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MILAN — Figure skating at these Winter Olympics has been full of dramatic twists. And Tuesday, the first night of the women's competition, was no different: The U.S. women all qualified for Thursday's medal event. But they are considerably farther behind than expected.
The "Blade Angels," as they have been dubbed, began Tuesday night's short program as the nation's best hope at an individual medal in this event in two decades. But only two of them finished in the top 10.
That ups the pressure heading into Thursday's free skate, which makes up the other half of their overall score.
Reigning world champion Alysa Liu stands in third place, behind Ami Nakai and Kaori Sakamoto of Japan.
Towards the very end of the night, Liu, 20, skated a powerful routine to Laufey's "Promise" that earned her a season-best score and moved her toward the top of the leaderboard.
She was followed by Isabeau Levito, 18, whose elegant routine to "Almost In Your Arms, Zou Bisou Bisou" landed her in fifth place, with a few skaters left to go. She ultimately finished the night in eighth place.
The penultimate skater was Amber Glenn, the three-time reigning U.S. champion, making her Olympic debut at age 26.
Glenn kicked off her program — set to Madonna's "Like a Prayer" — with a clean triple axel, a rare feat for women at the Olympics. The rest of her routine was strong until the very last jump, which she landed as a double rather than the required triple, docking her otherwise strong score.
She left the ice in tears, and put her head in her hands after receiving a score of 67.39, as a hush briefly came over the packed crowd. Glenn, one of the medal favorites in the entire women's field, finished the night in 13th place.
Liu was talking to reporters below the rink as Glenn took the ice, with her routine — and reaction — visible on a TV screen. Liu seemed concerned for her teammate and friend.
"She's gone through so much and she works so freaking hard … I just want her to be happy," Liu said of Glenn. "Like, that's genuinely all I want. And so I'll be seeing her later."
Glenn has been an outspoken advocate for mental health, publicly sharing about her struggles with anxiety and depression throughout her career. She did not take questions from the press at the end of the night.
The bulk of U.S. skating fans' hopes for a women's medal now rest with Liu. It's an ironic twist for the skater who retired as a teenager, then returned with renewed emphasis on creativity over competition.
After her performance on Tuesday, Liu spoke excitedly of her hopes of being invited to perform at the Olympic exhibition gala this weekend, teasing a "really cool gala program" she's been working on that's "basically done."
"I don't need a medal," she said. "I just need to be here, and I just need to be present. And I need people to see what I do next."
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