South Jersey figure skater Isabeau Levito is in eighth place after the women’s short program at the Winter Olympics

MILAN, Italy — South Jersey figure skater Isabeau Levito, 18, landed in eighth place in Tuesday’s short program at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Competing in her mother’s hometown, just minutes from where her grandmother still lives, Levito, who lives and trains in Mount Laurel, started her short program a little tight but landed all of her elements.

“I feel very good,” Levito told NBC after she skated. “I feel like I skated with the elegance I wanted to skate with. And I’m very glad my Olympic debut looked like that. I feel very confident and just very happy with myself right now.”

She did not address the writing media.

Levito is the reigning U.S. bronze medalist. She was the U.S. champion in 2023 and the world silver medalist in 2024 in women’s singles.

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Levito’s program, to a compilation of sassy songs from Sophia Loren movies, opened with a triple flip-triple toe loop combination. Then she moved on to a double Axel and a flying camel, which got a Level 4, the highest. Her first three elements got positive grades of execution.

Next came her triple loop, which was judged to be a quarter-rotation short. Five of the nine judges gave her a minus-1 grade of execution and one gave her a minus-2.

The second half of Levito’s program included a step sequence, which was called at a Level 3 rather than the Level 4 she usually has received.

She then skated combination spin that received a Level 4 and grades of execution up to plus-5, the highest available. She wrapped up with a layback spin into a Biellmann that received a Level 4 and plus-3 and plus-4 grades of execution.

Her score was a 70.84, nearly three points lower than her season’s best, which she skated at the Grand Prix of France.

However, Levito’s program components (or artistic mark) was the fourth-highest of the night. Only Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto and Mone Chibe and American Alysa Liu placed higher.

Many on social media thought Levito was underscored.

On the technical side, Levito was not alone in the small mistakes. Most of the women had some rotation issues, although most skated fairly clean.

Japan’s Ami Nakai, the youngest skater in the competition at age 17 (which now is the youngest age allowed in international figure skating at the senior level), won the short program. She opened with a clean triple Axel, and she received positive grades of execution on all of her elements, making her the only woman with a clean score sheet. Her step sequence and spins received Level 4 grades of execution. She earned a season-best 78.71.

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Sakamoto has been the sentimental favorite this year after placing third in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing (and notably being the only happy one on the medal stand, after much drama with the Russian women over doping allegations and placements). Sakamoto also has won the World Championships three times after being displaced last year by Liu. She helped lead Japan to a silver medal in the Olympic team event for the second time in a row last week.

Sakamoto has said this will be her last year competing, and her short program is to “Time To Say Goodbye,” by Sarah Brightman and Andrea Bocelli.

She received an exclamation mark on her opening triple Lutz, meaning it was not clear whether she took off on the required outside edge or had shifted to an inside edge. Her triple flip-triple toe loop combination also was called a quarter of a rotation short.

She is less than a point behind Nakai, earning 77.23 for her short program.

The highest-placing American woman of the night was Liu, who wound up in third place. She repeated last year’s winning short program, to “Promise,” by Laufey. After she skated, she said she was unconcerned with placements but was more excited to have people see her work and to have her siblings and friends in the audience, most of whom had never seen her compete.

Liu received all positive grades of execution, mostly plus-3 to plus-5, except for her triple Lutz-triple loop combination (a particularly difficult one, therefore worth more points), which was called a quarter short. Her score was 76.59.

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Amber Glenn, the three-time U.S. champion, started her program (to Madonna’s “Like a Prayer”) strong with a triple Axel that received up to plus-3 grades of execution. (She and Nakai were the only women of the night to attempt the jump.)

Her triple flip-triple toe loop combination was called a quarter short. But she made a big mistake in the middle of the program when she doubled her intended triple loop. A solo triple jump is a required element in the short program, so the double loop received no points. She finished strong with a Level 4 step sequence and two Level 4 spins, but Liu, watching on a monitor in the mixed zone, wondered if Glenn had changed the program on the fly after a mistake.

Glenn’s score was 67.39, well below her season’s best of 75.72, and she was in 13th after the short program.

The short program also included the return of two Russian women, skating under a neutral flag. Viktoriia Safonova was the first to skate and was not among the top 24 (of 29) skaters who qualified for Thursday’s free skate.

The other Russian woman, Adeliia Petrosian, skated second and has been considered a medal contender. She scored a strong 72.89, which would not be topped until the 18th skater performed. That was by Nakai, the eventual winner.

Levito, Liu, and Glenn call themselves the Blade Angels, modeled somewhat on women’s Olympic gymnastics teams, which give themselves names, and somewhat on Charlie’s Angels.

Liu and Glenn shared in last week’s Olympic gold medal in the team event. Only up to two skaters from each team could be chosen for the women’s section. Levito, who has said she has flown somewhat under the radar since suffering an injury last year and missing part of the season (but came back to place fourth at the world championships in Boston), was not selected to compete. Only those who skate share in the medal.