Ami Nakai, 17, and Japanese teammate Kaori Sakamoto upstaged Alysa Liu and the rest of the ‘Blade Angels’ from the US on Tuesday night, taking the lead after the short program in the women's figure skating competition at the Milan Cortina Olympics.
Nakai, the youngest of the 29 skaters in the field, rode her opening triple axel to a career-best 78.71 points, while Sakamoto was right behind with 77.23 as she chases just about the only gold medal she has yet to win. Liu was third with 76.59, keeping her within range of the top step of the podium.
