Kaori Sakamoto JPN
2018 Four Continents free skate
What a season for Kaori Sakamoto.
When the Olympic season started, her name wasn’t even among the ones many expected to be contending for the two Olympic ladies spots for Japan. After all, she started off her season off the podium at US Classic with two mediocre skates.
But the Grand Prix series was where everything clicked for her and she made her move, starting with a solid Rostelecom Cup and then putting together a brilliant Skate America to set herself up for silver and an Olympic berth at Japan Nationals.
Her peak during the season, though, came a few weeks after that at the Four Continents Championships, where she solidified her status among the Japanese women, beating Satoko Miyahara and Mai Mihara for the surprise win. It was magnificent.