U.S. Women Falter in Olympic Short Program as Liu Keeps Medal Hope
Alysa Liu sits in medal contention after the short program while teammates Amber Glenn and Isabeau Levito trail, leaving U.S. hopes on Thursday's free skate.
Overview
All three U.S. women qualified for Thursday's medal event, with Alysa Liu placing third after landing a triple Lutz-triple loop that put her in contention for an individual medal.
The short program's results matter because the free skate on Thursday will decide medals and Kristi Yamaguchi said it is "imperative" to have a clean short program.
Kristi Yamaguchi said missing one element is "so detrimental," teammates praised each other and the trio appeared in a video narrated by Taylor Swift while showing public support.
Amber Glenn scored 67.39 and finished 13th, about 9.2 points off third; Isabeau Levito was eighth and 5.75 points behind bronze; Liu sat roughly two points behind leader Ami Nakai.
The free skate on Thursday will determine the medals, leaving U.S. hopes primarily on Liu while Glenn and Levito must rely on errors by others to climb onto the podium.
Analysis
Center-leaning sources frame U.S. women's skating as both struggling competitively and compelling off-ice personalities, using evaluative language ("falters," "salvage"), selective emphasis on American backstories and activism, and vivid anecdotal detail. Quotes (e.g., Liu, Glenn) remain source content; editorial choice highlights comeback/mental-health narratives over broader international context.
Sources (6)
FAQ
Amber Glenn popped her planned triple loop, completing only a double loop instead, which earned her zero points as an invalid element.[1] This significant error during her final jumping pass caused her score of 67.39 to place her 13th overall, approximately 9.2 points behind third place and well outside medal contention despite entering as a favorite for the podium.[3]
Liu, a 20-year-old from Oakland, is the reigning world champion who retired four years ago and made a comeback roughly 2.5 years before the Olympics.[5] Her stellar short program score of 76.59 placed her third overall, just two points behind the leader, keeping U.S. medal hopes alive.[1] Liu has stated she skates to show her art rather than compete for results, bringing a carefree confidence to her performance that resonates with audiences.[1]
The short program results set the foundation for Thursday's free skate, with Alysa Liu sitting in medal contention in third place while her teammates Isabeau Levito (eighth, 5.75 points behind bronze) and Amber Glenn (13th, 9.2 points back) are far from the podium.[3] The free skate will determine the final medals, leaving U.S. medal hopes primarily dependent on Liu's performance, while Glenn and Levito must rely on errors from competitors ahead of them to climb onto the podium.[3]
Amber Glenn, 26 years old, is the first out LGBTQ woman to skate at an Olympic Games and is also the oldest U.S. women's singles skater to compete in an Olympics in 98 years.[1] She has already earned one gold medal from the team event on the opening weekend of the Winter Games, alongside Liu who also won team gold.[1]
A U.S. women's individual medal would end a 20-year Olympic medal drought in women's singles competition, with the last U.S. woman to win an Olympic medal being Sasha Cohen in 2006.[3] This makes Liu's third-place finish particularly important as she has the best chance to break this extended drought in Thursday's free skate.[3]
History
3 sources