Tag: Women’s Sports

MILAN, Italy — South Jersey figure skater Isabeau Levito, 18, landed in eighth place in Tuesday’s short program at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Competing in her mother’s hometown, just minutes from where her grandmother still lives, Levito, who lives and trains in Mount Laurel, started her short program a little tight but landed all of her elements.

“I feel very good,” Levito told NBC after she skated. “I feel like I skated with the elegance I wanted to skate with. And I’m very glad my Olympic debut looked like that. I feel very confident and just very happy with myself right now.”

She did not address the writing media.

Levito is the reigning U.S. bronze medalist. She was the U.S. champion in 2023 and the world silver medalist in 2024 in women’s singles.

Levito’s program, to a compilation of sassy songs from Sophia Loren movies, opened with a triple flip-triple toe loop combination. Then she moved on to a double Axel and a flying camel, which got a Level 4, the highest. Her first three elements got positive grades of execution.

Next came her triple loop, which was judged to be a quarter-rotation short. Five of the nine judges gave her a minus-1 grade of execution and one gave her a minus-2.

The second half of Levito’s program included a step sequence, which was called at a Level 3 rather than the Level 4 she usually has received.

She then skated combination spin that received a Level 4 and grades of execution up to plus-5, the highest available. She wrapped up with a layback spin into a Biellmann that received a Level 4 and plus-3 and plus-4 grades of execution.

Her score was a 70.84, nearly three points lower than her season’s best, which she skated at the Grand Prix of France.

However, Levito’s program components (or artistic mark) was the fourth-highest of the night. Only Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto and Mone Chibe and American Alysa Liu placed higher.

Many on social media thought Levito was underscored.

On the technical side, Levito was not alone in the small mistakes. Most of the women had some rotation issues, although most skated fairly clean.

Japan’s Ami Nakai, the youngest skater in the competition at age 17 (which now is the youngest age allowed in international figure skating at the senior level), won the short program. She opened with a clean triple Axel, and she received positive grades of execution on all of her elements, making her the only woman with a clean score sheet. Her step sequence and spins received Level 4 grades of execution. She earned a season-best 78.71.

Sakamoto has been the sentimental favorite this year after placing third in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing (and notably being the only happy one on the medal stand, after much drama with the Russian women over doping allegations and placements). Sakamoto also has won the World Championships three times after being displaced last year by Liu. She helped lead Japan to a silver medal in the Olympic team event for the second time in a row last week.

Sakamoto has said this will be her last year competing, and her short program is to “Time To Say Goodbye,” by Sarah Brightman and Andrea Bocelli.

She received an exclamation mark on her opening triple Lutz, meaning it was not clear whether she took off on the required outside edge or had shifted to an inside edge. Her triple flip-triple toe loop combination also was called a quarter of a rotation short.

She is less than a point behind Nakai, earning 77.23 for her short program.

The highest-placing American woman of the night was Liu, who wound up in third place. She repeated last year’s winning short program, to “Promise,” by Laufey. After she skated, she said she was unconcerned with placements but was more excited to have people see her work and to have her siblings and friends in the audience, most of whom had never seen her compete.

Liu received all positive grades of execution, mostly plus-3 to plus-5, except for her triple Lutz-triple loop combination (a particularly difficult one, therefore worth more points), which was called a quarter short. Her score was 76.59.

Amber Glenn, the three-time U.S. champion, started her program (to Madonna’s “Like a Prayer”) strong with a triple Axel that received up to plus-3 grades of execution. (She and Nakai were the only women of the night to attempt the jump.)

Her triple flip-triple toe loop combination was called a quarter short. But she made a big mistake in the middle of the program when she doubled her intended triple loop. A solo triple jump is a required element in the short program, so the double loop received no points. She finished strong with a Level 4 step sequence and two Level 4 spins, but Liu, watching on a monitor in the mixed zone, wondered if Glenn had changed the program on the fly after a mistake.

Glenn’s score was 67.39, well below her season’s best of 75.72, and she was in 13th after the short program.

The short program also included the return of two Russian women, skating under a neutral flag. Viktoriia Safonova was the first to skate and was not among the top 24 (of 29) skaters who qualified for Thursday’s free skate.

The other Russian woman, Adeliia Petrosian, skated second and has been considered a medal contender. She scored a strong 72.89, which would not be topped until the 18th skater performed. That was by Nakai, the eventual winner.

Levito, Liu, and Glenn call themselves the Blade Angels, modeled somewhat on women’s Olympic gymnastics teams, which give themselves names, and somewhat on Charlie’s Angels.

Liu and Glenn shared in last week’s Olympic gold medal in the team event. Only up to two skaters from each team could be chosen for the women’s section. Levito, who has said she has flown somewhat under the radar since suffering an injury last year and missing part of the season (but came back to place fourth at the world championships in Boston), was not selected to compete. Only those who skate share in the medal.

Breaking down Isabeau Levito’s figure skating costumes over the years

Since 2022, South Jersey’s Isabeau Levito has been one of figure skating’s biggest stars. Ahead of her Olympic debut Thursday in the women’s short program, we took a look back at her costumes since she burst onto the scene at 14 years old.

A star is born

Levito made her senior debut during the 2021-22 season at age 14. She skated her short program to “The Swan,” by Camille Saint-Saëns, performed by Joshua Bell.

Isabeau Levito was too young for the Olympics in 2022, but she won the bronze medal at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in this dress, made in Russia. She was also named to the World Junior Championships, where she skated to the “Russian Dance” from Swan Lake by Tchaikovsky, and won.

Isabeau Levito wore a Spanish-inspired dress for her short program in the 2022-23 season. She skated to “Una noche más” by Yasmin Levy.

National champion

In January 2023, Levito won the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in San Jose, Calif. She went on to place fourth at the World Figure Skating Championships in Saitama, Japan.

Reputation era

Early in the 2023-24 season, Levito wore a dress with a snake wrapped around her neck and the head on her arm. Ice dancers Madison Chock and Evan Bates had a snake program a few years before, and Chock advised Levito on this program.

Switching gears

Levito changed her short program midseason in 2023-24. Because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Levito stopped getting dresses made in Russia. This one was made by Josiane Lamond in Canada.

Levito wore this layered black, white, and gray dress the first part of the 2023-24 season for her long program, skating to “The White Crow,” by Lisa Batiashvili. After placing third in the short program at Skate America that season, she finished second in the free skate to end in second overall.

Silver star

Levito won the silver medal at the 2024 world championships in Montreal with this dress by Canada’s Lamond.

Road to Milan

Levito is wearing this red dress by Lisa McKinnon for her short program this Olympic season. She is skating to a compilation of sassy songs from Sophia Loren movies. At Skate Canada, a Grand Prix event, she placed second with this routine.

Ticket punched

Levito is wearing this blue dress by McKinnon for her free skate (or long program) this season, and skates to “Cinema Paradiso” by Ennio Morricone. She won bronze at January’s U.S. Figure Skating Championships to earn the trip to Milan.

A throwback

Levito was injured for a chunk of 2024-25 season, so she did not compete at the U.S. championships, but came back to place fourth at worlds. She wore this dress from that year’s program for the exhibition after making the Olympic team.

Flying high

Red Bull commissioned this dress for Levito from McKinnon, who made costumes for all three American women in 2026, as well as many of the international competitors. It was featured in an amusing campaign on social media.

dunkel_ellen

This is the moment 18-year-old South Jersey figure skater Isabeau Levito has been waiting for

Isabeau Levito is heading to the Olympics: ‘I feel like I really achieved my dream life’

Even as a tiny child in her car seat, Isabeau Levito talked about how much she wanted to go to the Olympics.

At 3, she had watched the 2010 Winter Games on TV and was charmed by the figure skating, mimicking Coatesville native Johnny Weir’s movements on the screen. Her mother, Chiara Garberi, thought they’d try skating and brought her to the Igloo Ice Rink in Mount Laurel. Levito quickly took to it.

The next year, she skated in her first event, the Philadelphia Areas Figure Skating Competition. She won. It was the first of many victories as she moved up the levels.

About five years ago, the 2023 U.S. champion said, it all came into focus. The Olympics could be a reality, and the 2026 Games in Milan and Cortina could be her Games.

With Italy in her sights, both of her programs this year were set to Italian music. The short is to a compilation of sassy songs from Sophia Loren movies. The free skate, or long program, is to “Cinema Paradiso” by Ennio Morricone.

In January, at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in St. Louis, that goal became a reality. She skated two clean programs with her signature beautiful footwork and spins and won the bronze medal.

“Isabeau Levito is the skater in the snow globe,” NBC commentator and 1998 Olympic gold medalist Tara Lipinski said on the Today show.

Two days after she competed at nationals, Levito was named to the Olympic team.

“The Olympics is [always] in the back of your mind,” Levito said last month. “Because, technically, everything gets you there — slowly. But the next stop is actually the Olympics. It’s insane.”

Not that she has any plans to retire after this season. Levito said she already is looking forward to the offseason, when she can work on some of the hardest jumps. This season was all about consistency and her best elements.

But as she grew up, these Olympics seemed like the Games to aim for. Her mother grew up in Milan. Her grandmother and other relatives still live there. She knew she would be 18 and would have a few years as a senior competitor under her belt.

Except for some minor bumps in the plans, including an injury that took her out for much of last season, Levito’s timeline worked out. All along the way, her elegant skating earned her medals at almost every important event leading up to this month’s Olympics.

Born in Philadelphia, Levito grew up in Mount Holly and now lives closer to the rink in Mount Laurel, which has been her second home for nearly her entire life.

She was named after Michelle Pfeiffer’s character in Ladyhawke, her mother’s favorite movie.

“As a young, young kid, I was like, ‘Why is this my name?’” Levito said. “I always have to explain it.”

The pronunciation is “ease-a-bow,” Levito said, but she’s fine with people calling her “izz-a-bow.”

She never had to move away from South Jersey to train (“We love Wawa” and she doesn’t love pumping gas, she told Team USA).

She has had the same coach — Yulia Kuznetsova — the whole time. She also works with Kuznetsova’s husband, Slava Kuznetsov, as well as Otar Japaridze, a former Georgian ice dancer, who competed in those 2010 Olympics that caught Levito’s attention. (Japaridze‘s partner was Allison Reed, who now skates with Saulius Ambrulevicius and finished sixth in ice dance, representing Lithuania.)

“I have a really, really good coaching team,” Levito said, “they kind of hit all the spots with me, and I’ve been working with them since the very beginning. I feel like they made me such a well-rounded skater.”

In 2018, at just 10, Levito won her first national championship, at the juvenile level. That’s the beginning of the competitive track, and most skaters are landing all double jumps and some triples.

The next year, she won silver in intermediate.

In 2020, she was one of the top two skaters in the eastern sectional at the novice level, so she was invited to skate in juniors at nationals. Most skaters who do that don’t place and need to change their programs midseason to accommodate different requirements. But Levito earned silver that year as well.

In 2021, she won junior.

After that, she competed as a senior. Her first year, she earned the bronze medal at nationals but, at 14, was too young to make the Olympic team. (That year, both of her 2026 Olympic teammates had to sit out nationals because they had COVID-19. Alysa Liu already was a two-time national champion, so she made the team anyway. Amber Glenn had been the silver medalist the year before, but she was not chosen.)

Instead, Levito was sent to the World Junior Championships — which she won.

Over the years, she won six Grand Prix series medals, including the silver at the Grand Prix Final in 2022 and the gold at the Grand Prix of France in 2023. She also was the 2024 World Figure Skating Championships silver medalist.

When she’s not on the ice, she’s decorating her apartment, reading, crocheting, bedazzling her makeup cases, and taking care of her cat.

She graduated from her online high school last year and wants to go to college. But after leaving traditional school in fourth grade, she’s had enough of online learning.

“I wouldn’t want to do [college] online,” Levito said last March. “I would want to go in person.”

But the run-up to the Olympics has been extra busy.

“I‘m aware that if I want to go to university next year, I need to do the SATs, the college admissions,” she said in December. “So it makes me think that maybe I might wait another year.”

But first comes her Olympic debut. There is talk that the U.S. women — who named themselves Blade Angels — could sweep the podium.

The three are good friends. In December, Liu called Levito “the wittiest person I ever met.”

Glenn is the three-time U.S. champion and 2024 Grand Prix Final champion. Along with her two national wins, Liu is the reigning world and Grand Prix Final champion.

But they’re not the only stars. The Japanese team includes three-time world champion and 2022 Olympic bronze medalist Kaori Sakamoto. Her two teammates also are serious contenders.

Another contender is Adeliia Petrosian, from Russia, who is the only woman competing who is likely to attempt quadruple jumps.

But Levito has her eye on the prize, which means enjoying the Olympics to the fullest.

“And obviously skating my best,” she said, “but I can already feel like I will. So that’s really what I’m really striving for.”

How to watch

Women’s short program: Tuesday, Groups 1 and 2, 12:45 p.m. on USA and Peacock. Groups 3, 4, and 5, 2:40 p.m. on NBC Sports Network (NBCSN) and Peacock. (Levito will skate in Group 4 or 5.)

Women’s free skate: Thursday, 1 p.m., on NBC and Peacock, 1:30 p.m. on USA.