Angers, France ¨C Japanese teenager Ami Nakai shone on the first day of the season-opening ISU Grand Prix de France on Friday, leading the way to push teammate and big favorite Kaori Sakamoto into second place after the women¡¯s short program.
Nakai, 17, competing in her first season on the senior circuit, nailed a triple axel and triple lutz-triple toe combination to earn a personal best 78.00 points thanks to her flawless performance to Nino Rota¡¯s ¡°La Strada.¡±
¡°Having moved up from juniors to seniors, I was looking forward to skating with many great skaters on this very big stage,¡± said Nakai, who chose Italian-themed music along with many of the skaters before the Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics.
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