U.S.Women [#9]: Now That's What I'm F*@&%!$ Talking About!

[Sylvia]

Mia Smith [J12 at Nationals; will turn 14 in June] won gold and Stella Vajda [J17; age 14] won silver in their international debuts at Denver Cup. Smith was impressive in her FS (94.29/141.46 total) yesterday, landing 7 clean triples: 3F+3T, 3Lz, 3S, 3Lz+2A+2A, 3Lo (received 3 bonus points). Both train at the Detroit Skating Club.

After the Junior SP the top 3 are Annabelle Wilkins [J13; age 14], Cleo Park [J11; age 16] and Anabel Wallace [S17; will be 18 in April] (WD: Kaya Tiernan [J8; age 16]). This is the international debut for both Wilkins and Wallace.

Today at Coupe du Printemps in Luxembourg, Deborah Liu [J9 at Nationals; will be 13 in April] 47.01 with 3Lz (+1.18), 3Lo+2Lo(-1.47) & 2A and Skylar Lautowa-Peguero [turned 13 last December] 45.89 with 3Lz (-1.77), 2A & 3Lo+2Lo (-0.82) currently are leading in the Adv. Novice Women SP.

Junior Women competing tomorrow are Sofia Bezkorovainaya [J6; age 15] and Hannah Kim [J3; 15 in July].

Coupe du Printemps in Luxembourg update:
Adv. Novice Women (19 competed):
GOLD Skylar Lautowa-Peguero 95.35 (6 of 7 triples clean: 3Lzb+3Tb -1.18, 3F, 3S, 3Lo+2Ab+2A, 3Lz, 3Lo)
SILVER Deborah Liu 121.50 1 2 (74.49 in FS)

Junior Women (26 competed):
5th Hannah Kim 146.74 (53.06 3rd in SP with 3F+3T<, 2A, 3Loq; 93.68 5th in FS)
6th Sofia Bezkorovainaya 143.75 (50.70 5th in SP with 3Lzq+2T, 3Lo, 2A; 93.05 6th in FS)
(FS protocols are not yet published online/still missing.)

Denver Cup International update (6 competed):
1st Cleo Park 160.49 2 1 (109.66 in FS with 6 clean triples: 3F, 3Lz, 3Lo, 3Lo<+2A+2A, 3F+2T, 3T, 3S+2T; 3 L4 spins; Damon Allen was by the boards for her)
2nd Annabelle Wilkins 150.83 1 2 (98.97 with 4 clean triples in FS: 3Lz+2T, 3F!q, 3Lo, 3Lo< fall, 3T<<, 3S+2A+2A, 3T+2T)
3rd Anabel Wallace 133.77 3 3 (87.52 in FS)

ETA that Cleo has confirmed a coaching and training location change from Anaheim, CA to Colorado Springs in her post:

Cleo Park on Instagram: "Grateful to @usfigureskating for the opportunity to compete at the 2026 Denver Cup International. A big thank you to all the coaches @tammyg92373, @leifurmb, @damonenrique, @coach.lgs, Tatiana ,and skaters at Broadmoor World

85 likes, 6 comments - cleo._.parkskater on March 15, 2026: "Grateful to @usfigureskating for the opportunity to compete at the 2026 Denver Cup International. A big thank you to all the coaches @tammyg92373, @leifurmb, @damonenrique, @coach.lgs, Tatiana ,and skaters at Broadmoor World Arena Ice...

www.instagram.com

 

[zigzig]

Alysa livin it up

Elton John’s Oscars Watch Party Attracts Alysa Liu, Dua Lipa and More

At his annual fund-raiser, the rock star hosted Keke Palmer, Donatella Versace and Brooklyn Beckham for a private Oscars watch party in West Hollywood.

www.nytimes.com

 

[pointbleu]

Coupe du Printemps in Luxembourg update:
Adv. Novice Women (19 competed):
GOLD Skylar Lautowa-Peguero 95.35 (6 of 7 triples clean: 3Lzb+3Tb -1.18, 3F, 3S, 3Lo+2Ab+2A, 3Lz, 3Lo)
SILVER Deborah Liu 121.50 1 2 (74.49 in FS)

Junior Women (26 competed):
5th Hannah Kim 146.74 (53.06 3rd in SP with 3F+3T<, 2A, 3Loq; 93.68 5th in FS)
6th Sofia Bezkorovainaya 143.75 (50.70 5th in SP with 3Lzq+2T, 3Lo, 2A; 93.05 6th in FS)
(FS protocols are not yet published online/still missing.)

Denver Cup International update (6 competed):
1st Cleo Park 160.49 2 1 (109.66 in FS with 6 clean triples: 3F, 3Lz, 3Lo, 3Lo<+2A+2A, 3F+2T, 3T, 3S+2T; 3 L4 spins; Damon Allen was by the boards for her)
2nd Annabelle Wilkins 150.83 1 2 (98.97 with 4 clean triples in FS: 3Lz+2T, 3F!q, 3Lo, 3Lo< fall, 3T<<, 3S+2A+2A, 3T+2T)
3rd Anabel Wallace 133.77 3 3 (87.52 in FS)

ETA that Cleo has confirmed a coaching and training location change from Anaheim, CA to Colorado Springs in her post:

Cleo Park on Instagram: "Grateful to @usfigureskating for the opportunity to compete at the 2026 Denver Cup International. A big thank you to all the coaches @tammyg92373, @leifurmb, @damonenrique, @coach.lgs, Tatiana ,and skaters at Broadmoor World

85 likes, 6 comments - cleo._.parkskater on March 15, 2026: "Grateful to @usfigureskating for the opportunity to compete at the 2026 Denver Cup International. A big thank you to all the coaches @tammyg92373, @leifurmb, @damonenrique, @coach.lgs, Tatiana ,and skaters at Broadmoor World Arena Ice...

www.instagram.com

https://cdp2024.online/2026/CDP/FSKWSINGLES-JUNIOR----FNL-000100--_JudgesDetailsperSkater.pdf

 

[Sylvia]

Merci @pointbleu!

Thanks for the gift article link @zigzig - @Cachoo also shared a gift link in Alysa's fan thread where there are many other photo/video links posted (Alysa and Madi Chock also attended the Vanity Fair after-party): https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/threads/alysa-liu-cheer-fan-thread.106483/page-14#post-6912255

ETA:

No surprise here - new partnership announced on St. Patrick's Day!

刘美贤 Alysa Liu on Instagram: "Some of y’all are about to get real Lucky! #luckycharmspartner To celebrate St Patrick’s Day, 25 people will win a custom Alysa Liu x @luckycharms box with a note from me on the back! �HOW TO ENTER: 🥣 like this post

39K likes, 1,982 comments - alysaxliu on March 17, 2026: "Some of y’all are about to get real Lucky! #luckycharmspartner To celebrate St Patrick’s Day, 25 people will win a custom Alysa Liu x @luckycharms box with a note from me on the back! �HOW TO ENTER: 🥣 like this post 🍀 make sure...

www.instagram.com

 

[Sylvia]

After yesterday's SP at Prague Worlds:

Amber 72.65 in 3rd (3A -0.11, 3F+3Tq -1.06, 3Lo +1.26 yay, L4 in steps & 2 of 3 spins):

Golden Skate on Instagram: "Amber GLENN 🇺🇸 72.65 “After the Olympics, I was pretty sick for a while. I didn’t know what it was. I was on a bunch of antibiotics. And you know, as an athlete, we have to be very careful with what we consume. In reality

7,882 likes, 37 comments - goldsk8 on March 25, 2026: "Amber GLENN 🇺🇸 72.65 “After the Olympics, I was pretty sick for a while. I didn’t know what it was. I was on a bunch of antibiotics. And you know, as an athlete, we have to be very careful with what we consume. In reality, I mean, we need...

www.instagram.com

“After the Olympics, I was pretty sick for a while. I didn’t know what it was. I was on a bunch of antibiotics. And you know, as an athlete, we have to be very careful with what we consume. In reality, I mean, we need something that I couldn’t take. So I was fighting a sickness for a while. Honestly, I’m just proud of myself for getting in and training and still being motivated to be here.

Today I just tried to stay focused as much as I could. There was the Axel, which was very forward, and I was kind of, whoa, whoa. And I was like, I’m not losing my balance. No, I’m not losing my balance. Then the flip toe came, and I was like, okay, reset. I’m going to do this thing. It was literally in my head all the time: “You’re going to do it.” And I got it done. I’m very happy with that.

About being nominated for the Skating Awards in many categories:

“thank you, everyone, for voting for me. It’s so exciting. Also, my coach Damon Allen is nominated. He’s so wonderful. He got me from messing up five triple axels in the warmup to being able to do it, so he’s great. It means a lot being nominated by my peers. I’m thankful to the fans that vote. I know in the end, it’s also kind of a popularity thing. The award I hope most for is for my coach to get it.”

Article by Phil Hersh:

Amber Glenn has shown grace on and off the ice. Is this her medal moment at World Champs?

Amber Glenn could win her first World Figure Skating Championships medal on Friday, live on Peacock.

www.nbcsports.com

Isabeau 72.16 in 4th (3Lz!+3Lo -0.17, 2A, 3F, L4 in final layback spin only):

Golden Skate on Instagram: "Isabeau LEVITO 🇺🇸 72.16 “On changing the combination: actually, my coach and I were thinking the same thing without even speaking to each other. I met her at the rink after my five days of travel back home from Milan, and

2,914 likes, 10 comments - goldsk8 on March 25, 2026: "Isabeau LEVITO 🇺🇸 72.16 “On changing the combination: actually, my coach and I were thinking the same thing without even speaking to each other. I met her at the rink after my five days of travel back home from Milan, and she showed me a...

www.instagram.com

“On changing the combination: actually, my coach and I were thinking the same thing without even speaking to each other. I met her at the rink after my five days of travel back home from Milan, and she showed me a list of different combinations and their point values, and we immediately both thought the same thing. I think I got a bit bored this season. I wanted to do something more interesting and raise the stakes for myself mentally. I’m so much happier and more motivated in training because I have something really fun to work for.

Looking back at the Olympics, I think one takeaway is that I played it a little bit too safe. I underestimated myself a bit too much, because when you expect less of yourself, you start performing that way.

On her travel back home from the Olympics:

“it took five days. So it wasn’t really the emotional high from the Games like for everyone else. I think what really killed my spirit was those five or six days it took me to get back to New Jersey because there was a storm on the East Coast, so flights were canceled. I was moving all over the place. I almost made it halfway to Alaska, where I was supposed to have a photo shoot, but in the end I didn’t make it on time. I first went to Atlanta, then to Denver, and in the end the photo shoot got cancelled. I hope we’ll still do it sometime soon. And then I finally made it home to New Jersey.”

On her thoughts when she landed the combination today:

“I didn’t really think anything. I was just satisfied that I was vertical, because actually, since I arrived here, I’ve been scarily consistent in practice at home. I was like, “Like this, I can win the Olympics.” And then I got here, and I would just go into a jump and suddenly I would be horizontal. So I was like, what happened here? I mean, even in the six-minute warm-up. So I was just throwing a shot in the dark and seeing where it would take me.”

Sarah 68.74 in 9th (landed 3Lz+3T, 2A, 3Lo; 2 L4 spins):

Golden Skate on Instagram: "Sarah EVERHARDT 🇺🇸 68.74 “I felt really nervous today. Even going into the first jumping pass, I was thinking about messing up, but then I was like, no, I can’t think like that. So I told myself to trust myself and do the

349 likes, 1 comments - goldsk8 on March 25, 2026: "Sarah EVERHARDT 🇺🇸 68.74 “I felt really nervous today. Even going into the first jumping pass, I was thinking about messing up, but then I was like, no, I can’t think like that. So I told myself to trust myself and do the best I can. After the...

www.instagram.com

“I felt really nervous today. Even going into the first jumping pass, I was thinking about messing up, but then I was like, no, I can’t think like that. So I told myself to trust myself and do the best I can. After the first jumping pass, I relaxed a bit, and after the last jump, I really relaxed a lot and tried to be present, smile, and show my program.

On preparing mentally as a substitute:

“I feel like I didn’t really wrap my head around it until I got here. When I was flying here, I was thinking, wow, I’m going to Worlds. It’s kind of a surreal feeling, but I’m so glad to be here.

On whether she was still fully in training:

“No, not really. I was told that Bradie wasn’t going to go, that she isn’t the first alternate anymore, so I started training a little bit more, but not as intensely. And when I was told that I was going, I had about two weeks of preparation. I tried my best to get into the best shape possible.

On going back to her old free program:

“I really, really enjoy that program. I told myself to just try it out and see how it feels. I started skating and doing the choreography, and I realized how much I love that program and how much I miss it. It feels very much like me.”

 

[Karen-W]

Well, the US women held onto their three spots but I'm sure there's a level of disappointment within the USFS that they're leaving Prague with no medal.

Kudos to Isabeau, though, for a third 4th place finish in 4 Worlds appearances. Remarkable record, to be really honest, that her lowest finish at Worlds is 4th, but it's a shame she couldn't add another World medal to her collection today.

Amber did Amber things and finished 6th, which is perfectly respectable, but it was a rough skate to watch. She'll always have her Olympic team gold and her GPF title. Sounds like she is doing okay, though, so if this was her last competition, so be it and may she be truly satisfied with her career.

https://twitter.com/x/status/2037638725715333145

Thank you everyone for the love and support I'm okay! If anything I'm mentally, emotionally, physically exhausted after a season of extreme highs and lows. I did what I set out to do 6 years ago.Land a Triple axel and go to the Olympics and nothing will take that away from me

Sarah had a solid program, though she lost some steam near the end, and wound up 11th overall. That does mean she'll be an invited GP skater next season, which is a great result and not much more than one can ask or hope for as the 2nd alternate with less than 3 weeks notice she'd be competing here.

 

[mtnskater]

I am happy the U.S. women did well enough to retain the three spots. But truthfully bummed that neither Amber nor Isabeau could maintain or improve on their positions after the short program. They are both right in there for the medals anytime they deliver.

Love the idea Isabeau decided to up the ante on her jump combo. Not sure it payed off, particularly in the free. She was in such good position, if she had just skated clean what she had trained all year like she did at U.S. Nationals, she would have medaled. Her free skate at Nationals is one of my all time favorite performances. However, 4th place is still really good. But for a former world silver medalist I know she wants more. Would love for her to work with Lori Nichols next year for choreography….and maybe a summer stint at Skorniakov/Malinina camp for jumps. I hope she stays motivated and competitive the next quad, because I love watching her skate

I had high hopes for Amber as I always do, but also thought she was the one most likely to be affected by nerves being in medal position. What a beautiful opening she had to the free program, really great. Wonder what happened in her mind? I hope she does continue. I’m not sure how many other up and coming skaters the U.S. has right now that look likely to replace Amber. Whereas Japan will likely fill Kaori’s shoes pretty easily with Mao Shimada coming up and the seemingly endless supply of talented motivated competitors.

Sarah has consistency but so much to work on for refinement and presentation. She needs a different choreographer. This year’s original free program was all wrong for her. Firebird is better, but not great for a skater with deadpan expression. I think Benoit might be a fit for her. And her coaching team needs to get her to extend her lines and her free leg/toe point. And get rid of the awkward back crack/torso move right before she skates Even with that, I was surprised her score was so low in the free. Jumps seemed quite good. Nina Petrokina seemed surprised too. But I haven’t looked at the protocols yet. Overall she has to be pretty happy with her debut here.

Hopefully, the Alysa we know and love will be back in the mix next year and skate through the quad too.

 

[Debbie S]

I think Isabeau needs a full-scale coaching change. Malinina/Skorniakov would be good but I doubt they would take on a direct competitor of Sarah's. But Isabeau needs to go somewhere.

I think Benoit would be good for Sarah. Shae-Lynn has done good programs for Ilia but he and his parents know who he is. I don't think Sarah or her coaches (or Shae-Lynn) have figured that out for Sarah yet. Benoit has done some good programs this year and he knows how to package skaters.

 

[Skaterbob]

Some may take this badly but Amber is one skater that I actually LIKE but want them move on from competition. Just the same old story very disappointing. I'm glad she got a medal for the SP and at the Olympics. I don't think there is much left she can accomplish.

 

[mtnskater]

I think Benoit would be good for Sarah. Shae-Lynn has done good programs for Ilia but he and his parents know who he is. I don't think Sarah or her coaches (or Shae-Lynn) have figured that out for Sarah yet. Benoit has done some good programs this year and he knows how to package skaters.

Yes! Benoit has had some epic misses. But when he hits with a skater he can really transform them. I think he really transformed Kaori back in the day when her programs were all wrong for her.

 

[jägerbomb]

Some may take this badly but Amber is one skater that I actually LIKE but want them move on from competition. Just the same old story very disappointing. I'm glad she got a medal for the SP and at the Olympics. I don't there is much left she can accomplish.

It might not be "politically correct", but I understand what you're saying and agree with it.

A world silver medal was hers for the taking, she nails the first half of the program, then falls apart in the second half.

I love her and her journey and what she stands for.... but I don't want to see more of this next season. Sadly, I don't think a Worlds medal in the cards.

 

[jägerbomb]

Love the idea Isabeau decided to up the ante on her jump combo. Not sure it payed off, particularly in the free. She was in such good position, if she had just skated clean what she had trained all year like she did at U.S. Nationals, she would have medaled. Her free skate at Nationals is one of my all time favorite performances. However, 4th place is still really good. But for a former world silver medalist I know she wants more. Would love for her to work with Lori Nichols next year for choreography….and maybe a summer stint at Skorniakov/Malinina camp for jumps. I hope she stays motivated and competitive the next quad, because I love watching her skate

It made sense for the short program, but made zero sense to attempt it in the long program. Baffling strategy from her team.

Frustrating. I agree, her Nationals LP was one of my favorite performances of the last quad.

 

[Allskate]

I hope she stays motivated and competitive the next quad, because I love watching her skate

I think she is incredibly motivated. She has repeatedly said this season that she wants to add more difficult content, like a triple axel, after the season is over but was prioritizing staying healthy for the Olympic season. She also said that she's happier when she's challenging herself. And I think she is going to be use what happened at the Olympics and Worlds to motivate her. It took her five days to get home from the Olympics because of the snow storms. When she got stuck with an extended layover in Atlanta, she found a rink to go to. So, I definitely don't think she's lost any motivation.

It made sense for the short program, but made zero sense to attempt it in the long program. Baffling strategy from her team.

Isabeau said that practices were going very well at home. She had a rough practice her first day in Prague, but she had a good practice yesterday, and Jackie Wong's practice report indicated that she did a very good runthrough of the long program this morning, including the lutz/loop. I saw some clips from practices where she did very good lutz/loops.

Plus, the judges have been pretty tough on her more recently. (I thought she was underscored in her Olympic short, and she was the only one with an edge call in the short program the other day despite the fact that she obviously was not the only one with edge issues.) She might have thought that she needed the lutz/loop in the long to increase her chances at medaling.

She has said that she thinks she played it too safe this season. At least until she made it to the Olympics, it actually made sense for her to play it safe after her injury - which was an overuse injury - and given that she wasn't as certain to get an Olympic spot as Alysa and Amber. Now that the Olympics are over, it seems like she felt compelled to add more challenge and difficulty.

But, she hasn't competed the lutz/loop the last two seasons (and had a growth spurt and injury since she did). And she hasn't competed it in this program obviously. Plus, doing a loop instead of a toe clearly is more intrinsically risky. So, it clearly was a big risk. She'll have plenty of time in the off-season to get it consistent and do lots of runthroughs of programs with the lutz/loop in there. It might make sense for her to do a flip/loop in the long program since she prefers the flip.

Sarah had a solid program, though she lost some steam near the end, and wound up 11th overall. That does mean she'll be an invited GP skater next season, which is a great result and not much more than one can ask or hope for as the 2nd alternate with less than 3 weeks notice she'd be competing here.

I'm really glad that Sarah finally did away with that dreadful "Poorer Things" long program. I don't think Shae Lynne is necessarily bad for her; it's just the "Poorer Things" program in particular that was bad for her. This season as a whole wasn't her strongest, but she was able to do the triple lutz/triple toe earlier this season. It's great that she got to experience Worlds, and I'm sure she'll benefit from the experience.

Some may take this badly but Amber is one skater that I actually LIKE but want them move on from competition.

I thought I read today that she has indicated that she is going to continue competing? I really do wish she could have just one competition where she was happy with both her short and long, but that may never happen.

 

[Allskate]

Love the idea Isabeau decided to up the ante on her jump combo. Not sure it payed off, particularly in the free. She was in such good position, if she had just skated clean what she had trained all year like she did at U.S. Nationals, she would have medaled.

I'm not sure about that. Nina Pinzarrone got surprisingly high scores. Over 215 points, and she beat Isabeau by over 8 points. Isabeau doing a clean triple flip/triple toe, even without a q, would not have made up that gap. Nina did not get a single q called in either program (even though I think that is questionable). The only time Isabeau scored over 215 this season was at Nationals, which was her best competition but also had inflated scoring. So, even if Isabeau had done a triple flip/triple toe instead and landed it cleanly and without a q and even if that had slightly increased her PCS (which was essentially the same as Nina's), I'm not totally convinced the judges would have given her the bronze. I doubt that makes Isabeau feel any better.

It's so impressive that Isabeau has never finished lower than fourth at Worlds, but she sure must be frustrated finishing just off the podium so many times.