U.S. Olympic team event gold medalist and Clovis-born Alysa Liu finished third after the women’s short program with 76.59 points, positioning herself in medal contention heading into Thursday’s free skate.

Liu briefly sat in second place following her performance and gave a shoutout to her hometown of Oakland as she exited the ice. After the final skaters competed, she settled into third.

Japan’s Ami Nakai leads the standings with 78.71 points, followed by Kaori Sakamoto in second with 77.23. Mone Chiba, who delivered the final skate of the day, threatened to break into the top three but finished fourth with 74 points.

Liu, competing in her second Olympics at the Milan Cortina Games, was once a prodigy who captured a U.S. title at age 13. She became the third U.S. woman to land a triple axel in competition. After placing seventh at the Beijing Olympics, Liu stepped away from the sport at 16 before returning two years later. Less than a year after resuming training, she won the World Championships.

She is joined by fellow Americans Isabeau Levito of Philadelphia and Amber Glenn of Plano, Texas.

Levito stood fifth after her skate but dropped to eighth overall with 70.84 points once the event concluded. Glenn, the second-to-last skater of the day, fell short on a planned double loop, losing seven points, and finished 13th with 67.39. Glenn, also a team event gold medalist, sobbed as she left the ice while the crowd cheered and then sat to await her scores.

The rankings reflect results from the women’s short program. The top 24 skaters advance to Thursday’s free skate, where combined short program and free skate scores will determine the medalists. All three U.S. skaters are set to compete.

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