Alysa Liu keeps individual medal hopes alive after US team's setback
The “Blade Angels” began their medal quest on Tuesday night, February 17, but only two of them ended up finishing in the top 10
February 18, 2026
American Olympian Alysa Liu is keeping Olympic gold medal hopes alive amid Team USA’s continuous setbacks in the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics.
Although all the Team USA women figure skaters qualified for Thursday’s medal event, they are much farther behind than expected.
The “Blade Angels” began their medal quest on Tuesday night, February 17, but only two of them ended up finishing in the top 10.
Now, the buildup to Thursday night’s free skate event is reaching fever-pitch heights, as America is pinning hopes for an individual medal in this event in two decades.
Defending champion Alysa Liu came in third place, behind Ami Nakai and Kaori Sakamoto of Japan.
Liu nailed a challenging triple Lutz-triple loop, the toughest ever any woman dared to go after, and trailed by only two points, placing her just behind fellow Japanese skater Kaori Sakamoto on the points table.
Buzzing with the excitement, in a post-competition interview, Liu said, “I am really happy about how I skated.”
She gushed, “And my siblings, my best friends, and a ton of my family are out there. And I saw them on the warmup. I also saw them during my program, so I don’t know.
“It was a really cool moment, because they never come to watch like this. I’m really glad I did super well. I felt super grounded, and I connected with my program on another level.”
Fellow American women’s skater Amber Glenn came in 13th, falling just one spot short of advancing. Glenn was spotted walking off the ice in tears.
Isabeau Levito received a deduction for an under-rotated triple loop and was leveled down on her sequence, finishing in 8th place.
Other American skating trailblazers have also met a similar fate in individual results in the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics.
Meanwhile, the biggest upset last week was when two-time world champion and Olympic hot favorite Ilia Malinin was knocked out of the men’s free skate after falling twice, finishing in eighth place.
Now, Liu will be carrying all the heat while heading into the final on Thursday, February 19, to clinch Team USA’s first individual gold in figure skating.
