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MILAN – The Blade Angels are about to take off.

That’s it Trio’s official nickname Figure skaters Amber Glenn, Alisa Liu and Isabeau Levitt represented Team USA in the women’s individual competition. They voted on the name last month (it was Liu’s suggestion) and it was reintroduced to the world this week. on video The narration is done by none other than Taylor Swift.

Glenn, Liu and Levitt are widely considered to be the best American women’s athletes in recent decades. One or more of them could become the first U.S. women to win a medal in individual figure skating since 2006.

“I think it’s the first time in about four Olympic cycles that we’ve had three female athletes who can realistically be on the Olympic podium,” three-time national champion and 2014 Olympic medalist Ashley Wagner told NPR in January.

trio — who It may have been dubbed Barring copyright issues, “The Powerpuff Girls” and “Babes of Glory” have won an impressive number of awards. Glenn is the current three-time U.S. champion, Liu is the current world champion and Levit is the 2024 world silver medalist.

But what makes them even more noteworthy is their fierce friendship, which many see as a refreshing change from the dynamic of past Olympics.

“Something like that [Liu has] What I kept saying in press conferences and stuff was… ‘Why is it so shocking that we’re friendly, that we’re friends?’ They’re obviously a lot younger than me,” said Glenn, 26. “So they don’t know what the atmosphere was like before. It wasn’t all bad, but there was certainly some intensity.”

Liu is 20 years old, having returned to the sport after retiring as a teenager, and Levit is 18.

The three spoke of friendship as a source of comfort and normalcy in such a dangerous environment. The two have praised each other at every opportunity, including at a press conference at last month’s U.S. Figure Skating Championships.

“I love Ysabeau’s wit. I think everyone says that, but she’s truly the funniest person I’ve ever met,” Liu said. “And Amber… you have so much love and so much love to give. She just radiates that.”

Their support was expressed publicly on social media and in quiet moments. Liu, the penultimate skater of the night at the national competition, defied tradition. standing rink side He came to see Glenn take to the ice and showered him with hugs after he passed her and won the gold medal. The trio then reflected on their selection to the Olympic team and the dynamic they would bring to Italy.

“I know all three of us are competing against each other, but we’re all competing to run our programs the best we can,” Glenn said. “And no matter where it leads us, no matter what the judges do, it doesn’t matter to us. As long as we’re happy with what we’re doing, I think everyone’s going to be happy.”

Glenn and Liu were already gold medalists and helped lead the U.S. to victory in the team event, but disappointing podium finishes followed in the ice dance and men’s divisions that week. The women will compete Tuesday and Thursday for the final figure skating medal of the Olympics.

Who is Blade Angel?

Glenn is a three-time reigning U.S. champion and the first woman to hold that title since Michelle Kwan.

She is also a mental health and LGBTQ+ advocate. Glenn has been open about his struggles with eating disorders, anxiety and depression, including taking a break from skating nearly a decade ago to deal with a mental health crisis.

“I’ve been very open about the ups and downs that I’ve had in my career because I want people to know that it’s okay,” Glenn said last month.

The Texas native started skating at the age of 5, but didn’t win an international competition until she was 24. Two years later, I competed in my first Olympics.

Glenn’s artistic prowess and technical prowess (including a solid triple axel) make her both intimidating and entertaining on the ice. She wowed fans this season, especially with her short program “Like a Prayer,” which set a record score at the U.S. Championships. Her mantra is “Breathe and Believe.”

On the ice, Glenn is credited with helping transform the culture of women’s sports by fostering a culture of support and inclusivity, particularly as the first openly queer U.S. women’s champion.

“I saw the tension between athletes who were a little older than me and how that affected their relationships with their sport, with each other, and especially with themselves. That comparison really got out of hand,” Glenn told reporters in December. “And we just wanted to make sure we felt comfortable in the locker room.”

Younger members of Team USA say they are benefiting from the change.

“I feel like we’re all very intelligent and mature, and I think that’s also why we all get along so well in the locker room because we all understand that it’s not that deep,” Levitt said at the national convention. “And we’re all doing what we’re passionate about and what we love.”

Mr. Liu is an active force for change in this respect as well.

The California native burst onto the scene with her technical prowess at the age of 12 in 2018, becoming the youngest skater to land a triple axel in an international competition. The following year, she became the youngest U.S. women’s champion in history. She made her Olympic debut in Beijing in 2022, but then suddenly retired from competition at the age of 16, suffering from burnout from years of non-stop training.

Liu used her vacation time to do normal teenage things like getting a driver’s license, traveling, and registering for college classes. But on a ski trip in 2024, she remembered how much she loved the sport and didn’t hesitate to return to the links. But she returned in full force when she won the 2025 World Championship, becoming the first American woman to win since Kimmy Meisner in 2006.

“I definitely still stand by quitting. It was one of the best decisions I ever made,” Liu said in October. “And coming back was a really good decision as well.”

Liu returned to competition with a new love for the sport and a sense of self, giving him more control over things like costumes and music. She stays true to her own style, rocking smiley earrings and halo hair (“I want to be a tree. Every year I add a new ring”). And she said she has a newfound appreciation for competition as an opportunity to showcase her creative artistry.

“want [the audience] “I want people to see my hair, my dress, my makeup, the way I skate. I want people to see everything about me,” Liu, now 20, said at the start of the Olympics.

Levit, 18, is the youngest member of the team, but said he feels he’s gotten smarter after a foot injury forced him to sit out the 2024-2025 season.

“I started to appreciate every opportunity to skate,” she said.

She is known for her poise and grace on the ice, giving her the name “Tinkerbow” by some fans, and her sense of humor.

Levito, a New Jersey native whose mother is from Milan, made headlines this week for her passionate response to a question. interviewer questions On how much he’s enjoying himself in the Olympic Village: “You can’t kick me out.”

Who is their biggest rival?

Japan is the closest challenger to the United States in this Olympic link, and that will likely be the case in the women’s events as well. This rivalry is one of respect. Skaters from both countries highly value each other, and the successes of some Japanese skaters have become a hot topic. Wordless tribute to GlennSuccess in the 2024 competition.

Leading the Japanese trio is Kaori Sakamoto, who is looking to cap off her career with an Olympic gold medal. Sakamoto, 25, has said he will retire after this tournament, and chose the appropriate song “Time to Say Goodbye” for his short program.

The three-time world champion and three-time Olympian won a bronze medal in 2022 and helped Japan win a silver medal in this year’s team event.

She is also considered a “big sister” to her younger Olympic teammates, 2025 World Championship bronze medalist Momone Chiba and 2026 Four Continents Championship silver medalist Ami Nakai, both of whom are considered strong candidates for the podium.

But if these Olympic figure skating shows us anything, it’s to expect the unexpected. Potential wild cards include Russia’s Adelia Petrosyan, who will compete as a neutral player.

With Russia excluded from international competition due to the war in Ukraine, the three-time Russian champion only took to the ice outside her home country once, and that was in the qualifier that earned her a spot in Milan.

Petrosyan is coached by controversial and prolific women’s coach Eteri Tutberidze. His past charges include Russian skater Kamila Valieva, who was disqualified from the 2022 Olympics over a doping scandal.