Japan's Kaori Sakamoto became the first woman to claim a three-peat in figure skating since American Peggy Fleming in 1968 at the ongoing World Championships in Montreal on Friday.
With a total score of 222.96, Sakamoto managed to finish the season undefeated after winning the ISU Grand Prix Final and the Japanese National Championships in December last year. 17-year-olds Isabeau Levito of the U.S., who won her first senior world medal, and Kim Chae-yeon of South Korea, who is competing in her second World Championships, rounded off the podium. Belgium's Loena Hendrickx stumbled to fourth place after leading the short program on Wednesday.
L-R: Isabeau Levito, Kaori Sakamoto and Kim Chae-yeon pose with medals at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Montreal, Canada, March 22, 2024. /CFP
Beating Levito by more than ten points, Sakamoto had to rally from fourth place in the short program. She confidently opened her performance with a double axel, then performed a triple lutz just as the singing of Lauryn Hill kicked in, followed by a clean triple salchow. She earned a level 4 (the highest) on her change combination spin and secured a level 3 on step sequence.
The 23-year-old then accomplished three separate combinations, including a triple loop and double toe loop, triple flip and triple toe loop, and a perfect landing of double axel-triple toe loop-double toe loop before solidifying her comeback win with a final triple loop, and ending the night with a standing ovation from some 6,000 spectators.
"I was fourth in the short program, so I was a little anxious about that, but today I was in a really good place emotionally," said Sakamoto. "I was able to calm down today. I was able to keep focused and do my elements one after the other and I am happy with this result.
"After my triple-triple combination, the roar of the crowd was very loud," she reflected. "I told myself, 'If I ride this excitement, I will be spinning my wheels,' so I tried to keep myself calm until the very end."
Earlier on Thursday, 40-year-old local Deanna Stellato-Dudek became the oldest woman to win a figure skating world title after a top finish with Maxime Deschamps in the pairs event.