{"id":16611,"date":"2026-03-27T09:14:16","date_gmt":"2026-03-27T09:14:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/?p=16611"},"modified":"2026-03-27T09:14:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T09:14:16","slug":"a-farewell-written-in-pure-magic-kaori-sakamoto-leaves-the-ice-in-tears-with-a-performance-worthy-of-a-queen-at-the-2026-isu-world-figure-skating-championships-kaori-saka","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/?p=16611","title":{"rendered":"\u201cA FAREWELL WRITTEN IN PURE MAGIC \u2013 Kaori Sakamoto Leaves the Ice in Tears with a Performance Worthy of a Queen!\u201d At the 2026 ISU World Figure Skating Championships, Kaori Sakamoto won the final short program of her illustrious career, closing a glorious chapter with a mesmerizing performance to \u201cTime to Say Goodbye.\u201d Returning to where it all began, she skated with grace, power, and emotion that brought the audience to a standstill \u2014 not only for the perfect beauty, but also for a truly deserved result before saying goodbye. Congratulations to a living legend \u2014 and as the lights faded, the world held its breath: was this the perfect ending\u2026 or was there one last miracle waiting to be written?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2026: Sakamoto Kaori triumphant in last short program of storied career<\/h1>\n

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The Japanese figure skating star is one step closer to finishing her career with a fourth world title after delivering a dominant women\u2019s short program in Czechia \u2013 the same country where she started her international career 13 years ago.<\/p>\n

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Sakamoto Kaori<\/strong>\u00a0bid goodbye to her final competitive short program with a smile \u2013 and plenty of teary eyes in the stands.<\/p>\n

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Beaming and waving at the many supporters who travelled to Prague, Czechia, to see her, the\u00a0Japanese\u00a0figure skating\u00a0icon was elated to get a step closer to her fourth world title after scoring a season\u2019s best in the first segment of the\u00a02026 ISU World Figure Skating Championships<\/strong>\u00a0on Wednesday (25 March).<\/p>\n

It was a full-circle moment for the 25-year-old. Sakamoto competed at her first-ever\u00a0Junior Grand Prix<\/strong>\u00a0in Ostrava, Czechia, 13 years ago and was now back in the country\u2019s capital to bid farewell to an illustrious career that included four\u00a0Olympic medals and three world titles.<\/p>\n