Japan's Ami Nakai leads at Skate America Everett after a near-flawless short program

For the remaining competitors, here is your representative man, the warm-up now for Ami Nakai. What a huge cheer for our final competitor. Bronze medalist in the Olympic Winter Games, runner-up in Four Continents last year. This is, of course, wonderful Ami Nakai, already with a gold medal in the Grand Prix Series this year. She struggled with it in the warm-up, but who cares about the warm-up? What a hesitation through that combination, pretty etched all over the loop. It's fabulous to see when you look around the arena here just about everybody on their feet applauding what was a masterful performance. Look at that, fabulous scenes here and it is mind-blowing to think how well she's able to keep her composure. She couldn't do that triple axel for love nor money or really really struggled with it. in the six-minute warm-up but when it came to the program she just came out there there wasn't a moment's doubt was there so the program started off perfectly and i am in awe of her skating skills her power of the edge is just incredible here's that axle does she make it round yep nothing wrong with that Beautiful knee bend on the way out. Three and a half turns in the blink of an eye. Here's the looks. That's clean. As is the toe loop on the end. No need for the technical panel to review that. And there she winds up that loop perfectly. So much quality in every single element. Well, I had fours on the spins for sure and the step work. The step sequence, it's hard to judge on your own, but... it looked to me as though it had everything it needed to be a level four Oh, that's less local. and then those skating skills which for me Me. are second to none if you ever want to study how to push against the skate and generate speed effortlessly this is uh this is someone worth watching i'll tell you That's got to be the leader it is in my book. Oh yeah 82.20. She leads by some way Good way. and I can tell you that is a new personal best score for Ami Nakai. Brilliant stuff. Well it takes your breath away.