Japan’s Nakai tops women’s short program at Milan-Cortina

A gency :

Japanese figure skater Ami Nakai led the women’s short program standings at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games on Tuesday.

Skating to Italian composer Nino Rota’s “La Strada,” the 17-year-old delivered a clean, confident routine highlighted by a triple Axel, a triple Lutz and a triple toe loop. She skated smoothly to the music and matched her expressions to the choreography throughout, earning 78.71 points.

Her compatriot Kaori Sakamoto, the Beijing 2022 bronze medalist, placed second with 77.23 points, while reigning world champion Alysa Liu of the United States sat third with 76.59.

China’s Zhang Ruiyang opened with a solid triple Salchow-triple toe loop combination. Skating to American singer Madonna’s “Frozen,” the Olympic debutant completed her program without any obvious mistakes and finished 20th with 59.38 points.

Zhang described the competition as nerve-wracking. She said the competition exposed shortcomings she had not noticed during training at home, particularly her speed.

“I used to think I was skating fast enough, but compared with them, I can see there’s still plenty of room for improvement,” said the 18-year-old.

The top 24 of the 29 skaters advanced to today’s free skate.