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BEIJING -- Kaori Sakamoto came from behind to take home the bronze medal in women's figure skating at the Beijing Olympics on Thursday with a total of 233.13 points after taking third place in free skate portion of the competition.
This is the first figure skating medal for a Japanese woman since Mao Asada's silver at the 2010 Vancouver Games. It is also the second podium finish for Sakamoto at the Beijing Games after the 21-year-old earned a bronze in the team event.
Sakamoto was third in the short program with a personal-best score of 79.84 points on Tuesday. She earned 153.29 points in the free skate.
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Sakamoto, hailing from Kobe, was sixth in her first Olympic appearance at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games.
Meanwhile, Russian Olympic Committee's Kamila Valieva, who tested positive for a banned substance in December, placed fourth.
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Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/