Japan sweep? Petrosian podium? Women’s skating in grand finale

With the International Skating Union raising the minimum age for figure skating competitors from 15 to 17, it seemed like the era of Olympic child champions might be over.

Ami Nakai had other ideas. On Tuesday night, the 17-year-old – the youngest competitor in the women’s event – stormed to the top after the short program.

It throws a firecracker into what was already one of the most fascinating competitions at Milan-Cortina 2026 and sets the free skate – where the medals will be decided – up as must-see.

Because of her age, Nakai is a debutant on the world tour this year. While she is highly rated in figure skating circles, she did not have the public profile of the other medal contenders.

It also meant she had a lower world ranking, thus starting 18th of the 29 competitors – much earlier than the highest-profile skaters. But like Guillaume Cizeron and Laurence Fournier Baudry in the ice dance, Nakai came from the middle of the pack to be a frontrunner.

But Nakai, with a season-best of 78.00 going into these Games, always had a chance of medalling if she performed to her best.

And she did, with a terrific performance full of fun, energy and quality. Nakai smiled broadly and punched the air at the end.

It continues Japan’s strong performance in the figure skating, where they have collected four medals – with at least one in every event they have entered.

After being narrowly pipped to team gold by USA, they have since had the upper hand.

The shock failure of men’s favourite Ilia Malinin to win a medal saw Yuma Kagiyama and Shun Sato claim silver and bronze. Then in the pairs, Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara recovered from a botched lift in their short program to claim gold thanks to a flawless free skate, rising from fifth to first.

Nakai’s closest competitor for gold is Kaori Sakamoto, eight years her senior and viewed as Japan’s leading contender going into the event.

This is Sakamoto’s final season in figure skating. Aged 25, she is stepping away from the sport after Thursday.

Sakamoto has dominated since 2022, winning three world titles in a row, a joint record for a Japanese figure skater and the first woman to do that since the 1960s.

Her choice of music for the short program – Time to Say Goodbye, by opening ceremony star Andrea Bocelli – was poignant and worked to get the crowd on side.

She got positive grades of execution for all seven elements, including the triple flip and toe loop which had the highest base value, and nearly skipped off the ice in delight. If Nakai is anything less than perfect on Thursday, Sakamoto can pounce.

While it was a stellar night for Japan, for the USA’s ‘Blade Angels’ it was a mixed bag.

Sakamoto lost her world title last year to Alysa Liu, who currently sits third and is best placed to ruin the Japanese party.

The 20-year-old is one of the most recognisable and popular athletes at these Games – a proud ‘alt girl’ with her halo hair and lip piercing.

With a huge American contingent at Milano Ice Skating Arena on Tuesday, Liu got huge acclamation from compatriot Malinin and celebrities in the crowd ranging from actress Halle Bailey to rap icon Snoop Dogg.

However, she lost points on her triple lutz for landing on the quarter – not fully completing the rotation and returning to the ice 90 degrees short.

Liu went first of the three American athletes in the final group, and her slight underperformance set the tone.

Isabeau Levito, who at 18 is the youngest member of USA squad, produced a classic routine but it did not have the technical complexity of Nakai’s performance.

The biggest disappointment was Amber Glenn, the reigning American national champion.

At 26, Glenn is the oldest American female figure skater in nearly a century to make her Olympic debut.

But after a strong start, Glenn missed her triple loop – it registered as an invalid element, thus scoring zero points and pushing her down to 13th.

She knows that will likely cost her a medal, and sobbed as she exited the rink.

Glenn, out as bisexual and a critic of US President Donald Trump, has faced an online backlash against her political and LGBTQ+ comments.

On Tuesday, Glenn, who has battled depression, posted to Instagram: “The world has ended for me many times, and yet tomorrow still comes. Keep going.”

If she produces her best in the free skate, she could shake up the medal race.

Then there is Individual Neutral Athlete (AIN) Adeliia Petrosian.

So far, none of the AIN representatives – from countries banned from the 2026 Olympics – have won a medal.

The most likely candidate is 18-year-old Petrosian, the Russian national champion.

She is under the tutelage of controversial Eteri Tutberidze, who is not officially listed as a coach – but the teenager is accompanied by Daniil Gleikhengauz, with whom Tutberidze has worked closely.

Petrosian, who has not been able to compete internationally because of the ISU ban on Russian athletes, set a season-best short program score of 72.89 putting her in fifth going into the free skate. She led the leaderboard for nearly three hours until Nakai stepped up.