"Alysa Liu is left to carry the hopes of the Blade Angels into the women's free skate at the Milan Cortina Olympics. The reigning world champion and Richmond native delivered a stellar short program that featured a triple lutz-triple loop, the hardest combination that any woman tried Tuesday night, and sat two points back of Japan's Ami Nakai and right behind Kaori Sakamoto on the leaderboard."
"Amber Glenn, the three-time reigning U.S. champion, was right in the mix until her final jump. After landing a huge opening triple axel Glenn and Nakai were the only ones in the women's field to attempt the 3 1/2-revolution jump she kept the momentum going with a triple flip-triple toe loop. But something seemed amiss as Glenn approached her triple loop, and she wound up bailing out of it. The resulting double loop became an invalid element and earned her no points."
"The lost points on the jump, somewhere in the range of seven or eight, was the difference in being a contender entering the free skate. I had it, Glenn told her coach, Damon Allen, as she tried to hold back the tears stepping off the ice. It's not over, he replied. It was not the way Glenn wanted to end a night that began with the euphoria of a message from Madonna, the Queen of Pop."
Alysa Liu positioned herself as the U.S. contender after a short program that included a triple lutz-triple loop, leaving her two points behind Ami Nakai and just behind Kaori Sakamoto. Isabeau Levito was downgraded for an under-rotated triple loop and lost credit on her step sequence, dropping to eighth place and making a podium climb unlikely. Amber Glenn opened with a triple axel and completed a triple flip-triple toe loop but bailed on a triple loop, which became an invalid double loop and earned no points, costing roughly seven to eight points. Glenn told coach Damon Allen "I had it," and he replied, "It's not over." Madonna sent Glenn a video urging her to "Go get that gold."
Read at www.mercurynews.com
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