Why This Is America’s Best Figure Skating Team at the Olympics in Over 20 Years

In this episode of Sportly, host Kavitha Davidson sits down with figure skating expert Jackie Wong to break down the unprecedented comeback story that has the skating world buzzing. For the first time in 24 years, Team USA is sending three legitimate Olympic medal contenders to compete in women's figure skating at the Milano Cortina Olympics. Meet the Triple Threat: Amber Glenn (26) - Three-time consecutive US Champion, landing triple axels with remarkable consistency Alyssa Liu (20) - Youngest US National Champion in history who came out of retirement to win the 2025 World Championship Isabel Levito (18) - Rising star with a personal connection to Milan, where her mother is from It's been 28 years since an American woman won Olympic gold in figure skating (Tara Lipinski, 1998). Sarah Hughes won in 2002. It's been 20 years since the US won a medal in the individual women's event (Sasha Cohen, silver, 2006). But 2026 might finally be the year that drought ends. In this episode: Figure skating analyst Jackie Wong explains why the Russian ban changed the competitive landscape, how the triple axel provides a massive scoring advantage, Alyssa Liu's remarkable comeback story, the US vs Japan rivalry, why Ilia Malinin is potentially the best American men's skater in two generations, and why this is the first Olympics in 24 years where Team USA has sent three women with legitimate podium potential. Connect with Jackie Wong: rockerskating.com | @RockerSkating Host: Kavitha A. Davison | Producer: Paroma Chakravarty I Executive Producer: Saadia Khan | Fact Checking and Research: Paroma Chakravarty I Sound Designer & Editor: Paroma Chakravarty I Sportly Theme Music: Simon Hutchinson | Other Music: Epidemic Sound | Cover Art Graphic Designer: Sarah DiMichele Want to go deeper into your own identity? Download Belong on Your Own Terms, the app helping first-gen, second-gen, and third-culture kids reclaim belonging on their own terms.  link below ⁠http://studio.com/saadia⁠ Join us in creating new intellectual engagement for our audience. You can get more information at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://immigrantlypod.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Please share the love and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify to help more people find us!  Remember to subscribe to our ⁠Apple podcast ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠channel⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠for insightful podcasts.  You can reach the host, Kavitha, at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow us on TikTok @immigrantly  Sportly is an Immigrantly Media Production For advertising inquiries, you can contact us at [email protected] Keywords: Figure skating, Olympics 2026, Milano Cortina, Amber Glenn, Alyssa Liu, Isabel Levito, triple axel, Ilia Malinin, Team USA, Jackie Wong, Rocker Skating, women's figure skating, Olympic medals, world championships Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices