2026 US Nationals Women's FS "Liu Monsters go Gaga"

[Garden Kitty]

What?? Jackie Joyner-Kersee??? I was not expecting that!! An absolute icon.

She's from East St Louis, Illinois and has a kids Foundation in the area. Wikipedia also says she's been inducted into the St Louis Walk of Fame

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

Oh wow I have to go check was the triple axel under? On the replay it looks fine just with a stiff landing.

 

[Karen-W]

Oh wow I have to go check was the triple axel under? On the replay it looks fine just with a stiff landing.

Tech panel marked it q - looked suspect to me in real time; and the 3lo at the end was given a <.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

Oh yeah, it was Mark Q and then the loop was under, wow if the triple axel have been like it usually is she would’ve been near 154.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

OK, so Amber 100% in for the team event, at least one event, if not both. So I will say they are splitting this for sure.

 

[Matryeshka]

Ooo, Amber skating around with the Pride flag, and it's on the Jumbotron!

I don't know if this is the strongest team we've ever sent to the Olympics. It's definitely the most interesting with the most personality and one of the strongest. I just hope one of them squeaks onto the Oly podium. I watched some youtubes of the Russ...err...Individual Neutral Athletes Adeliia Petrosian and I was Not Impressed, but who knows what the judges will do with her.

 

[tangerine dream]

So now we go from the high of women where the top six were fantastic to pairs where I'm pretty sure no one was happy with how they skated.

 

[Jammers]

OK, so Amber 100% in for the team event, at least one event, if not both. So I will say they are splitting this for sure.

Alysa should not get hosed one again for the team event.

 

[tangerine dream]

OK, so Amber 100% in for the team event, at least one event, if not both. So I will say they are splitting this for sure.

I wouldn't be so sure just yet. Mariah Bell won nats in 2022 and got passed over for Karen Chen in the team event. I hope they split it between Alysa and Amber.

 

[Matryeshka]

Timothy LeDuc's shirt looks like eyeballs and it's freaking me out.

 

[Karen-W]

OK, so Amber 100% in for the team event, at least one event, if not both. So I will say they are splitting this for sure.

There is no way that Amber is doing both segments of the TE. She will be lucky if she gets one segment and it'll depend on whether Ilia wants to do both segments for the Men, I think.

Alysa should not get hosed one again for the team event.

Well, I don't know that she was hosed in Beijing given what we know of how the USFS decides who gets the TE assignment plus the CCP spy issues that were going on in the background which weren't public knowledge at the time.

 

[Jammers]

I can't remember the last time the top 5 Ladies coming into Nationals skated so well. All of them basically clean and barely a two footed jump to be seen. They were at another level for sure.

 

[skatfan]

This might be the strongest Ladies team the US has ever sent to the Olympics.

They are very very good. But unless they win the gold and one other medal, they won’t equal:

1992: Yamaguchi, Kerrigan and Harding
1998: Kwan, Lipinski, Bobek
2002: Kwan, Cohen and Hughes

 

[Jammers]

They are very very good. But unless they win the gold and one other medal, they won’t equal:

1992: Yamaguchi, Kerrigan and Harding
1998: Kwan, Lipinski, Bobek
2002: Kwan, Cohen and Hughes

The competition is way tougher now then in 1998 when it was a two woman race with Michelle and Tara and no one else.

 

[kwanette]

What a night! Not going to lie..I cried my way through Isabeau's program..It touched my heart! Congrats to all

 

[skatfan]

The competition is way tougher now then in 1998 when it was a two woman race with Michelle and Tara and no one else.

The point is that the strength of a team is always in relationship to those they compete against. Can’t look at it in isolation.

I’ll agree that these women are the best team we’ve sent in 20 years. But before that we had a whole podium of US women at Worlds in 1991, when Midori Ito was competing!

 

[Simone411]

Well, it's been a long time coming. It's been quite a few years since I've seen that kind of love and sportsmanship for one another. I'm so proud to see Bradie skate so well and with pizzaz after all the injuries she had in the past. Im so proud of Isabeau who skates like a ballerina and has the technical ability to land all those jumps! I'm so proud of Alysa with her new Ga Ga program and sporting that far out hair! You go girl! I'm so proud of Amber who kept it all together and showed us what skating is really all about!! I know that her grandmother was with her tonight.

For those of you that are my friends on FB, you've seen my Clippy cover photo. I'm now gonna have to add Isabeau's name as one of my favorite skaters. I already have Michelle, Amber, Alysa and Jason, and it won't hurt to add one more.

I really enjoyed watching tonight, and I believe that the USA has a winning team! It was awesome, y'all!

 

[skatfan]

I was most engaged with isabeau’s program - really stunning! Ambers win was deserved. And how Alysa skates a clean free with a brand new program is amazing!

Alysa’s program needs a lot of reps - skip 4Ccs and train instead. She got some score gifts on the PCS - they won’t be there in Milan.

 

[barbk]

I don’t want to admit it, but it’s true, when the wild child was on, she was brilliant, but when she was off, girl…

Yeah, but Bobek was a world bronze medalist, Kwan & Lipinski both were world champions. Liu is a world champion, Levito won a world silver medal...and Amber has not won a world medal. I'd also say that, at least until this year, Amber has definitely had her off moments.

 

[BaileyCatts]

Did someone say Tenley was 90 years old? That woman moves quicker and more agile than I do!!

 

[Coco]

This team reminds me most of 1988. Debi, a World champion: Jill, a National champion with the most difficult element, and Caryn, who was the best of the 3 when she was on.

Also, a kickass pewter medalist, Jeri Campbell.

 

[RoseAugust]

What a night! Not going to lie..I cried my way through Isabeau's program..It touched my heart! Congrats to all

Same. Even though I was sitting way up high, Isabeau's skating totally moved me. I was transfixed. She was the highlight for me. By far.

 

[once_upon]

Maybe if I saw Isabeau skating live, I'd feel differently but it just did not speak all the feels to me.

I think we have a very strong team.

 

[ilovesalchows]

I enjoyed seeing Isabeau’s personality off the ice. Her packaging and programs have always been a little twee so I wasn’t expecting her to be so spunky.

 

[mtnskater]

In the arena, Isabeau had the free skate of the night for me. Absolutely gorgeous and sublime. She just floated weaving in and out with such beautiful lines and positions. The kind of skating I live for. Can’t wait to watch it again, though seeing it live will be a cherished skating memory for me. I haven’t seen her this “on” since her World Silver Medal.

Great job by both Amber and Alysa. Amber and Alysa kind of ran out of gas, but still great performances under the lights and the extreme pressure. Sure wish the top three could all do the team event

And what a joy to see Bradie skate that well! She has to be so happy!

Also excited about Sherry Zhang and Emilia Nemerovsky who show much promise, as does Sophie.

 

[bardtoob]

They are very very good. But unless they win the gold and one other medal, they won’t equal:

1992: Yamaguchi, Kerrigan and Harding
1998: Kwan, Lipinski, Bobek
2002: Kwan, Cohen and Hughes

1956: Albright, Heiss, Machado (Note: Machado was 3rd in the FS)
1960: Heiss, Roles, Owen

 

[Kasey]

Isabeau has great skating skills but is way too Twee for my liking

 

[Cachoo]

They are very very good. But unless they win the gold and one other medal, they won’t equal:

1992: Yamaguchi, Kerrigan and Harding
1998: Kwan, Lipinski, Bobek
2002: Kwan, Cohen and Hughes

Love our team and also remember that Team Japan and Russia is sending some strong competition. I think there are other outliers too. It will be a joy to watch. I'll be on pins and needles. Best wishes to all.

 

[Coco]

Love our team and also remember that Team Japan and Russia is sending some strong competition. I think there are other outliers too. It will be a joy to watch. I'll be on pins and needles. Best wishes to all.

Seriously! We could have a medalist from the penultimate FS group. Such a deep field.

 

[skatfan]

If it is only one woman for the US in the team event, you send Alysa, not Amber.