TEENAGE figure-skater Cheltzie Lee made a sparkling Olympic debut in Vancouver yesterday, completing a flawless short program to join the world's best skaters in tomorrow's free skate at the Pacific Coliseum.

Lee, 16, from Sydney, was the last skater to qualify for the Games just a week before they began, and is the youngest competitor in the field, but showed skill and maturity beyond her years to glide into 18th place in the 30-strong field.

Performing a crowd-pleasing routine to Michael Buble's "Feeling Good", she completed two triple jumps, one in combination, to earn the best score of her career, 52.16 points.

South Korea's world champion Kim Yu-Na leads the competition with a score of 78.50, from Japanese rival Mao Asada (73.78) and brave Canadian Joannie Rochette (71.36), who is skating through her grief after her mother died of a heart attack last weekend.

Lee's poise stamped her as a competitor who will challenge for the top rankings as she gains maturity and strength.

She has already exceeded the expectations of her coach Kylie Fennell.

"Tonight, she even surprised me with her maturity and confidence," Fennell said.

"We've always known she had it in her, it was a matter of putting it down on the night. We were quietly confident going in."