Kobe ¨C During an Olympic send-off at her home arena in Kobe last week, a relaxed Kaori Sakamoto joked about the weight of her shiny Omega watch and gleefully spoke about her excitement over being able to freely leave her skates at home after she retires from competition.
It was a stark shift from the mood an hour earlier, when she endured a rigorous training session at the hands of coaches Sonoko Nakano and Mitsuko Graham.
With the Milano Cortina Olympics mere weeks away, Sakamoto¡¯s longtime charges were all business throughout the hourlong practice, part of which was held in front of a throng of reporters, photographers and TV crews.
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