MILAN — Three American figure skaters — Amber Glenn, Alysa Liu and Isabeau Levito — took part Tuesday in what is perhaps the signature moment of every Winter Olympics, the women’s single skating event.
For one of them, it was a triumphant comeback. For another, a long-awaited arrival on the world stage. And for the third, a deeply disappointing performance.
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Liu is in third place after a stellar short program, scoring a 76.59. Levito, the youngest of the group, is in eighth place after her first skate of the Olympics.
Glenn, however, struggled and fell to 13th despite coming off a first-place finish at the U.S. Championships only last month.
Glenn, 26, is competing in her first Winter Games in Milan. She has been at her best during the last two figure skating seasons, with eight individual first-place finishes since 2024. She has also won the last three U.S. championships.
She nailed her triple axel jump on Tuesday, but stumbled later in the program when a planned triple loop turned into a double, earning her zero points. Glenn was in tears as she left the ice, knowing it would be an uphill climb for her to now medal.
“This is heartbreaking to watch,” NBC Sports’ Tara Lipinski said as Glenn walked off the ice.
Glenn’s performance was the latest in a string of difficult nights for Americans at the Milan Ice Skating Arena, coming on the heels of a controversial second-place finish for Madison Chock and Evan Bates and a stunning, mistake-filled free skate by Ilia Malinin.
Liu, on the other hand, was the best American performer of the night — and will be in medal position for Thursday’s free skate.
“It felt great,” Liu, 20, said of her first individual skate of the Milan Olympics. She earlier participated in the team event, helping the U.S. win gold.
Liu previously competed in Beijing in 2022 but retired from the sport shortly after. She returned to competition in October 2024, and has been a formidable competitor during her second act. Liu won the individual event at both the 2025 World Championships and the most recent Grand Prix final in December.
Liu added Tuesday that having her family in the stands made her performance more exciting, something she didn’t get to experience at the last Games.
“I am really happy about how I skated,” Liu said. “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.”
When asked if she could overcome the Japanese skaters in first and second place, Liu said: “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.”
Levito, 18, is the up-and-comer of the group. While she has often finished behind Glenn and Liu, she did win first place at the Cranberry Cup International in August 2025, which featured multiple Olympic competitors.
“I guess I can now call myself an Olympian,” Levito told NBC News following her short program. “I felt very good out there. I feel very well trained, so I was able to enjoy the moment.”
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