At 151 centimeters, her petite frame has earned her the nickname "Tiny Queen."

But Japan's Satoko Miyahara is ready to stand tall and put on a performance that befits her royal title at the Pyeongchang Games, starting on Sunday when she skates in the women's short program in the figure skating team competition.

"I want to skate in a way that lives up to that (nickname)," Miyahara said.

A four-time national champion and former world silver medalist, Miyahara has endured a rocky road to Pyeongchang and was forced to miss last year's world championships in Helsinki owing to a stress fracture in her hip.

But in her second competition back from injury, she came within 0.38 point of her personal best free skate score to win her second Grand Prix title at Skate America in November.

"I didn't expect to win (at Skate America)," said Miyahara, who cleanly landed all seven jumps, including five types of triples in that free skate.

"It makes overcoming difficult times worth it."

She placed fifth at the Grand Prix Final in Nagoya in December, when she skated as an alternate after Russian world champion Evgenia Medvedeva withdrew due to a broken foot.

But the 19-year-old Miyahara booked her spot in Pyeongchang later that month, winning her fourth straight national title by a wide margin over Kaori Sakamoto, whose recent strong form also puts her in with a shot at a medal in the women's singles.

Miyahara could only manage third at last month's Four Continents championships in Taipei, a competition she won in 2016, and said a lack of confidence had led to mistakes during that event.

But the Kyoto native appears to have settled in nicely since arriving in South Korea.

"It's easy to skate on and I feel like I'm going to be able to skate and jump well on it," Miyahara said of the rink at Gangneung Ice Arena.

"The overall atmosphere at the venue has made it really sink in that this is the Olympics and I'm really excited. My body is moving extremely well and it's just a case of getting used to the ice. I feel like I'm in good shape."

Miyahara is also hoping the hard work she has put in since the Four Continents will pay off.

"I have pushed myself hard since the Four Continents so I am hoping all of my efforts will bring about a good result. I will go onto the rink with the aim of doing the very best I can."

Shoma Uno won the men's short program and Miu Suzaki and Ryuichi Hara placed eighth in the short skate pairs, putting Japan in third place going into the second part of the team competition.

The top five teams from the 10-team competition after the men's and women's singles, pairs and ice dance short programs advance to the free skates. The team event is held over three days.

Canada holds the lead with 17 points, followed by the United States with 14 and Japan with 13.

In the women's short skate in the team competition, Miyahara faces tough opposition in the shape of Medvedeva, who is competing as an Olympics Athlete from Russia, world silver medalist Kaetlyn Osmond of Canada and former world champion and Sochi Olympic bronze medal winner Carolina Kostner of Italy.

Osmond said she was raring to go ahead of Sunday's short skate.

"Looking back, this year has gone very well. I have been on the podium at all my events this year and I have put in many hours of hard training," Osmond said after training Saturday.

"I am the healthiest and fittest I have been in my entire life so I am feeling as prepared as I can be and I want to enjoy the experience."

Kana Muramoto and Chris Reed will compete for Japan in Sunday's ice dance short dance.