CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) — Ami Nakai and Japanese teammate Kaori Sakamoto upstaged Alysa Liu and the rest of the “Blade Angels” from the U.S. to take the lead after the short program in the women’s figure skating competition at the Milan Cortina Olympics on Tuesday.

Three-time U.S. champion Amber Glenn appeared headed into the short program lead before erring on a critical triple loop to finish in 13th place.

Japan has been at the Olympics since the beginning, but there's perhaps been no bigger tournament than 2026. Can Japan find a way back to competing with and against the best teams, or is this the beginning of a decline?

MILAN (AP) — Ami Nakai and Japanese teammate Kaori Sakamoto upstaged Alysa Liu and the rest of the “Blade Angels” on Tuesday night. Nakai rode her opening triple axel to a career-best 78.71 points in her short program at the Milan Cortina Olympics,