MILAN — The final day of the women’s figure skating competition at the 2026 Winter Olympics is here.
The Americans are coming off a short program day filled with mixed emotions for the ‘Blade Angels.’ Alysa Liu skated a beautiful program to put her in third position while Isabeau Levito’s clean routine has her in eighth, and Amber Glenn’s devastating struggles landed her in 13th.
Liu, who remains unapologetically herself, sits behind the Japanese pair of Ami Nakai and Kaori Sakamoto as she tries to become the first American woman to win an individual figure skating medal in 20 years.
‘A medal?’ Liu chuckled after her short program. ‘I don’t need a medal. I just need to be here, and I just need to be present. And I need people to see what I do next.’
USA TODAY Sports is at Milano Ice Skating Arena to bring you all the live updates, scores and highlights. Follow along.
Watch Olympics figure skating on Peacock
What time is figure skating on TV today?
The women’s free skate begins at 1 p.m. ET.
Figure skating TV schedule
NBC is broadcasting the women’s free skate, and Peacock is live streaming it.
When does Alysa Liu skate?
Liu will skate third to last, scheduled to take the ice at 4:32 p.m. ET.
Women’s figure skating standings
Here are standings entering the free skate. The top 24 skaters after the short program advanced to the final day of competition.
Ami Nakai (Japan): 78.71 short program score.
Kaori Sakamoto (Japan): 77.23 short program score.
Alysa Liu (USA): 76.59 short program score.
Mone Chiba (Japan): 67.39 short program score.
Adeliia Petrosian (Neutral Athlete): 72.89 short program score.
Anastasiia Gubanova (Georgia): 71.77 short program score.
Loena Hendrickx (Belgium): 70.93 short program score.
Isabeau Levito (USA): 70.84 short program score.
Haein Lee (Korea): 70.07 short program score.
Niina Petrokina (Estonia): 69.63 short program score.
Nina Pinzarrone (Belgium): 68.97 short program score.
Sofia Samodelkina (Kazakhstan): 68.47 short program score.
Amber Glenn (USA): 67.39 short program score.
Jia Shin (Korea): 65.66 short program score.
Iida Karhunen (Finland): 65.06 short program score.
Julia Sauter (Romania): 63.13 short program score.
Olga Mikutina (Austria): 61.72 short program score.
Lara Naki Gutmann (Italy): 61.56 short program score.
Ekaterina Kurakova (Poland): 60.14 short program score.
Ruiyang Zhang (China): 59.38 short program score.
Kimmy Repond (Switzerland): 59.20 short program score.
Mariia Seniuk (Israel): 58.61 short program score.
Livia Kaiser (Switzerland): 55.69 short program score.
Lorine Schild (France): 55.63 short program score.
How is figure skating scored?
A figure skating routine is made up of two scores: Technical elements score and program components score. The technical elements score is exactly what it sounds like: It’s for the jumps, spins and step sequences in a performance. The program components score is made of up composition, presentation and skating skills.
Figure skating Olympics winners list
Here is who has medaled in women’s singles figure skating over the last four decades.
2022: ROC’s Anna Shcherbakova (gold), ROC’s Aleksandra Trusova (silver), Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto (bronze)
2018: ROC’s Alina Zagitova (gold), ROC’s Yevgeniya Medvedeva (silver), Canada’s Kaetlyn Osmond (bronze)
2014: Russia’s Adelina Sotnikova (gold), Korea’s Yu-Na Kim (silver), Italy’s Carolina Kostner (bronze)
2010: Korea’s Yu-Na Kim (gold), Japan’s Mao Asada (silver), Canada’s Joannie Rochette (bronze)
2006: Japan’s Shizuka Arakawa (gold), USA’s Sasha Cohen (silver), Russia’s Irina Slutskaya (bronze)
2002: USA’s Sarah Hughes (gold), Russia’s Irina Slutskaya (silver), USA’s Michelle Kwan (bronze)
1998: USA’s Tara Lipinski (gold), USA’s Michelle Kwan (silver), China’s Chen Lu (bronze)
1994: Ukraine’s Oksana Baiul (gold), USA’s Nancy Kerrigan (silver), China’s Chen Lu (bronze)
1992: USA’s Kristi Yamaguchi (gold), Japan’s Midori Ito (silver), USA’s Nancy Kerrigan (bronze)
1988: East Germany’s Katarina Witt (gold), Canada’s Elizabeth Manley (silver), USA’s Debi Thomas (bronze)
1984: East Germany’s Katarina Witt (gold), USA’s Rosalynn Sumners (silver), USSR’s Kira Ivanova (bronze)
Blade Angels of USA figure skating
It’s time for the ‘Blade Angels’ of the United States of America to take the figure skating ice.
Some of the most popular Team USA athletes at the 2026 Winter Olympics − Amber Glenn, Alysa Liu and Isabeau Levito − opened their pursuit for individual gold with women’s short program on Tuesday, Feb. 17. Not only are they some of the best skaters in the world, but they have also captivated the nation for their pure appreciation and love for each other, which features plenty of fun and chaos sprinkled in.
So what exactly is the story of the ‘Blade Angels’? It’s a friendship that has been building for years, and is flourishing in the Olympic spotlight.
Amber Glenn, Alysa Liu on their friendship
USA TODAY Sports’ Jordan Mendoza spoke to Amber Glenn and Alysa Liu on the tight friendship they have formed. Here’s what they said.
What Liu said about Glenn: ‘She’s just such a big sister to me. The idea that we compete against each other, it’s so weird to me. I really just see her as one of my friends and truly one of my teammates. I don’t know, doing things with her is really fun.’
When Glenn said about Liu: ‘It’s been great to have someone that has such a positive outlook on skating and on her career around me. And then on the flip side, I have an extra pair of tights if she rips them and doesn’t have a backup, or I have the schedule ready because she doesn’t have it.’
Figure skating jump types
Toe jump: A skater drives the toe pick of their non-takeoff foot into the ice to launch themselves into the air and generate momentum into the jump.
Toe loop: A skater takes off backward and lands on the same back edge of their blade.
Lutz: A skater moving backward jumps off the back outside edge of their skate and uses the toe-pick of their other skate to catapult into the air in the opposite direction and lands on the back outside edge of the picking leg.
Flip: A skater launches off the back inside edge of one skate and lands on the back outside edge of the other skate.
Edge jump: A skater takes off not with their toe pick but off the edge of their skate.
Salchow: A skater launches off the back inside edge of one skate and lands on the back outside edge of their other skate.
Axel: The only forward-facing jump, a skater lands on the back outside edge of their non-takeoff foot while traveling backward. The axel is the hardest jump because of the extra half-revolution that comes with a forward takeoff and a backward landing.
Loop: The skater jumps off a back outside edge of their skate and lands on the same edge.
Facts about figure skating
Athleticism meets grace in figure skating, one of the most popular sports at the Winter Olympics. Whether skaters are performing gravity-defying jumps or experiencing a wide array of emotions in the designated ‘Kiss and Cry’ area, figure skating has captivated Olympic audiences across the world for more than a century. The 2026 Milano Cortina Games will be no different.
Here’s everything you need to know about figure skating and how it works at the 2026 Winter Olympics.