Yuma Kagiyama (left) and Kaori Sakamoto hold a sign after the conclusion of the 2025 Japan Figure Skating Championships in Tokyo. They are Japan's top skaters in men's and women's singles competition who qualified to participate in the 2026 Olympics. (©KYODO)
Three-time women's world champion Kaori Sakamoto and 2022 Beijing Olympic men's silver medalist Yuma Kagiyama will headline the Japan figure skating squad for the 2026 Milan Cortina Games.
Over the weekend of December 19-21, Japan's top skaters had their final audition for coveted spots on the national team for the upcoming Winter Olympics, which will be held in February.
Sakamoto, who'll be retiring from competition after the Olympics, secured her fifth straight national title on Sunday at Tokyo's Yoyogi National Stadium. The 25-year-old received a season-high 234.36 total points in the two-day competition. After winning Friday's short program, she clinched the title with 154.93 points in Sunday's free skate.
"I was able to focus throughout the performance and I like to think I skated the way I'm capable of skating," Sakamoto said, according to Olympics.com. "Really, I'm so satisfied with how I was today. It only truly hit me after the program ― that is it for me."
Chiba, Nakai Join Sakamoto on Olympic Squad
Three-time junior world champion Mao Shimada was the women's runner-up (228.08 points) at the Japan Figure Skating Championships. That performance, however, didn't lock up a spot for her on the Olympic squad. To be eligible to compete in the 2026 Olympics, skaters had to be 17 years old prior to July 1, 2025, according to International Skating Union regulations.
Shimada turned 17 on October 30.
Mone Chiba finished third at the national championships with 216.24 points. The 20-year-old was the bronze medalist at this year's world championships.
Chiba and Ami Nakai will join Sakamoto as Team Japan women's singles skaters in Italy.
Nakai, the fourth-place finisher on Sunday (213.56 points) is 17 years old, but she made the age eligibility cut-off (born on April 27, 2008) for the 2026 Olympics.
Men's Figure Skating Representatives
Also for Japan, Kagiyama, 22, is set to compete in his second Olympic Games.
Kagiyama clinched his second consecutive national title on Saturday after a strong showing in the men's free skate. He received 287.95 points to claim the title.
Although he placed first, Kagiyama wasn't satisfied with his overall performance over the weekend, which included a fall on one of his quadruple salchow attempts in the free skate.
"I honestly feel like I'm still not good enough," Kagiyama said, assessing his performance at the national championships, according to Kyodo News.
He added, "I regret not being able to give a performance fitting for a champion. I want to work hard and plan how I will practice in the time remaining until the Olympics."
Kagiyama, a three-time runner-up at the world championships, said he is determined to succeed at the 2026 Winter Games.
"I was able to get the automatic national team spot. Now I want to do my best to perform without regrets at the Olympics," he was quoted as saying by Kyodo News.
Shun Sato, 21, placed second with 276.75 points, while Kao Miura was third (261.18).
Sato and the 20-year-old Miura will join Kagiyama as men's singles skaters in Italy.
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Baseball
Murakami Looking Forward to New Challenge in Chicago
Munetaka Murakami was introduced at a news conference in the Windy City on Monday, December 22, a day after he signed a two-year contract with the Chicago White Sox.
The former Tokyo Yakult Swallows slugger said he's focused on being a productive player with his new team.
"I'm not really looking at this from a numbers standpoint," Murakami said, according to The Associated Press. "I really want to compete every day and face challenges. If I'm contributing to the team every night, every game, I feel that's a success."
Murakami was a four-time Central League All-Star with the Swallows. He won back-to-back CL MVP Awards in 2021 and 2022. In his second MVP year, he hit .318 with 56 home runs and 134 RBIs, winning the Triple Crown at age 22.
"I felt the White Sox were the best fit for myself and they could help me become the best player I [can be]," Murakami said at the news conference.
The Kumamoto native wore No 55 for the Swallows. He's now set to don the No 5 jersey in Chicago.
Excited for the Future
The rebuilding White Sox had the worst record (60-102) in the American League in 2025. Murakami said he expects the club to improve in 2026.
"They're becoming a team that can win," he said. "I really want to be a part of a team of the future."
Known for his ability to hit the ball over the fence during his time with Yakult (246 homers in 892 games), Murakami also struck out a lot. He fanned 977 times in 3,117 at-bats in NPB.
His swing is a work in progress.
"Rather than explain my swing, I would like for you to see my swing once the season starts," he said, according to The Associated Press. "I've been relentlessly working to tinker my swing [for] the US."
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Ski Jumping
Kobayashi Claims 37th Career World Cup Win
Ryoyu Kobayashi collected the winner's trophy in an FIS Ski Jumping World Cup event on Sunday, December 21 in Engelberg, Switzerland.
It was Kobayashi's 37th career victory on the World Cup circuit. He's now sixth on the all-time list. Sunday's triumph moved him past Finland's Janne Ahonen
In Sunday's large hill competition, Kobayashi amassed 310.0 points. Slovenia's Domen Prevc, who took a five-event win streak into the competition, finished second with 306.4 points. Germany's Felix Hoffmann was third (303.8).
After securing the win, Kobayashi said it was a pleasant surprise.
"I wasn't thinking his winning run would end. I'm happy to win," Kobayashi was quoted as saying by Kyodo News.
"The second attempt was really good," added the 2022 Olympic men's gold medalist in the normal hill competition. "I've been managing to perform consistently."
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Soccer
Monaco's Minamino Doubtful for World Cup After Injuring Knee
Veteran midfielder Takumi Minamino sustained a left anterior cruciate ligament injury in AS Monaco's 2-1 French Cup victory against Auxerre on Sunday, December 21.
"Medical examinations revealed a rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament," Monaco, a French Ligue 1 team, announced on Monday.
The timetable for his recovery is expected to take up to nine months.
As a result, Minamino will likely miss the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America. The quadrennial tournament is scheduled for June 11-July 19.
In recent years, he's been a key player for the Samurai Blue. He's appeared in a total of 73 national team matches, including at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Minamino has 26 goals in his national team career.
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Track and Field
Fukushima School Sets National Ekiden Record
A national record was broken in the National High School Ekiden boys race race on Sunday, December 21.
Fukushima Prefecture's Gakuho Ishikawa Senior High School clocked 2 hours, 0 minutes and 36 seconds en route to victory in the road relay race covering 42.195 km in Kyoto.
Gakuho Ishikawa's time eclipsed by 24 seconds the previous scholastic ekiden record established by Saku Chosei High School of Nagano Prefecture in a 2023 race. In Sunday's race, Yota Masahiko set the tone with a time of 28:20 in the first leg.
"Masahiko had an excellent run in the first leg, and it gave the team momentum," Gakuho Ishikawa coach Kazuhiro Matsuda said, according to The Yomiuri Shimbun. "We widened the lead in the third leg [run by Ryo Kurimura], so we were able to run an ideal race."
The ever-popular Tokyo-Hakone Round Trip College Ekiden Race, commonly called the Hakone Ekiden, will be held on January 2-3, 2026. It's required TV viewing for many Japanese each year.
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Author: Ed Odeven
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