Who is Isabeau Levito, 2024 World Figure Skating silver medalist?

South Jersey figure skater Isabeau Levito, 17, has one of America’s best chances for a medal at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy. Those Games are two years away, but she has been making a case for herself competition by competition.

Though this season has had more ups and downs than Levito usually experiences, she capped it with a silver medal at the 2024 World Figure Skating Championships on March 22 in Montreal.

“It’s just all building blocks,” Levito said in the press conference following the Worlds medal ceremony. “I feel like it’s just I’m picking up more achievements on my way to the Olympics … learning more experiences and becoming wiser and so that I can be the best that I can be by the time of the Olympics.”

Levito had a stellar path to becoming a senior competitor, winning the juvenile competition at the U.S. Championships in 2018 and getting the silver medal in intermediate in 2019. In 2020, she won the Eastern Sectional Singles Final in novice, which meant she could skip ahead to compete as a junior at Nationals. There, she placed second and followed it up in 2021 with as the junior U.S. champion.

After that, she burst onto the scene as a senior in 2021-22, winning gold at the Junior Grand Prix competition in France and the silver medal at another Junior Grand Prix in Austria. She followed that up with a bronze medal at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, but at 14 was too young to qualify for the 2022 Winter Olympics team. However, she won the World Junior Figure Skating Championships in 2022 (which goes by age rather than by competitive level).

Levito had a great season in 2022-23, becoming the 2023 U.S. figure skating champion. She also placed second at the 2022-23 Grand Prix Final in Italy and was part of the team that won the World Team Trophy in Japan. She also was named the International Skating Union’s best newcomer.

» READ MORE: South Jersey’s Isabeau Levito earns silver medal at the World Figure Skating Championships

This season, 2023-24, she placed second at Skate America, a grand prix event, and then won the Grand Prix de France in Angers, becoming the first American woman to win a Grand Prix competition in seven years. But she faltered in the short program at the Grand Prix Final, and, despite rallying in the free skate (or long program), she finished fifth.

Before the 2024 U.S. championships, Levito said she already was extremely nervous about losing her title. She pulled out a first place in the short program but then fell three times in the free skate and settled for bronze.

She wrapped up the season on a high note in Montreal, though. Levito’s silver medal was the best by a U.S. woman at the World Championships since Ashley Wagner in 2016.

Levito is a very balletic skater with beautiful footwork and spins.

“That was like light, fluffy whipped cream,” said commentator and 1998 Olympic champion Tara Lipinski after Levito performed her gold medal-winning free skate at the 2023 U.S. Figure Skating Championships.

Levito is 5 feet, 2 inches.

Born in Philadelphia, Levito lives in Mount Holly and trains at the Igloo Ice Rink in Mount Laurel.

Levito’s primary coach is Yulia Kuznetsova, who started teaching her when she was 3. She also has lessons with Kuznetsova’s husband, Slava Kuznetsov. The couple is from Russia but has been living in the United States for years.

The rest of her coaching team includes Otar Japaridze, who is from Georgia and competed in ice dancing in the 2010 Olympics with Allison Reed (who competed at the 2024 worlds for Lithuania, with another partner). She also works with Zhanna Palagina.

Kuznetsova choreographs Levito’s programs.

» READ MORE: Competitors are not always rivals. Just ask the top American women’s figure skaters, Isabeau Levito and Amber Glenn.

Levito enjoys crocheting and reading, “and then I love my 10 hours of sleep,” she said.

She lives with her mother, Chiara Garberi, and their four cats.

Levito’s grandmother — Garberi’s mother — lives in Torino, Italy, where the 2026 Winter Olympics will be held.

Michelle Pfeiffer played a character named Isabeau in Ladyhawke, Garberi Levito’s favorite movie.

Levito started in public school but in order to train and compete, she needed a flexible schedule and started online school in fourth grade.

She is in high school, taking honors and AP classes at well as honors courses with International VLA.

» READ MORE: Young Olympic-level athletes are heading back to school. Here’s how they balance homework, sports, and life.

Stars on Ice, the popular skating tour, has been canceled in the United States this year. But Levito will be skating in Stars on Ice Japan.

She also likely will take a vacation. But training starts back up during the summer so she can break in new skates and get new programs for next season.