🇯🇵 Kaori Sakomoto - I was so stressed out during the PyeongChang and Beijing Olympics, that I lost 3kg
Kaori Sakamoto Reveals: “My Stomach and Intestines Are Extremely Weak” — Says She Developed Gastroenteritis During Two of Her Three Olympic Appearances Due to Overwhelming Stress
September 29, 2026, 9:21 PM — Sports Hochi
Kaori Sakamoto, the women's figure skater who won a silver medal at the Milan-Cortina Olympics, made her first appearance on Nippon TV's variety show "Odoru! Sanma Goten!!" on September 29.
The episode featured a gathering of figure skaters. At the beginning of the program, Sakamoto met host Sanma Akashiya for the first time and greeted him with a smile, saying, “Nice to meet you.”
When Sanma asked her age, Sakamoto replied, “I'm 26. I retired this March. I've gotten quite a bit chubbier since then,” joking about changes in her physique.
She went on to explain:
>“The skating season is in winter, so the period when I have to lose the most weight is from around October to March or April. But that's exactly when COVID, influenza, and other illnesses spread the most. When I'm trying to get down to my ideal competition weight, my immunity also drops. On top of that, I'm very prone to catching infections, and my stomach and intestines are extremely weak.”
She continued:
>“Of the three Olympics I competed in, I ended up getting gastroenteritis in both PyeongChang and Beijing. In PyeongChang, the team event came first, and the individual event was about two weeks later. Since it was my first Olympics, the stress was overwhelming, and I developed gastroenteritis during the Games.”
Sakamoto recalled that she lost about 3 kilograms (6.6 pounds) as a result:
>“I lost around three kilograms, and even my skating boots felt heavy. During those periods, I often felt like my body was sending me strong SOS signals."
-----
Link to the original (in Japanese)