Milan — American hopes were sky high coming into the Olympic women’s figure skating competition. Could there be a U.S. sweep of the medals? Would the 20-year U.S. medal drought finally end? Who would be the breakout star among the trio known on social media as the Blade Angels: Amber Glenn, Alysa Liu and Isabeau Levito?
Then they all skated the short program Tuesday night, and two of the ‘Angels’ fell back to earth, becoming so upset they didn’t stop to speak to waiting journalists — in stark contrast with how Ilia Malinin handled his horrible long program Friday night.
Liu, 20, the reigning world champion, was the one who did answer reporters’ questions after a terrific short program that landed her in third place, a perfect position for her going into Thursday’s deciding long program.
‘It just humbles me so much and I’m just really grateful for it all, the good and the bad,” she said. ‘I want to keep growing. I just want to keep experiencing new things.’
Levito, 18, also skated quite well in her first appearance in these Games but finished in eighth place due to the plethora of well-skated programs ahead of her.
But Glenn, the reigning three-time U.S. champion, made a massive mistake in her short program, popping her planned triple loop into a double, which then received no points because the jump must be a triple, dropping her into 13th place overall. That happened after she landed the best triple axel of the evening, which made her error all the more devastating.
Glenn, 26, broke into tears when she finished her program and was doubled over, crying, as she received her scores. A U.S. Figure Skating spokesperson then said Glenn would not be speaking to reporters. Meanwhile, Levito just walked by the assembled U.S. journalists without stopping for reasons unknown.
While sadness enveloped the American trio, there was nothing but joy for the incredibly deep Japanese team. Ami Nakai, an entertaining 17-year-old with a triple axel to die for, won the short program with 78.71 points, just ahead of veteran countrywoman Kaori Sakamoto, the three-time world champion and 2022 Olympic bronze medalist, who finished with 77.23. Liu was next with 76.59 points, followed by the third member of the Japanese team, Mone Chiba with 74.00. If anyone is sweeping the medals in this event, it’s Japan.
Meanwhile, the fallout for the Americans is clear: With the quality of skaters ahead of them, both Levito and Glenn are all but out of the medal hunt. But Liu? She’s right where she wants to be.