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Ami Nakai of Japan. Sergei Belski-Imagn Images

Olympic women's figure skating: Five takeaways from a competitive short program

By Alyssa Clang | Last updated Feb 17, 2026 5:42 PM ET

The Olympic women's figure skating competition kicked off on Tuesday, Feb. 17 with the short program.

Japan's Ami Nakai finished in first place, while her veteran teammate Kaori Sakamoto finished right behind her in second. Team USA's Alysa Liu grabbed third, while her teammates Isabeau Levito and Amber Glenn landed in eighth and 13th place, respectively.

Here are five key takeaways from a wildly competitive short program:

A good, clean skate

There's no getting around it: The men's Olympic event was nothing short of a splat-fest. Everyone from presumed gold medalist Ilia Malinin to notoriously consistent Yuma Kagiyama stumbled through their programs. When Kazakh skater Mikhail Shaidorov took home the gold, he did it because he was the only top skater to stay upright for two straight programs.

Those who watched the men's event and wondered if the Milan ice was cursed need not wonder any longer. The women's short program was beautifully executed from start to finish, and every single one of the top contenders landed their jumps cleanly.

Axels made all the difference

While the men are busy fighting their way through a quad arms race, the women are focused on an old favorite: the triple axel. It's a devilishly difficult jump that features an extra half-rotation over every other jump in a skater's arsenal, and precious few women in this Olympic field can do it with ease.

The ones who can — Japan's 17-year-old phenom Ami Nakai and Team USA's 26-year-old veteran Amber Glenn — leveraged it Tuesday with great effect. Nakai's, coupled with her near-perfect short program to "La Strada," catapulted her to the top of the leaderboard; Glenn's kept her from falling out of the standings altogether after she under-rotated the final jump in her program.

Adeliia Petrosian looks like the real deal

18-year-old Russian skater Adeliia Petrosian was the biggest wild card of this short program. With Russia banned from international competition, Petrosian — competing here under the banner of "Neutral Olympic Athlete" — simply hasn't been visible on the international skating circuit. Speculation suggested that she could be a real medal contender at these Games, but it was just that: speculation. It was hard to know where Petrosian would land in the global pecking order until she took to Olympic ice for real.

It looks like she'll land somewhere near the top. Petrosian delivered a kinetic Michael Jackson medley early in the evening and put up a strong score that held throughout much of the opening groups of skaters.

Petrosian finished the short program in fifth place, but she reportedly has a secret weapon she can deploy in the long program: the all-conquering triple axel. If she lands one in the next round, she'll be a medal contender without question.

Team USA's Alysa Liu is a comeback queen

Liu was a two-time national champion as a teenager, but the pressure of international skating caused her to retire early after a sixth-place finish at the 2022 Olympic Games. She returned in 2025 on her own terms, determined to enjoy her skating no matter what, and that approach has paid off for her in spades. She won the world championship in 2025 and put together a flawless short program here to put herself in medal contention in her second Olympic appearance.

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New faces, but the same old story

There are countless examples of veteran figure skaters getting bested to Olympic gold at the last second by teenage challengers. Just look at the 2018 Games in Pyeongchang. Beloved Russian skater Evgenia Medvedeva spent four years certain of her gold-medal destiny only for her young teammate Alina Zagitova (15 at the time) to emerge as the winner at the final second.

We may see a similar story play out here in Milan. Veteran Japanese skater Sakamoto, 25, entered these Games as the presumed favorite, but her 17-year-old teammate Nakai outscored her in a shocking short program upset. If their standings hold through the long program, we'll all have flashbacks to that heartbreaking 2018 final.

The Olympic women's figure skating event will conclude with the long program on Thursday, Feb. 19.

Alyssa Clang

Alyssa is a Boston-born Californian with a passion for global sport. She can yell about misplaced soccer passes in five languages and rattle off the turns of Silverstone in her sleep. You can find her dormant Twitter account at @alyssaclang, but honestly, you’re probably better off finding her here

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