Figure Skating-Sakamoto's final Olympic skate ends in tears and silver

MILAN, Feb 19 : Kaori Sakamoto's final Olympic skate ended in bittersweet fashion on Thursday, the three‑time world champion leaving Milano Cortina with a silver medal that felt as much like a lesson as an achievement.

A missed jump combination in her free skate to Edith Piaf songs cost her the gold — a detail she replayed in her mind as she finished with 224.90 points, just behind American Alysa Liu’s 226.79. She was seen sobbing on the sidelines as the winner was announced.

"I thought I might be able to finish with a smile but instead I'm ending it with this sense of frustration," she said, speaking through a translator. "Still, I'll try to make this experience valuable for the future.

"The points I lost on those mistakes were exactly the margin that cost me the gold medal ... that's the most frustrating part — I know I left something out there."

Sakamoto, who has said she will retire at the end of this season, had hoped to complete her resume with Olympic gold.

"I really wanted to skate perfectly here," she said.

"Knowing that I couldn't ... was painful. I couldn't stop the tears."

Still, the 25‑year‑old, who also won team silver, tried to acknowledge the distance she has travelled since her Beijing 2022 bronze.

"My bronze before felt like a miracle. The fact that I now feel frustrated with a silver medal shows how much I've grown," she said. 

She also celebrated the performances of her younger teammates — 17‑year‑old Ami Nakai, who earned bronze, and Mone Chiba, who finished fourth.

"For a 17‑year‑old to skate with that kind of composure and finish third is amazing," she said. "Being able to compete with both of them here is something I'll always treasure."

Nakai, who led after the short programme after nailing a triple Axel,