'blade Angels' Stay Calm Amid Olympic Chaos While Trying To End U.s. Medal Drought

MILAN — After a one-hour on-ice training convention and connected nan measurement to yet different interview, Isabeau Levito has 1 large problem connected her mind.

One of nan plants successful nan U.S. fig skater’s room has started increasing mold. She needs to fig retired really to wrangle it.

“That’s our task of nan day,” Levito said Monday.

Nevermind that nan biggest title of her life was starting successful astir 24 hours.

Isabeau Levito competes during nan free skating title astatine nan U.S. fig skating championships connected Jan. 9 successful St. Louis.

(Jeff Roberson / Associated Press)

Levito and nan United States’ “Blade Angels” are trying to enactment calm nether unit astatine nan Olympics, wherever chaos has reigned astatine Milano Ice Skating Arena.

The United States was expected to predominate fig skating successful Milan, but person yet to triumph a golden badge successful an individual arena entering Tuesday’s women’s short program. A expected sure-fire golden badge vanished successful stunning manner pinch Ilia Malinin’s eighth-place collapse. Three-time reigning world crystal creation champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates settled for a “bittersweet” metallic that was marred by judging controversies.

But nan talent and extent connected what is apt nan champion U.S. women’s Olympic squad successful decades could thief extremity a 20-year Olympic badge drought successful women’s singles skating. The past U.S. female to guidelines connected an Olympic podium for an individual arena was Sasha Cohen successful 2006. Sarah Hughes’ 2002 golden badge was nan past for nan United States successful women’s singles.

Alysa Liu has already ended 1 skid. The reigning world champion was nan first U.S. female to triumph nan world title since 2006. With blonde horizontal stripes dyed into her achromatic hairsbreadth and a piercing successful her precocious lip, nan 20-year-old Liu is putting an replacement rotation connected fig skating.

Three-time nationalist champion Amber Glenn combines powerfulness successful her triple axel pinch emotion connected nan ice.

Levito, nan 2024 world metallic medalist, is nan classical balletic skater who packs a humorous punch down her teenage smile.

In a athletics that erstwhile pitted young women against each different to fresh a singular “ice princess” mold, nan “Blade Angels” find their spot successful their diversity.

“I really for illustration that we’re each truthful different,” Levito said. “We person our ain strengths and our ain personalities and our ain ways we want to look and appear. … We each person nan aforesaid passion for nan athletics and person very aligned goals of wanting to do our best, and erstwhile we do that, we’re each happy, sloppy of who hit who.”

NBC announcing squad Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir dubbed nan trio of badge contenders “the large three,” but nan skaters workshopped their ain nickname aft nationals. They nixed “Babes of Glory” and “Powerpuff Girls” for copyright concerns. Their last prime was a mashup of “Blades of Glory” and “Charlie’s Angels.” If you for illustration it, in installments Liu.

“If group don’t for illustration it,” Liu said, “don’t opportunity I made it.”

Liu and Glenn person already won a golden badge successful Milan, helping nan United States triumph nan squad arena successful melodramatic fashion. But pinch nan 2 events spaced much than 1 week apart, “being successful a high-pressure ambiance for truthful agelong takes its toll,” Glenn said.

The 26-year-old has faced further challenges connected societal media astatine nan Games. She had to resolve imaginable copyright issues concerning her free skate euphony and received threats for comments she made during a news convention erstwhile asked astir President Trump’s policies regarding nan LGBTQ+ community. Glenn, who identifies arsenic bisexual and pansexual, encouraged group successful nan queer organization to “stay beardown during these difficult times,” refusing to debar governmental conversations because “politics impact america all.”

American Amber Glenn competes during nan squad skate astatine nan Winter Olympics successful Milan connected Feb. 8.

(Natacha Pisarenko / Associated Press)

While she said Monday she doesn’t regret nan comments, she has besides had to return a break from societal media to attraction connected her remaining competitions astatine nan Olympics.

“I’m happy to do what I do and guidelines for what I guidelines for,” Glenn said. “But it has been —”

She paused.

“Complicated.”

Not only are nan Olympic Games nan largest shape for galore sports and a dream that originates from childhood, but nan spotlight has only accrued pinch societal media successful caller years, Glenn said. Amid nan pressure, she tries to thin connected her teammates and embody nan proposal of U.S. fig skating alumni who show her simply “enjoy it.”

“Four years ago, I could ne'er person imagined moreover making it here,” Glenn said. “To conscionable beryllium present is simply a privilege that I don’t return lightly, and I request to punctual myself of that and to conscionable really soak successful nan experience, not conscionable nan results.”

Isabeau Levito skates during nan U.S. fig skating championships connected Jan. 11 successful St. Louis.

(Jeff Roberson / Associated Press)

To reset aft nan squad competition, nan “Angels” went pinch nan pairs skaters — whose title started 1 week aft nan squad arena wrapped — to train astatine a U.S. installation successful Bergamo, astir a 50-minute thrust extracurricular of Milan. The training sessions are longer than what’s disposable astatine nan title venue, said Levito, who only took 2 training sessions successful Milan earlier Tuesday’s short program.

The past U.S. fig skater to return Olympic ice, Levito has passed her clip astatine nan Games successful nan Olympic village. After making nan Olympic team, nan New Jersey autochthonal was astir excited astir nan village. To her, it was going to beryllium for illustration “a magic kingdom,” she said earlier nan Games.

It’s lived up to each expectation. She walks by nan Olympic rings each morning. She and her teammates lounged successful beforehand of nan TV watching nan pairs title Sunday and Glenn ordered ramen. Levito and U.S. crystal dancer Christina Carreira named nan adopted plants successful their shared room Christabeau and Isatina. Levito is loving nan acquisition truthful overmuch that she won’t moreover harp connected nan truth that she concisely battled nutrient poisoning.

She felt “horrible” disconnected nan ice, but it didn’t impact her training.

“When I was skating,” Levito said, “I flipped a move successful my head.”

She’ll request to move it again Tuesday.