Figure skating-Japan's Sakamoto battles America's 'Blade Angels' in wide open women's singles

MILAN, Feb 15 : Japan's Kaori Sakamoto faces a trio of rising Americans and a little-known but potentially dangerous Russian teenager when the women's Olympic singles figure skating event starts on Tuesday.

After an all-time upset in men's singles and a controversial result in ice dance, fans will be brace for the unexpected again when the women's competition with no clear favourite closes out the figure skating events at the Milano Ice Skating Arena. 

One sure thing is that there a new champion will be crowned as Russia's Anna Shcherbakova, who won gold in Beijing, will not be in the field, having not competed since the 2022 season. 

Alexandra Trusova, who took silver four years ago for Russia, also won't compete, providing a golden opportunity for Beijing bronze medallist and popular veteran Sakamoto. 

A consistently clean and expressive skater, three-times world champion Sakamoto, 25, will be gunning for a gold-medal ending to her Olympic career.

Two of her teammates are also medal contenders - 17-year-old Ami Nakai, who bested Sakamoto at the Grand Prix de France in October, and 20-year-old Mone Chiba, the 2025 world bronze medallist. 

AMERICAN ANGELS 

The "Blade Angels" - Alysa Liu, Amber Glenn and Isabeau Levito - are aiming to ascend to the top of the podium and snap a 20-year medal drought for American women in the event. 

Led by world champion Liu, the tight-knit trio represent the strongest U.S. women's contingent in decades. 

Liu shocked the figure skating world when she retired in 2022 at age 16, and did so again when she returned to competition in 2024 with a new perspective on the sport. 

The Californian's alternative style, which includes striped hair, represents a bold departure from figure skating's traditional