The U.S. falters again in figure skating, but the women still have time to make it up

"Figure skating at these Winter Olympics has been full of dramatic twists. And Tuesday, the first night of the women's competition, was no different: The U.S. women all qualified for Thursday's medal event. But they are considerably farther behind than expected. The "Blade Angels," as they have been dubbed, began Tuesday night's short program as the nation's best hope at an individual medal in this event in two decades. But only two of them finished in the top 10."

"Reigning world champion Alysa Liu stands in third place, behind Ami Nakai and Kaori Sakamoto of Japan. Towards the very end of the night, Liu, 20, skated a powerful routine to Laufey's "Promise" that earned her a season-best score and moved her toward the top of the leaderboard. She was followed by Isabeau Levito, 18, whose elegant routine to "Almost In Your Arms, Zou Bisou Bisou" landed her in fifth place, with a few skaters left to go."

"The penultimate skater was Amber Glenn, the three-time reigning U.S. champion, making her Olympic debut at age 26. Glenn kicked off her program set to Madonna's "Like a Prayer" with a clean triple axel, a rare feat for women at the Olympics. The rest of her routine was strong until the very last jump, which she landed as a double rather than the required triple, docking her otherwise strong score."

Figure skating at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics featured a dramatic first night of the women's short program. The U.S. women all qualified for the free skate but are farther behind expected leaders, with only two finishing in the top 10. Japan's Ami Nakai and Kaori Sakamoto occupied the top two spots, and reigning world champion Alysa Liu stood third after a season-best short program to Laufey's "Promise." Isabeau Levito ultimately finished eighth after earlier placing fifth. Amber Glenn landed a clean triple axel but downgraded her final jump to a double, scored 67.39 and sat 13th.

Read at www.npr.org