Kaori Sakamoto is latest Japanese skating world champ; Alysa Liu puts U.S. back on podium

Kaori Sakamoto became the first Japanese woman in eight years to win the World Figure Skating Championships after a women’s free skate that was full of emotion on Friday.

The other nations joining her on the podium — Belgium and the United States — had plenty of reason to celebrate as well.

In her one Olympic and two world championship appearances before this season, the 21-year-old Sakamoto had finished no higher than fifth; she now owns an Olympic bronze medal and worlds gold medal.

Sakamoto is the sixth woman from Japan to win the women’s singles world total, following in the footsteps of skating royalty Midori Ito, Yuka Sato, Shizuka Arakawa, Miki Ando, Mao Asada. Ito, Arakawa and Asada are also Olympic medalists.

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Sakamoto set personal best scores across the board in Montpellier, France with 80.32 points for her short program, 155.77 in the free and a 236.09-point total.

“Four years ago, and this year, I did everything for the Olympic Games, but it was well worth it,” Sakamoto said.

With Russia banned from sending skaters to worlds, it made way for a trio of first-time medalists.

Loena Hendrickx is the first Belgian women’s skater ever to medal at worlds and first Belgian to medal in any discipline in more than seven decades. She remained consistent from Wednesday’s short program, second both days, and took silver with 217.70 points.

Sakamoto won with the highest margin of victory (18.39 points) in the women’s event in nine years, since two-time Olympic medalist Kim Yuna won her second world title.

Meanwhile, Alysa Liu jumped from fifth in the short program to third overall on the merit of one of the best free skate performances of her life. At her first