On the second day of the World Figure Skating Championships, the second half of the women's singles free skating competition was held, and two-time world champion Kaori Sakamoto made a mistake in her jump and finished second, while Japan finished third after the second day.
On the second day of the World Figure Skating Championships held in Tokyo on the 2th, the first half of the pairs was short, the ice dance was free, and the women's singles was free.
In the women's singles, Sakamoto, who won her second consecutive World Championship title last month, captained the Japan team.
Sakamoto made sure to make jumps with a triple Lutz and a 2-turn Salcoe, following the double axel at the beginning.
After that, despite the fatigue of the final stage of the season, he performed the elegance that he had honed this season with soft expressiveness, and received the highest rating of level 3 in the steps.
In the second half of the performance, I made a beautiful jump of 3 turns and 4 turns, but in the next 3 consecutive combinations, I lost my balance on the first double axel and made a mistake in falling on the second 3-turn toe loop.
Sakamoto was unable to improve his technical score even in terms of performance composition, which evaluates his expressiveness and skating skills, and finished second with a score of 3.1.
In first place was Korea's Lee Hae-in, who set a new personal best.
Mai Mihara entered the match in poor condition, and although she made mistakes in her jumps, she performed a program inspired by a "strong woman" with great concentration and finished fifth with a score of 131.21.
After the second day of the tournament, Japan is third out of six countries with 5 points, while the United States is in first place with 2 points and South Korea is in second place with 74 points.
On the third and final day of the competition, the 6th, the second half of the pairs and men's singles will be free.
Kaori Sakamoto: "I learned more than ever"
Kaori Sakamoto said, "I fell because my axis was distorted in the first double axel, but I was able to challenge myself even though I tried consecutive jumps and didn't get the result, and I think I was able to show what I have cultivated so far by being able to get down the three-turn loop firmly without making a mistake."
Looking back on the season as a whole, he said, "I had heard from people around me that the next year after winning medals at the World Championships and the Olympics was really hard, but at first I felt that it was so hard, and at first I thought that it would have been the right thing to take a break. I learned more than ever through this season."
Looking ahead, he said: "I don't think next season will be as hard as it is this one, and that's only proven by getting results in the game. We want to get results from the beginning of the season."
Mai Mihara "I was able to skate with the feeling of 'thank you'"
Mai Mihara said, "The applause and cheers from the audience came into my heart, and I felt very happy to be here, so I decided to perform strongly from the beginning. It wasn't perfect, but I was able to skate with a feeling of 'thank you' for each program."
On top of that, he told the members who will participate on the 15th, "The phrase 'High Tension Japan' named by captain Sakamoto is a perfect teamwork, so I will support them with all my power."