kaori Sakamoto delivered a near-flawless free skate on Saturday at the NHK Trophy to defend her title. Skating to music by Edith Piaf, she landed seven triple jumps for a Grand Prix season-high total of 227.18 points. Combined with her second-place finish at the Grand Prix de France, she secured a spot in the December 4-7 Grand Prix Final in Nagoya.
At the NHK Trophy figure skating event in Osaka, 25-year-old Kaori Sakamoto scored 150.13 in the free skate for a total of 227.18 points to claim the women's singles gold medal. This marked the world's highest score of the season. Sakamoto, who announced in June her retirement after the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics, delivered a strong performance for her home crowd. "It was a great experience for me to be able to perform in my home town," Sakamoto said. "This was an international competition close to my local fans and I feel great I was able to put in such a strong performance."
Kazakhstan's Sofia Samodelkina, in her Grand Prix debut, took silver with 200 points, while Belgium's Loena Hendrickx earned bronze at 198.97 points. Hendrickx returned after right ankle surgery in February and qualified for the Olympics with third place at the ISU Skate to Milano qualifier in September. Sakamoto, a three-time consecutive world champion through 2024, placed second at the 2025 worlds in Boston in March. She won bronze in women's singles at the 2022 Beijing Winter Games.
Sakamoto finished second behind 17-year-old compatriot Ami Nakai at last month's Grand Prix de France but regained dominance at her home event. At the Olympics, she will face competition from Russia's Adeliia Petrosian competing as a neutral; the 18-year-old is unbeaten over the past two seasons and has consistently landed triple axels and quads.
In men's singles, 2022 Olympic silver medalist Yuma Kagiyama won his third straight NHK Trophy with 287.24 points despite an early fall. Shun Sato of Japan took silver at 285.71 points, securing a Grand Prix Final spot, and Switzerland's Lukas Britschgi earned bronze with 246.94. Britain's Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson won ice dance gold at 205.88 points, while Italy's Sara Conti and Niccolo Macii claimed pairs gold.
U.S. siblings Alex and Maia Shibutani finished sixth in their return after a seven-year hiatus. The 2018 Pyeongchang Olympic bronze medalists in dance and team events said Olympics qualification was not their main goal. "We're disappointed with the scores, for sure," Alex said. Maia recovered from kidney tumor surgery in 2019.