Team USA Struggled Through The Women’s Single Skating Short Program
Following Team USA’s gold medal victory in the Figure Skating Team Event, the pairs, ice dancing duos, and individual figure skaters on the team have faced steep competition.
That initial victory, achieved on Feb. 8, set a high bar for Team USA.
Since then, returning ice dancing champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates earned a silver medal, losing gold to France’s skating duo Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron.
Ilia Malinin, best known as the “Quad God,” failed to medal entirely, finishing in 8th place. Similarly, Maxim Naumov, whose parents tragically died in the Potomac River airplane crash in January of 2025, finished in 20th place.
One final area of hope for the figure skaters of Team USA is the Women’s Single – Short Program, which saw the team get whittled down from three skaters to two, as Amber Glenn landed in 13th place, ensuring she would be unable to advance.
Advancing to the Women’s Single Free Skate are Alysa Liu, who scored 3rd in the Short Program; and Isabeau Levito, who scored 8th.
On Thursday, Feb. 19, Alysa Liu and Isabeau Levito will compete for medals, with their scores from the Short Program being combined with how they perform in the Free Skate.
With Alysa Liu entering the Free Skate in 3rd place, her performance will be one to watch, as her chances to not only medal, but also achieve gold, are readily within reach.
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Alysa Liu Keeps Gold Within Reach With Graceful Performance
Achieving 3rd place in the Short Program, Alysa Liu, who is 20 years old, enters the Free Skate with a score of 76.59.
Her Short Program skate was set to the song “Promise” by Laufey, and it saw her skate with precision and grace.
“I am really happy about how I skated,” Liu said, adding in her post skate remarks that she wished she could’ve enjoyed the feeling of her accomplishment for a longer amount of time. “I’m really glad I did super well. I felt super grounded, and I connected with my program on another level compared to the rest of the season.”
As quoted by NBC, Liu was asked about the 2nd and 1st place skaters — respectively, Kaori Sakamoto and Ami Nakai, both from Japan — and she replied, “Whether I beat them or not is not my goal. My goal is just to do my programs and share my story. And I don’t need to, I guess, be over or under anyone to do that.”
Watch Alysa Liu’s 3rd place finish in the short program, here:
More About The Women’s Figure Skaters
As for Alysa Liu’s peers on Team USA, Amber Glenn was seen as a frontrunner, coming off of her performance in the Team Event.
Following her skate in the Short Program, Glenn was in tears as she knew that she had underperformed. Ultimately, her missed triple loop cost her, bringing her score to 67.39 and shutting her out from the Free Skate.
Amber Glenn’s skate, which was set to Madonna’s “Like A Prayer,” can be seen here.
Still, Alysa Liu is not alone from Team USA, with Isabeau Levito’s 8th place finish being high enough to potentially ward off other skaters from medaling.
Levito’s skate in the short program can be seen here.
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