U.S. Women [#8]: Meet Me in St. Louis

[Debbie S]

I'm a big Amber fan and I want either her or Kaori to win the individual OGM. But I would put Alysa in the TE. She may not have the highest TES ceiling but she has a record of consistently landing her jumps in pressure situations.

 

[tangerine dream]

I'm a big Amber fan and I want either her or Kaori to win the individual OGM. But I would put Alysa in the TE. She may not have the highest TES ceiling but she has a record of consistently landing her jumps in pressure situations.

We could have a 2014 repeat where Alysa (Lipnitskaya) is the star of the team event and Amber (Sotnikova) wins the individual event.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

And we just don’t know which Amber will show up. That’s the problem.

Frankly, if I were on the US team I’d love to have the Alysa vibe.

? This entire year and last year as well… There’s only one version of amber.

Let’s have a Alysa do a triple axle and see what her success rate is, Amber is at 90% this year. Amber has done 10 triple axels this year with a grand total of one miss. Can Midori claim that? Can Harding claim that? Can Tuk claim that?

Amber did not miss in her challenger, Amber did not miss in her first Grand Prix, Amber did not miss in her second Grand Prix, won all three of those, advance to the Grand Prix final and she misses the triple axle in the short program, and everything else is fine and does a good long program.

Everybody keeps thinking of amber from 2021 and 2022, things have changed. But the people’s opinions here have not.

Alysa has won worlds and a Grand Prix final. Last year she won zero Grand Prix and did not medal at four continents.

Amber has won a Grand Prix final, every single Grand Prix event and challenger for the last two straight years. And is a three time consecutive US champion which Alysa hasn’t won since she was 14.

What else do some people want? OK, so she finished fifth at worlds, how awful lol. Don’t forget Alysa couldnt medal at four continents.

ALSO cannot medal this year even at Lombardia … Let’s get a grip here lol Cut to three weeks later, and Amber takes a Nebelhorn title. And more competitors.

Alysa may very well get both at the TE and that’s great and will do amazing but some people need to recheck their opinion of Amber.

#JustSayingKittyCats

 

[Karen-W]

#JustSayingKittyCats - hey, don't try to memory hole her Worlds SP just because it wasn't THIS season.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

#JustSayingKittyCats - hey, don't try to memory hole her Worlds SP just because it wasn't THIS season.

Did you even read my post? Above?

Alysa didn’t medal at Lombardia or four continents. Much easier fare.

Let’s talk this season in Italy in September, and contrast that at Nebelhorn in Germany. OK let’s stay on this season. Amber two Grand Prix medals that are gold Alysa one skate America. HomeCourt advantage.

They are both beyond terrific, but yeah, Amber goes for ultra C, absolutely no other women in the United States does at all, one person talks about it, but then doesnt do it.

But I ain’t arguing with you especially when the Bailey’s bottle is dry.

Over and out for the night.

 

[skatfan]

? This entire year and last year as well… There’s only one version of amber.

Amber did not miss in her challenger, Amber did not miss in her first Grand Prix, Amber did not miss in her second Grand Prix, won all three of those

She came in 2nd in Finlandia.

Amber has won a Grand Prix final, every single Grand Prix event and challenger for the last two straight years.

No she had a first and second in the Grand Prix this fall and finished fourth in the Final.

And is a three time consecutive US champion which Alysa hasn’t won since she was 14

True. Alysa has beat her at the two major internationals in the past year. I’ll also mention Alysa has two World medals and experience at the Olympics. Amber has neither.

I love them both, I’ll cheer whoever the USFS picks, but I still give the edge to Alysa.

 

[PRlady]

I think if the women are split, it’s really bad for Isabeau, as I posted above. If they aren’t going to split, I choose Alysa because she’s nerveless, has Oly experience and is six years younger than Amber - we have all seen the effects of age on some skaters this season. Amber isn’t a granny but it takes longer to bounce back the more years you have in a sport.

 

[Allskate]

? This entire year and last year as well… There’s only one version of amber.

Let’s have a Alisa do a triple axle and see what her success rate is, Amber is at 80% this year. With a grand total of one miss.

Amber did not miss in her challenger, Amber did not miss in her first Grand Prix, Amber did not miss in her second Grand Prix, won both of those, advance to the Grand Prix final and she misses the triple axle in the short program, and everything else is fine and does a good long program.

I think you could make the case for either Alysa or Amber. They have each beaten each other during the past year.

I think Amber has a very consistent triple axel. More consistent than most of the American men. (So, maybe Alysa is right about putting Amber in the men's SP. )

But, to be fair, Alysa has had a very consistent lutz/loop that she does in the back half of her short program. And that makes up some of the difference in the base value. Also, there is more to the programs than those specific jumps or the technical content.

Unfortunately, I think that Alysa is seen as more consistent, especially under pressure. I thought it was pretty obnoxious of Justin Dillon to mention the triple loop when he was telling Amber that she made the Olympic team. He didn't make a similar comment to Alysa even though she was short on the rotation of her triple loop in the LP this week and mentioned it herself.

I also think that the judges tend to give Alysa, the World Champion, more of the benefit of the doubt, including on PCS. Fair or not, that is something they could consider when deciding who will do the TE.

I love them both. I think you could make an argument for either of them. I will be very happy for one of them. And I will be very sad for the other. And I will be sad for Isabeau, who loves team competitions and being with her skater friends and who also will have to sit and watch as American skaters who aren't nearly as successful as her get to compete in the TE. (I think Isabeau had one of the best competitions of her life this week even though she admitted feeling a lot of pressure.)

 

[Karen-W]

Did you even read my post? Above?

Alysa didn’t even medal at Lombardia or four continents.

So, you're holding it against Alysa that she didn't medal at a Challenger where she was dealing with major boot issues? Because once she sorted those out, she's been blade-perfect in every competition since. And you really want to go there about failing to medal at 4CCs last year when she hadn't even been back on the ice training full-time 9 months at that point and was still building back her competition stamina?

Out of the major competitions Amber has competed in during the past 2 seasons (GPFs, Nationals, Worlds), her success rate on the 3A in the SP has been 2 for 5 with no issues and positive GOE.

2025-26 GPF - popped into a 1A
2025 Worlds - fall
2025 Nationals - q with -2.51 GOE

She does better with it (and overall) in the FS and, in a perfect world, we'd split the women for the TE. But, if you're asking who is a better bet in a high-pressure, major competition to go clean and put up a score that will place no worse than 2nd, specifically in the SP, then I'm putting my money on Alysa. And if you're telling me that we're not splitting the women for the TE, then the smart strategic choice is to go with your stronger, surer SP skater who hasn't failed to deliver yet (even at Lombardia where her boot issues caught up with her in the FS).

This isn't a matter of feeling like it's necessarily right or fair to not use Amber in the TE, but Justin Dillon made it clear in the post-event press conference today that they have to take into consideration the entire Olympic schedule when selecting the Team Event participants, as well as the individual medal chances for the athletes in every discipline. Those two factors alone make it more than likely that the women won't be split and it sucks for whichever woman doesn't get selected if that turns out to be the case. But, if I'm in Justin Dillon's shoes and I'm forced to choose just one woman, I'm going with Alysa. Her scoring potential may be slightly lower but her hit ratio in major competitions over the past two seasons is 100% and Amber's is 40%.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

I thought it was pretty obnoxious of Justin Dillon to mention the triple loop when he was telling Amber that she made the Olympic team.

He made that comment because Amber had just said that herself to Andrea Joyce in the interview. Justin was quoting Amber.

Amber said she wants to go back and work with the choreographer about the triple loop. So then Justin brought that up because Amber said it.

I love them both I think even equally. They both have so much great stuff. It just irks me a bit when people talk about Amber as if they’re talking about the version from years ago.

Amber has competed 11 times in two years so far and has nine golds… I just don’t know what else people want.

You mention about Alysa handling pressure better, but not at Lombardia, I think people need to go to back and rewatch that. And Amber’s defeated Alysa twice this year and Alysa defeated Amber once this year. So I just don’t understand some peoples rationale.

Both will kill it in the team event. Whoever gets it, I think it should be split because their scores are just about the same right now and I do think Ilia is such a machine he could do six performances at the Olympics and take them all.

So in two years so far Amber has completed 11 times and out of those 11 times has 9 Golds.

 

[Allskate]

I think if the women are split, it’s really bad for Isabeau, as I posted above.

I think she will be seen as number 3 even if they don't split. Notice that nobody has put her in the conversation for the TE in this thread.

And, it's possible it actually will help Isabeau not to be in the TE. At first, I thought she had bad luck just missing out on the GP Final due to being assigned to a GP with incredible performances by three Japanese skaters. But, it may have been good luck. Missing the GP Final gave her time to break in new boots and focus on improving her skating. She was skating very well earlier this season, but she was even better at Nationals. Her jumps were bigger and smoother and her spins were better as well. She skated with ease and security and did a great job interpreting the music.

Maybe she will similarly benefit from not doing the TE. Although she is eager to enjoy the Olympic Village, that is not nearly as energy draining as competing. And, as she has said, she thrives when she has distractions.

My takeaway from what Justin said at the press conference is that they are concerned about the schedule, so I think there is going to be one woman.

 

[Allskate]

He made that comment because Amber had just said that herself to Andrea Joyce in the interview. Justin was quoting Amber.

Still totally unnecessary in the context of a celebratory meeting. It rubbed me the wrong way. But, then again, I'm not a fan of his generally.

 

[tangerine dream]

? This entire year and last year as well… There’s only one version of amber.

Let’s have a Alysa do a triple axle and see what her success rate is, Amber is at 90% this year. Amber has done 10 triple axels this year with a grand total of one miss. Can Midori claim that? Can Harding claim that? Can Tuk claim that?

Amber did not miss in her challenger, Amber did not miss in her first Grand Prix, Amber did not miss in her second Grand Prix, won all three of those, advance to the Grand Prix final and she misses the triple axle in the short program, and everything else is fine and does a good long program.

Everybody keeps thinking of amber from 2021 and 2022, things have changed. But the people’s opinions here have not.

Alysa has won worlds and a Grand Prix final. Last year she won zero Grand Prix and did not medal at four continents.

Amber has won a Grand Prix final, every single Grand Prix event and challenger for the last two straight years. And is a three time consecutive US champion which Alysa hasn’t won since she was 14.

What else do some people want? OK, so she finished fifth at worlds, how awful lol. Don’t forget Alysa could not even medal at four continents.

ALSO cannot even medal this year even at Lombardia … Let’s get a grip here lol Cut to three weeks later, and Amber takes a Nebelhorn title. And more competitors.

Alysa may very well get both at the TE and that’s great but some people need to recheck their opinion of Amber.

#JustSayingKittyCats

I don't think anyone here thinks Amber isn't worthy or isn't good enough. If the Olympic team was Amber, Sarah, and Starr, I'm pretty sure just about everyone would want Amber doing the team event. It has everything to do with Alysa and her incredible consistency and calm disposition under pressure. Sure, if both skate their best Amber will probably always beat Alysa by a few points because of her amazing triple axels. They were close to their best at Nats and the difference in scores across two programs was less than 5 points. In the team event the SP is so, so important. It is worth so much more than the LP and Alysa is just so consistent there. I just checked their SP scores from worlds, world team trophy, GPs this season, and the GPF and Alysa's range between 73.73 and 75.70 (Amber from 63.70 to 75.72). From the same competitions, Alysa's total scores range from 212.07 to 226.67 (Amber from 205.65 to 214.78).

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

Still totally unnecessary in the context of a celebratory meeting. It rubbed me the wrong way. But, then again, I'm not a fan of his generally.

Lol I did not even know who that was, I had to ask my Bestie.

And I agree with you he kind of seem like he was a disciplinary type thing to her….Although not really, it was just weird you’re right. At first I thought maybe he was trying to be funny. OK I’m so tired. Have a good night.

 

[RD]

Not sure how the Team event is going to shake out or whether Ladies will be split - but my main choice would be Liu. As other folks have mentioned, she’s got the experience and the consistency. I would say she should at least do the SP. Honestly I’d consider having her do both, but I would also support a Liu SP/Glenn FS arrangement if they were to split it.

As for Glenn’s consistency, she reminds me much of Alissa Czisny in that the consistency of both skaters improved immensely towards the end of their careers, to their credit - but occasionally they’d still be prone to an “oops” at a big event. We saw this at Worlds last year with Glenn in the SP, and even if she fought back though the rest of it, the 3A fall was enough to take her out of medal contention. Given this is Olys we’re talking about and we’ve seen reputed “steel-nerved” competitors crack under that spotlight - not saying she can’t do it, of course - but personally I’d be just a bit more nervous…

 

[SkateFanBerlin]

Not sure how the Team event is going to shake out or whether Ladies will be split - but my main choice would be Liu. As other folks have mentioned, she’s got the experience and the consistency. I would say she should at least do the SP. Honestly I’d consider having her do both, but I would also support a Liu SP/Glenn FS arrangement if they were to split it.

As for Glenn’s consistency,

Glenn alrady said it`s a team thing and she feel more reponsible for that than her individual success. If they split it I see her coming out and laying one down.

 

[A.H.Black]

I saw a notice that Alysa is planning to go back to MacArthur Park for the Olympics. Can anyone confirm?

If she does, I would like her to keep the Gaga dress.

 

[sk9tingfan]

I saw a notice that Alysa is planning to go back to MacArthur Park for the Olympics. Can anyone confirm?

If she does, I would like her to keep the Gaga dress.

Played out already. Agree with you about the dress.

 

[Karen-W]

I saw a notice that Alysa is planning to go back to MacArthur Park for the Olympics. Can anyone confirm?

If she does, I would like her to keep the Gaga dress.

Already confirmed and she's stated she's getting a new dress for MacArthur Park.

MacArthur Park for Milan!

https://www.olympics.com/en/milano-cortina-2026/news/alysa-liu-says-lady-gaga-free-skate-unlikely-for-milano-cortina-2026

From the article -

As for Milano? Liu is sticking to her long-held vision: “It was always gonna be MacArthur Park.”

She added that a revamped dress design – still metallic, but with a fresh twist – is also in the works.

 

[zigzig]

Already confirmed and she's stated she's getting a new dress for MacArthur Park.

From the article -

Both programs suck but at this point I'd love to see her focus on a 3A and continuing to keep her 3Lz+3Lo squeaky clean in the short, rather than fine tuning programs she's already getting good PCS for.

 

[Allskate]

FWIW, Jackie Wong posted that there is no date set for the team event announcement.

 

[Maximillian]

How far in advance do they need to make it? I would say that in certain cases, they would want to wait as close to the event as possible if they can and get a sense of where skaters are at mentally and physically.

 

[Allskate]

How far in advance do they need to make it? I would say that in certain cases, they would want to wait as close to the event as possible if they can and get a sense of where skaters are at mentally and physically.

I don't think they have to announce it until the night before the team event, but there were rumors that they were going to announce it today.

 

[Karen-W]

How far in advance do they need to make it? I would say that in certain cases, they would want to wait as close to the event as possible if they can and get a sense of where skaters are at mentally and physically.

I don't think they have to announce it until the night before the team event, but there were rumors that they were going to announce it today.

Tomorrow is the deadline to confirm all skaters/couples that will be available to participate in the Team Event - they basically name the entire Olympic team, to cover for any potential injuries in the next few weeks.

Feb 3rd - reconfirm TE participants, again, they can name everyone available.

Feb 5th - name Women's & Pairs SP and RD participants
Feb 6th - name Men's SP participants
Feb 7th at the conclusion of the Men's SP - name FD participants
Feb 7th at the conclusion of the FD - name the Men's, Women's & Pairs FS participants

 

[karmena]

Already confirmed and she's stated she's getting a new dress for MacArthur Park.

From the article: She added that a revamped dress design – still metallic, but with a fresh twist – is also in the works.

In my opinion, her golden dress was perfect, perfect!! for MacArthur Park!
Metallic... metallic does not work well with the ice , blends with the ice and all in all is not the best color choice for the performance in a big arena. I wish to be wrong... Apparently, Alysa has a vision and nothing else left as to believe her choice...

 

[Theatregirl1122]

In my opinion, her golden dress was perfect, perfect!! for MacArthur Park!
Metallic... metallic does not work well with the ice , blends with the ice and all in all is not the best color choice for the performance in a big arena. I wish to be wrong... Apparently, Alysa has a vision and nothing else left as to believe her choice...

Gold is a metal.

 

[Jammers]

4 years ago there were so many people who would have sworn Amber would never get it together and now she's going to the Olympics and I think that's very cool

Lets be honest i think a lot of of us never thought that Alysa or Isabeau would ever make a Olympic team with the bad jump technique and weak skating skills and speed that they had had since they were preteens. I was one of those people that thought Alysa was done for good when she grew 4 inches since the early spring of 2020 and had lost not only her 3axel and quad jumps but also her triples in late 2020. I was surprised she looked as good as she did at Nationals in 2021 but the way she transformed into such a better skater for the Olympic year shocked me. Phillip DiGuglielmo ,Massimo Sacali and Jeremy Abbott deserve a lot of credit for saving her career when she could have just become another promising skater who flamed out i don't think she's where she's at if she had stayed with her former coach. As for isabeau it seemed like for a couple of years her jumps were starting to leave her as she grew taller but she proved us wrong too. So well done for all of them for fighting through all of the doubts and making it through the other side.

 

[Vagabond]

Lets be honest i think a lot of of us never thought that Alysa or Isabeau would ever make a Olympic team with the bad jump technique and weak skating skills and speed that they had had since they were preteens.

Let's be honest. Alysa made it to an Olympic Team back in 2022. She did retire, but once she came back, there was every reason to think she could do it again.

 

[Allskate]

As for isabeau it seemed like for a couple of years her jumps were starting to leave her as she grew taller but she proved us wrong too.

I must have missed this couple of years. She had a rough couple of competitions early last season as she was adjusting to a growth spurt, but she then skated quite well at Skate America before withdrawing for four months due to injury and coming back with a fourth place finish at Worlds. (She's never finished lower than fourth at Worlds.) Other than that month or two very early last season, it's hard to find a period of time where she wasn't delivering most of her jumps. She's been very consistent. Some people kept predicting (hoping?) she would lose her jumps, but she didn't. They've actually gotten better.