Retiring Japanese star Kaori Sakamoto signed off in style by claiming women’s gold for a fourth time with career best scores at the world figure skating championships in Prague on Friday.
The 25-year-old marked her farewell to the ice with an elegant, charismatic routine set to a medley of Edith Piaf classics, earning personal bests of 158.97 in the free skate and a total score of 238.28.
Her compatriot Mone Chiba took the silver medal nearly 10 points behind, while Belgium’s Nina Pinzarrone caused an upset by winning bronze as US champion Amber Glenn dropped from third overnight to sixth.
In the absence of reigning Olympic and world champion Alysa Liu, Sakamoto led all the way to reclaim the title she won three consecutive times between 2022 and 2024. She took silver last year after being dethroned by Liu.
An emotional Sakamoto punched the air in delight after pulling out the performance of her life to Edith Piaf’s “Je ne regrette rien” while under pressure after Mone’s earlier strong performance.
She wiped away tears as her scores came up, hugging 20-year-old Chiba who was delighted with her silver after the disappointment of finishing fourth at the Winter Olympics last month.
Mone’s skate to the “Romeo and Juliet” soundtrack also earned her personal best scores for the free skate (150.02) and overall (228.47).
With four world titles, Sakamoto ranks fifth all time among women’s figure skaters.
Far from Norwegian Sonja Henie’s unattainable record of 10 titles between 1927 and 1936, she is tied with legends Lily Kronberger and Katarina Witt.
Sakamoto becomes first woman since Michelle Kwan, who claimed the last of her five world titles in 2003, to become a four-time world champion.
Earlier, Olympic ice dance champions Guillaume Cizeron and Laurence Fournier Beaudry dominated the rhythm dance to put themselves on track for gold.
Skating to a programme inspired by Madonna’s hit “Vogue”, the French pair broke their season record with 92.74 points and lead the way going into Saturday’s free dance final.
They hold a comfortable lead of more than six points over Canadians Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier (86.45), the bronze medallists at the Milan-Cortina Olympics last month.
If he wins, Cizeron will clinch his sixth world title after five victories with his former partner Gabriella Papadakis between 2015 and 2022.
For Canadian-born Fournier Beaudry it would be a first world medal.
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