After the women's short program at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, Alysa Liu (USA) placed third with a score of 76.59, behind Japan's Ami Nakai (78.71) and Kaori Sakamoto (77.23). Japan's Mone Chiba and Russian neutral athlete Adeliia Petrosian round out the top contenders heading into the free skate final.
For the US, Amber Glenn sits 13th after an invalid element in her short program (a planned triple loop was downgraded to a double, earning zero points), and Isabeau Levito is 8th in her Olympic debut. Liu is considered the Americans' best medal hope.
Liu, 20, retired after the 2022 Beijing Olympics before returning to skating on her own terms — controlling her training environment, wardrobe, and schedule. She won the 2025 World Championship, becoming the first American world champion since 2006. Her coach and choreographer describe her as unusually calm under pressure.
Petrosian, 18, is competing as a neutral athlete because Russia remains banned from international competition following its invasion of Ukraine. She is the only contender capable of a quad jump, though her competitive scores come primarily from Russian domestic events. Sakamoto, 25, is likely competing in her final Olympics and trails Nakai by roughly one point.
