alysa liu shines in short program as Blade Angels begin Olympic quest in Milan
MILAN — Alysa Liu delivered a poised, near-flawless short program Tuesday night, Feb. 17, 2026 (ET), keeping the United States firmly in the hunt as the women's singles competition opened at the Cortina-Milan Games. Liu's elegant skate left her third on the leaderboard, while teammates Isabeau Levito posted a solid performance and Amber Glenn suffered a costly error that pushed her down the standings.
Liu’s near-flawless start keeps U. S. hopes high
Liu, the two-time Olympian and reigning world champion, led Team USA’s trio onto the ice at the Assago Ice Skating Arena and skated to Laufey’s "Promise" with poise and musicality. Judges rewarded her work with a 76. 59 total for the short program, a score that leaves her in podium contention heading into the free skate.
Her program featured crisp skating skills and expressive choreography; only a minor under-rotation call on her triple Axel prevented a still-higher mark. Exiting the ice to a standing ovation, Liu said she felt "super grounded" and connected to the program on a deeper level than she had earlier in the season.
That technical slip was small in the context of an otherwise confident outing, and it places Liu within striking distance of the leaders going into the free skate — an encouraging position for an athlete chasing Olympic hardware in an event where the margin for error is slim.
Levito steady, Glenn falters
Isabeau Levito delivered a composed program built around a triple flip–triple toe combination and a series of controlled, elegant elements. Skating to selections from films starring Milan's own Sophia Loren, Levito earned 70. 84 and sits eighth after the short. Her performance leaned on classic lines and precision, the kind of skate that can set a strong platform for a free program with greater difficulty.
Amber Glenn’s night unfolded far differently. The reigning U. S. national champion failed to complete a combination jump midway through her routine and visibly struggled to recover. She left the ice in tears, and her score of 67. 39 placed her 13th after the short program — a result that sharply reduces her medal prospects but does not eliminate them entirely given the opportunities of the free skate.
The three athletes collectively call themselves the "Blade Angels. " Together they brought heightened expectations to Milan: each represents different regions of the country and brings a distinct stylistic voice to American women's skating. Their combined resume includes world and national titles, but the Olympics remain an elusive individual medal for U. S. women in recent decades.
Road ahead for Team USA
With the short program complete, attention now turns to the free skate, where technical difficulty, consistency under pressure and endurance will determine the final podium. Liu’s clean, expressive short sets her up as the American with the clearest path to an individual medal, though the field remains stacked and tight at the top.
Levito’s reliable delivery gives her a manageable margin to build on, while Glenn will need to regroup quickly and produce a near-flawless free skate to climb back into contention. All three have experience dealing with the Olympic spotlight — Liu from 2022, the others from major international championships — but the compressed schedule and heightened stakes always test even the most seasoned competitors.
Despite the mixed results, the presence of all three U. S. women in the upper portion of the field reasserts the nation’s depth and potential in women’s figure skating. The next 24 to 48 hours will separate those who can convert early promise into Olympic hardware from those for whom the Games become a painful lesson in the sport's unforgiving nature.
