Reuters
Kaori Sakamoto performs during the women’s free skating at the NHK Trophy in Osaka on Saturday.
23:33 JST, November 8, 2025
OSAKA (Reuters) — Three-times world figure skating champion Kaori Sakamoto of Japan delivered a masterclass to win women’s singles gold at the NHK Trophy on Saturday with the world’s best score this season.
Sakamoto, who said in June that she would retire after the Milano-Cortina Olympics, landed seven triple jumps to score 150.13 points for her emotional free programme to music by Edith Piaf to send the home crowd into raptures.
The 25-year-old’s 227.18 total points firmly established her as a top contender for the Olympics.
I wasn’t aware that this was the highest score so far this season globally, Sakamoto said. “I’m very happy that I was able to validate myself here at NHK and I’m, of course, very happy with this high score.”
Sofia Samodelkina won silver, with 200.00 points, while Belgian Loena Hendrickx was third (198.97).
