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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