SAN JOSE, Calif. – With a cool command that defies his age, Isabelle Levito Taken the U.S. women’s ice skating game at age 15.
Levito arrives as absolute favorite to claim her first national title, and she does so with seemingly effortless grace, her ballet-style performances in Thursday’s short program and Friday’s They have achieved solid victorious performances in the free skating competitions.
She was the last of 18 free skaters, followed by opponents who made mistakes big and small. Levito doesn’t need to be perfect, but her skating is close to perfect, even if some jumps could have been better.
Levito had no doubts about her sense of superiority, beaming broadly even before the score was announced.After narrow victory Brady Tannell (0.02 points) In the short program, Levito (223.33) leads runner-up Tannell (213.12) by 10.21 points in the final standings.
Amber Glenn Ranked third with 207.44. She, Levito and Tannell will fill out the three women’s spots on the U.S. team for the World Championships in Japan in March.
Figure Skating National Team: Full Score | Broadcast Schedule
Two of the three U.S. female skaters on the 2022 Olympic team have announced their retirement (Alisa Liu and maria bell; Karen Chen was a student at Cornell and may not return). Given that and Tannell’s recurring injury issues, Levito’s status as an American female star seems assured. It wasn’t obvious what the pressure she felt in taking that position was.
“My real goal with both projects was to stay calm, to suppress my nerves as much as possible, and not let little silly mistakes happen,” Levito said. “I feel like I did it today and I’m very proud of it.”
“I’m very good at suppressing my nerves,” she said after the short program. “I still feel the effects of the game. But I’ve found my own way to deal with it mentally.”
For Tennell and Glenn, there was a redeeming quality to their skating.
Neither had a result at last year’s Nationals. Glenn had to withdraw after testing positive for COVID after the short program. Tennell never played because a foot injury kept her out of action last season.
“Honestly, coming back here after last year’s season was pretty scary,” Glenn said. “It was a big mental hurdle for me, but I’m just happy that I’m actually able to enjoy myself again and enjoy the game.”
glen made her 10day Career Tri-Axis, walks out of touchdown after taking full rotation credit. She kept trying the jump, but she never landed cleanly, which is one of the reasons she kept her hips after the free skate. Glenn insisted it was just soreness.
“An unfortunate side effect of being 23 and doing these extreme (difficult) elements is that my body can’t always hold up well,” Glenn said.
Tennell, who turns 25 on Tuesday, had been battling an injury to her right foot for more than a year before her left started hurting again in October. She defied all odds to finish on the podium for the fifth time in the last five national races – two firsts, two second and one third.
“This one could be significant because I don’t think I’ll be able to do it again,” Tennell said. “Coming here and being successful, especially after my (bad) start to the season and the bumps I had to overcome, I’m very proud of what I’ve achieved.”
Reigning world junior champion Levito completed seven triple jumps, two of which were combined with other triple jumps. She slides seamlessly from one element to the next.
“I’m finally free skating the way I’ve been training,” she said.
Philip Hersh has covered figure skating at the past 12 Winter Olympics and is a staff writer for NBCSports.com.
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