Il Nuovo Postiglione - Nakai leads Sakamoto in Olympics after women's short programme

The 17-year-old's sparkling, circus-like skate to "La Strada" by Nino Rota stole the show and earned her a personal best 78.71 points at the Milano Ice Skating Arena.

She is ahead of Sakamoto, a former three-time world champion who took Olympic bronze in Beijing four years ago who is just 1.48 behind in second with 77.23 points.

US world champion Alysa Liu is in third place after hitting her personal best 76.69 followed by Japan's Chiba Mone (74.00) in fourth and Russian champion Adeliia Petrosian (72.89) in fifth.

Nakai punched the air in delight having nailed her elements including a difficult three-and-a-half-rotation triple axel among her four triple jumps that included a triple-triple combination.

Sakamoto, 25, was also delighted after delivering a clean skate to "Time To Say Goodbye" performed by Andrea Bocelli.

Liu scored her personal best 76.69 for her mesmerising two-and-a-half-minute routine to "Promise" by Laufey.

US champion Amber Glenn matched Nakai's triple axel jump but left the ice in tears after missing her final triple jump in her skate to Madonna's "Like A Prayer".

The 20-year-old is in 13th position going into Thursday's free skating final.

Petrosian, 18, is bidding to keep the women's gold in Russian hands for a fourth consecutive Games.

The 18-year-old is competing under a neutral banner as Russian and Belarusian skaters have been banned from Olympic events since Moscow began its offensive on Ukraine in 2022.

In glittery black pants and a red sequin top for her Michael Jackson tribute, the three-time Russian champion nailed all her jumps including a triple-triple.

The two-and-a-half-minute performance proved a hit with soft toys thrown onto the ice after her skate and it earned her a personal best score.

Among her coaching team is Eteri Tutberidze, who also trained Kamila Valieva, the Russian teen whose failed doping test overshadowed the 2022 Beijing Games.

"I am very happy with my skate," said Petrosian, who arrived in Milan untested against top international competitors.

"At first I was worried, not about my skate but about my emotions. This was the most important start of my life.

"I'm feeling really calm, and I hope this will help me with my free skate because this (short programme) already helped me today.

"The audience was very warm and very loud, and every time I thought it could be less loud, it was even louder."

I.Altadonna--INP