Team USA’s “Blade Angels” will skate during the Winter Olympics short program on Tuesday. Here’s how and when to tune in.
MILAN, Italy — There are just a few more events left in the figure skating competition in the Milan Cortina Winter Games.
The spotlight shifts to Team USA’s “Blade Angels” trio on Tuesday as they skate in the women’s single short program. As Day 11 arrives, there’s also some big tricks in store for the snowboarding and freestyle skiing.
Who are the “Blade Angels”?
The American figure skating trio is comprised of Amber Glenn, Alysa Liu and Isabeau Levito.
Glenn is a 26-year-old powerhouse and LGBTQ+ rights activist whose career took off just as most figure skaters contemplate retirement. The three-time and reigning U.S. champion’s unvarnished opinion on everything from politics to the trading card game “Magic: The Gathering” has made her a polarizing figure at the Milan Cortina Games.
Alysa Liu retired at 16, only to launch a comeback that resulted in the first world title for an American woman in nearly two decades. Liu’s blond-and-brunette striped hair, prominent frenulum piercing and nonconformist aura have made the 20-year-old a hero of the alt, punk and emo crowd.
Isabeau Levito is perhaps the closest thing to the innocent image of teen predecessors like Tara Lipinski and Sarah Hughes, right up until you get the 18-year-old away from the cameras, and her searing wit and biting sarcasm shine through.
Together, they will also try to salvage what has been a largely disappointing Olympics for the American figure skating team.
Figure skating short program: How to watch Alysa Liu, Amber Glenn and Isabeau Levito
Glenn, Liu and Levito are American skating stars for a new era, with a tongue-in-cheek nickname that nods to “Charlie’s Angels.”
On Tuesday, the “Blade Angels” will face some tough rivals from Japan and Russia.
The women’s short program begins at 12:45 p.m. ET on Tuesday. Viewers around the world can watch on official broadcasters, including NBC and streaming on Peacock and NBC Olympics platforms.
The medals won’t be won on Tuesday, but medal hopes can be dashed in the short program.
Kaori Sakamoto of Japan, a three-time world champion, and her teammate, Ami Nakai, are poised to challenge the Americans. Then there’s Adeliia Petrosian, who has barely skated outside Russia but could shake up the whole competition. Competing as a neutral athlete, Petrosian has big jumps and a controversial coach, and seems to have shaken off injury concerns.
It might be easy to miss Petrosian. She skates second of 29 competitors, with the other main contenders at the end.
How to watch women’s snowboard slopestyle, men’s freestyle big air
It’s a big day for big tricks, with medals available in women’s snowboard slopestyle and men’s freestyle big air.
New Zealand snowboarder Zoi Sadowski-Synnott is going for a second Olympic gold in slopestyle. She is the reigning world champion and led qualifying on Sunday.
Her leading rival will likely be Kokomo Murase of Japan, who qualified second. Murase has already won a gold at the Milan Cortina Games after winning the big air final.
Mac Forehand of the United States had the best score of qualifying ahead of the big air final. Birk Ruud of Norway already has a gold from the Milan Cortina Games in ski slopestyle and is seeking a second in big air.
Speedskating
On the speedskating track, women’s and men’s team pursuit medal rounds are Tuesday. Three skaters from each country participate together, starting at opposite sides of the track.
The U.S. set the world record for men’s team pursuit in November and took home a bronze from the 2022 Beijing Games.
How to watch men’s hockey playoffs at Olympics
It’s time to win or go home in men’s hockey as the playoffs begin.
The U.S. and Canada already earned quarterfinal spots in group play, but not so for Sweden, which has a tricky extra game against Latvia to get through. Win and the reward is a meeting with the unbeaten American team in the last eight. Czechia and Denmark play for the right to face top-seeded Canada.
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