MILAN — The Blade Angels have arrived in Milan. And after the short program, Alysa Liu is very much in gold medal contention, while Isabeau Levito and Amber Glenn are not.
Liu led Team USA’s much-heralded trio of skating women on the ice for Tuesday night’s short program. The two-time Olympian and reigning world champion skated a graceful, near-flawless program to Laufey’s “Promise,” recording a score of 76.59.
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“I kind of liked it,” she said as she skated off the ice to a standing ovation from the Assago Ice Skating Arena crowd.
“I felt super grounded,” Liu said afterward, “and I connected with my program on another level, compared to the rest of the season.”
Only a minor under rotation on a triple axel kept her from going to the top of the leaderboard. After the short program, Liu sits third behind only the Japanese duo of Ami Nakai (78.71) and Kaori Sakamoto (77.23).
On the other end, Glenn stumbled in her quest for gold. The reigning U.S. national champion failed to complete a combination jump midway through her routine that torpedoed her chances. Glenn was disheartened as her routine ended, in tears by the time she left the ice. It was only one missed jump, but it left her with a score of 67.39 — in 13th place overall.
Levito, skating to selections from movies starring Milan’s own Sophia Loren, began her routine with a triple flip into a triple toe loop. She executed the remainder of her routine with characteristic controlled, elegant precision. Levito earned a score of 70.84 to place her eighth.
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Glenn, Liu and Levito — who collectively have dubbed themselves the “Blade Angels” — rolled into the Milan Cortina Olympics with as much star power and medal pedigree as any figure-skating American women in recent memory.
No American woman has won an individual figure skating medal since Sasha Cohen’s silver in 2006. Sarah Hughes won gold and Michelle Kwan claimed bronze four years before that. The Blade Angels have only one combined Olympic appearance between them — Liu in 2022 — but together, they’ve amassed an impressive array of world and national championships.
“It’s very special that there’s a woman from figure skating representing each section of the country,” said Johnny Weir, Olympian and NBC commentator. “Isabeau Levito is from South Jersey to southside Philly. Amber Glenn is from Texas, and Alysa Liu from California, and I think it’s cool that there’s those three different perspectives and three different styles in each of those women.”
Amber Glenn reacts in the kiss and cry area after competing in the figure skating women’s single skating short program. (Photo by WANG Zhao / AFP via Getty Images)
(WANG ZHAO via Getty Images)
At the Olympics, they’ve had substantial downtime between events — or, in Levito’s case, before skating any events at all. Liu skated the short program element of Team USA’s gold medal-winning team competition, and Glenn the free skate element. But that competition ended more than a week ago, meaning they’ve been riding the rollercoaster of Olympic excitement and comedown.
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They’ve been preparing for this moment, individually and as a group, for years. They know what needs to be said, know what needs to be done.
“As long as we do our programs to the best of our abilities, we cannot control the outcome,” Glenn said recently. “But I think the U.S. ladies have come so, so far in the last two decades, that if we do our jobs in Milan … then more than likely someone’s going to be up there.”
Unfortunately for Glenn, it’s unlikely it will be her. As her scores were announced Tuesday night, she was almost inconsolable, knowing her climb to the top is probably too steep of a challenge. It’s likely too steep for Levito, too.
But it isn’t for Liu. Six years ago, she was the youngest ever U.S. champion at 13. Four years ago in Beijing, she finished seventh. Then she walked away from the sport entirely, retiring as a teenager, only to return two years later and win the world championship.
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Now at 20, she’s one brilliant routine from draping a gold medal around her neck.
Asked whether she had begun thinking about a medal, Liu just laughed. “I don’t need a medal,” she said. “I just need to be here and I just need to be present. And I need people to see what I do next.”
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