South Jersey’s Isabeau Levito finishes 12th, fellow American Alysa Liu claims gold medal at Olympics
Levito, 18, was eighth after Tuesday’s nearly clean short program. Her fellow American Alysa Liu was the gold medalist while Japan's Kaori Sakamoto and Ami Nakai won silver and bronze, respectively.
MILAN, Italy — In her first Olympics, in her mother’s hometown and very close to where her grandmother still lives, South Jersey figure skater Isabeau Levito earned a score of 131.96 in the free skate, or long program on Thursday.
The 18-year-old wound up in eighth place in the short program after a score of 70.84 and 13th in the free skate. But scores, rather than placements are what count, so she wound up in 12th place with a 202.80.
In the end, her teammate, friend, and fellow Blade Angel, Alysa Liu, won her second Olympic gold, after helping win the team event last week.
Liu, 20, scored 150.20 to win the free skate. She was the only skater to have positive grades of execution on all elements. She was third in Tuesday’s short program.
Liu also is the reigning world champion.
Two Japanese skaters earned silver and bronze.
Kaori Sakamoto, the favorite entering the Olympics, earned the silver after winning bronze at the 2022 Games. She was second in both the short and free programs.
Ami Nakai, 17, who won the short program, was ninth in the free skate despite landing one of only two triple Axels on Thursday night. She had won the short program. She earned the bronze medal.
Levito entered the day in eighth place and was in sixth after that skate, with seven more skaters to go.
She had an uncharacteristic fall on her opening triple flip, which was supposed to be in combination, but skated with her usual elegant spins and footwork to “Cinema Paradiso” by Ennio Morricone, Italian music for the occasion. Levito was born in Philadelphia, grew up in Mount Holly, and now lives closer to where she trains, in Mount Laurel.
“I did my best” after the fall, Levito said in the mixed zone following her performance. “I just went on autopilot, and the rest went how it usually goes.”
Despite the fall and placement, Levito said she felt better at this competition than at the World Figure Skating Championships, U.S. Figure Skating Championships, or other competitions.
“Honestly, I felt like I had more energy,” she said. “And I don’t know if it’s because consciously I know I’m the Olympics, or if it’s the crowd. The crowd is very, very energetic and supportive here.”
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Levito skated in the second-to-last group (the free skate goes in reverse placement order from the short program). She wore a light blue, sparkly dress for the occasion.
After Tuesday’s nearly clean short program, many on social media felt that Levito had been underscored. Some felt that after the free skate as well.
She is the reigning U.S. bronze medalist and was the U.S. champion in 2023 and the world silver medalist in 2024 in women’s singles.
In the previous group, Levito’s fellow Blade Angel, Amber Glenn, skated a far better program than she had in the team event (where she was part of the gold-medal win) or Tuesday’s short program.
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She was third in the free skate and fifth overall after finishing 13th in an error-filled short program.
Glenn, the reigning and three-time U.S. champion, opened the free skate with her trademark triple Axel, landing it strongly, and knocked off element after element, only putting a hand down on her triple loop. She earned a season-best score of 147.52, for a total of 214.91.
Glenn gave Levito a standing ovation from the leader’s chair near the kiss-and-cry area.
Adeliia Petrosian, a Russian skater competing under a neutral flag, was seen as a potential medalist as well. She was the only woman to attempt a quadruple jump. She opened her free skate with the quad toe loop but fell on it. She wound up fifth in both the short and free skate and sixth overall.