Kaori Sakamoto Wins Silver in Dramatic Olympic Women’s Figure Skating Free Skate as Alysa Liu Claims Gold in Montreal While Amber Glenn Comforts Emotional Competitor

The Olympic spotlight can be blinding.

On Thursday night, it shone brightest on Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto — and then, in the cruelest twist, it flickered just enough to leave her short of the one thing she’d chased for years.

The women’s singles free skate was supposed to be her coronation. Instead, it became her goodbye.

Sakamoto, 25, skated knowing this would be her final Olympic appearance before stepping away from the Games.

After posting the second-best score in the short program, she entered the free skate in striking distance of her first Olympic gold.

The stage was set. The music swelled. And then came the jumps that didn’t quite land the way she needed.

In a sport where fractions matter, mistakes can echo loudly.

Two technical errors cost her dearly.

When the final scores came in, she was just 1.91 points behind American star Alysa Liu — close enough to feel, far enough to sting.

Tears Behind the Kiss and Cry

The cameras caught the immediate aftermath. Sakamoto, visibly emotional, stepped off the ice in tears.

Fellow competitor Alysa Liu wrapped her in a hug — a quiet gesture between rivals that said everything.

Liu, who ultimately secured the gold medal, understood the weight of that moment.

She had her own Olympic journey, filled with pressure and expectations, but on this night, she found herself both champion and comforter.

Still, the hardest part often comes after the applause fades.

Sakamoto eventually stepped aside, trying to gather herself away from the bright lights and noise. That’s when another American skater stepped in — Amber Glenn.

Amber Glenn Steps Between a Star and the Spotlight

Glenn, who had her own emotional rollercoaster at these Games, noticed Sakamoto trying to process the heartbreak.

She approached her not as a competitor, but as someone who understood.

But there was a problem. A cameraman had followed.

In a moment that’s since gone viral, Glenn stood up and waved her hands directly in front of the lens, blocking the shot.

She appeared to say something to the cameraman, signaling that this was not a moment for broadcast.

It was raw. It was private. And it deserved space.

Later, under a TikTok clip of the interaction, Glenn reportedly wrote: “Dude I know it’s their job but they will get all up in your business when you clearly need space it’s wild.”

It was a small act. But in a sport where every tear can become content, it felt significant.

The Weight of Four Years

Afterward, Sakamoto tried to put words to what she was feeling. It wasn’t easy.

“I only felt regret,” she said, according to Olympics coverage.

“I can’t really say. I don’t remember what happened in between elements.

I have to look back on it and see.”

She insisted she wasn’t overwhelmed by nerves — which, in some ways, made it harder to explain.

“I guess this is how my story ends. It hurts, I have to admit.”

There was something almost poetic in her honesty.

She’d come into these Games carrying the memory of bronze from her previous Olympic appearance.

That medal had once felt like a miracle.

Now, silver hung around her neck — technically an improvement — yet she felt the weight of what slipped away.

“The frustration is unbearable,” she admitted, before adding something that spoke volumes about her journey: “For that, I just want to give myself a pat on the back.”

It takes years to build a champion. It takes seconds to lose a gold.

Alysa Liu’s Rise and the American Response

For Alysa Liu, the gold medal represented a career-defining breakthrough.

Once a teenage prodigy who captured national titles at record-setting ages, Liu had stepped away from the sport before making a comeback.

Her Olympic triumph capped a remarkable return.

Meanwhile, Amber Glenn’s own story at these Games was far from smooth.

Glenn had been among the American hopefuls expected to contend for the podium — part of a deep U.S. field sometimes nicknamed the “Blade Angels.”

But in the short program, a fall shattered that momentum. Her score dropped. So did her heart.

She cried, regrouped, and came back swinging.

In the free skate, Glenn delivered the third-best score of the night, climbing to finish fifth overall. Not a medal, but a statement.

“I just thought, ‘I’m going to do what I do best, which is enjoy skating,’” she said afterward.

“And that’s what I did today.”

In a sport defined by razor-thin margins and brutal scoring systems under the ISU’s Code of Points, sometimes rediscovering joy is its own victory.

A Reminder of the Human Side of Figure Skating

Figure skating at the Olympic level is often discussed in terms of technical base value, grade of execution, under-rotations, and component scores.

It’s math. It’s precision. It’s ruthless.

But nights like this remind us it’s also deeply human.

We saw the champion embracing her rival. We saw an athlete shielding another from invasive cameras.

We saw a silver medalist wrestling with regret while trying to appreciate how far she’d come.

These are the moments that don’t show up on a scoreboard.

What’s Next?

For Kaori Sakamoto, this likely closes the Olympic chapter of her career.

While retirement from the Games doesn’t necessarily mean stepping away from all competition, she’s hinted that this was her final Olympic appearance.

The next step could involve World Championships, professional shows, or mentoring the next wave of Japanese skaters — a nation that continues to produce elite talent.

For Alysa Liu, gold changes everything. Sponsorships, media appearances, and the pressure of defending titles will follow.

The challenge now is staying grounded while wearing the crown.

Amber Glenn, after proving her resilience, remains firmly in the mix internationally.

With another four-year cycle ahead, she’ll likely aim to turn that fifth-place finish into something shinier.

The Olympic stage moves fast. The next generation is already training.

Summary

Kaori Sakamoto entered the Olympic women’s free skate poised for gold but finished 1.91 points behind Alysa Liu after costly mistakes, settling for silver in what is expected to be her final Olympic appearance.

Overcome with emotion, she was comforted first by Liu and later by American skater Amber Glenn, who notably shielded her from intrusive cameras during a private moment.

Glenn, recovering from her own short program fall, rebounded strongly to finish fifth overall.

The night ultimately highlighted both the heartbreak and humanity of Olympic figure skating — where medals are decided by decimals, but character is revealed in the quiet moments in between.