The final event of the Olympic figure skating program wraps up Thursday, giving Alysa Liu, Isabeau Levito and Amber Glenn one more chance to get a medal.
WASHINGTON — The figure skating program at the Milan Cortina Olympics wraps up on Thursday, with the final medals awarded in the women’s competition.
Team USA’s “Blade Angels” will compete in the free skate, with Alysa Liu in third place after the short program. Amber Glenn and Isabeau Levito have some catching up to do in the free skate event after placing eighth and 13th, respectively.
Team USA has had a largely disappointing performance in figure skating at the Winter Olympics, despite sending one of its strongest teams ever. Thursday’s event is the last chance for the Americans to medal.
Figure skating: How to watch the women’s free skate
The free skate will determine the medals and takes place at 1 p.m. ET. Viewers around the world can watch on official broadcasters, including NBC and streaming on Peacock and NBC Olympics platforms.
NBC will air the free skate live at 1 p.m. ET and will re-air portions in the Primetime broadcast on Thursday night. USA Network will re-air the free skate at 2 p.m. ET Friday.
Ami Nakai and Japanese teammate Kaori Sakamoto upstaged Liu and the rest of the “Blade Angels” from the U.S. to take the lead after the short program in the women’s figure skating competition.
Nakai collected a career-best 78.71 points, and Sakamoto is right behind with 77.23 as she chases just about the only gold medal she has yet to win. Liu is third with 76.59.
Glenn has the hardest climb if she wants to medal after her short program performance. She skated to Madonna’s “Like a Prayer” and was the only American to do a triple axel in the program. Despite a strong start, she failed to complete an element, dropping her score to 13th overall.
Who are the Blade Angels?
There’s Amber Glenn, a 26-year-old powerhouse and LGBTQ+ rights activist whose career took off just when most figure skaters are contemplating retirement. The three-time and reigning U.S. champion’s unvarnished opinion on everything from politics to the trading card game “Magic: The Gathering” have made her a polarizing figure at the Milan Cortina Games.
Then there’s Alysa Liu, the one-time phenom who 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.
And there’s Isabeau Levito, 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.
They’ve dubbed themselves the “Blade Angels,” an homage to “Charlie’s Angels,” after rejecting such suggestions as “Powerpuff Girls” and “Babes of Glory,” which they worried might lead to some trademark issues. (As if they needed more of those in Milan.)
They are a new kind of role model for a new generation of American girls.
How does women’s figure skating work at the Winter Olympics?
In the women’s figure skating competition, skaters perform in the short program with mandatory technical elements and a free program where they have mandatory elements but more freedom in execution.
The programs are set to music chosen by the skaters themselves. The sum of the scores from each event determines the winner at the end of the free skate.