Amber Glenn, Alysa Liu and Isabeau Levito: Meet Team USA’s ‘Blade Angels’ at the 2026 Winter Olympics
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If you’ve been anywhere near social media this week, you’ve probably seen it: a clip of an 18-year-old figure skater telling an interviewer she’s been having such a blast at the Olympic Village that “You can’t evict me.” Or maybe Taylor Swift popping up on the U.S. Figure Skating Instagram to personally introduce the members of Team USA’s women’s figure skating squad. Or, perhaps, a clip of three skaters clearly having the time of their lives — not exactly the ice-cold rivalry you’d expect at the highest level of one of the world’s most intense sports.
Welcome to the era of the Blade Angels.
Amber Glenn, Alysa Liu and Isabeau Levito — three of the most popular Team USA athletes at the 2026 Winter Olympics — are representing the United States in the women’s individual figure skating event in Milan. The women’s short program was set for Tuesday, Feb. 17, with the final scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 19, making these the last figure skating medals up for grabs at these Games.
Here’s the thing that’s making the internet absolutely feral: these three aren’t just teammates. They’re best friends. And the way they got their name? Pure pop culture gold.
The Origin Story
When Glenn, Liu and Levito were selected for the Olympic team in January, they knew they needed a name. What followed was essentially a group chat brainstorm session that anyone who’s ever tried to name a fantasy league team can deeply relate to.
Liu kicked things off by suggesting “Blades of Glory,” because she had just watched the 2007 figure skating comedy film starring Will Ferrell and Jon Heder. The suggestion then got tweaked to “Babes of Glory,” but there were copyright fears. Levito pitched “Powerpuff Girls,” in reference to the animated show, but there were issues with that name, too.
Finally, Liu cracked the code, mashing up “Blades of Glory” and “Charlie’s Angels” to create “Blade Angels.”
“I came up with a ton of like different ideas,” Liu said in Milan, per USA TODAY. “‘Blade Angels’ was my idea. There was a vote and everybody liked it.”
The Taylor Swift of It All
As if the Blade Angels needed more cultural cachet, they got the ultimate stamp of approval. On Monday, Feb. 16, the U.S. Figure Skating Olympic team posted an Instagram video announcing the Blade Angels, with Swift introducing the three Olympians.
The crossover of one of the biggest pop stars on the planet with three Olympic figure skaters is exactly the kind of moment that lives forever on TikTok, X and every group chat you’re in.
The Stats Behind Their Stardom
Let’s be clear: the Blade Angels aren’t just internet famous. They are extremely talented, and all three are legitimate gold medal contenders. Three-time national champion and 2014 Olympic medalist Ashley Wagner put it plainly.
“This is the first time in, I would say, about four Olympic cycles that we have three women who could realistically end up on the Olympic podium,” Wagner told NPR in January.
Four Olympic cycles. That’s roughly 16 years since the U.S. has had this kind of depth in women’s figure skating. Here are their receipts:
Amber Glenn: 2026 Winter Olympics team event gold medalist; 2024, 2025 and 2026 U.S. champion; 2024 Grand Prix Final champion; 2024 and 2025 Cup of China champion Alysa Liu: 2026 Winter Olympics team event gold medalist; 2025 world champion; 2025 Grand Prix Final champion; 2025 Skate America champion; 2019, 2020 U.S. champion Isabeau Levito: 2023 U.S. champion; 2023 Grand Prix of France champion
Glenn and Liu are already gold medalists at these Games, having contributed to the U.S.’ win in the team event.
Amber Glenn: History-Maker, Advocate, Icon
At 26, Glenn is the elder of the trio, and her journey to this moment is genuinely powerful. She is the three-time reigning U.S. champion, the first woman to hold that title since Michelle Kwan. She’s also the first openly queer U.S. women’s champion — a milestone that matters enormously for LGBTQ+ visibility in a sport that hasn’t always been the most welcoming space for queer athletes.
Glenn is an outspoken mental health and LGBTQ+ advocate. She has been open about her struggles with an eating disorder, anxiety and depression, including the break she took from skating about a decade ago to navigate a mental health crisis.
“I’ve been very outspoken about the ups and downs that I’ve had in my career because I want people to know that that’s okay,” Glenn said last month, per NPR.
In an era where athletes across every sport are increasingly opening up about the toll competition takes on mental health, Glenn’s honesty hits differently. She’s not performing wellness — she’s been candid about the real, hard parts.
“Something that [Liu has] been saying throughout all the press conferences and stuff is… ‘Why is it so shocking that we’re being friendly, that we’re friends?’ They obviously are much younger than I am,” Glenn said. “So they don’t know what the atmosphere might have been like before. Not that it was all bad, but there was definitely some intensity.”
Alysa Liu: The Ultimate Comeback Story
Liu’s story reads like a movie pitch, honestly. She broke onto the scene at age 12 in 2018, becoming the youngest skater to land a triple Axel in international competition. The following year, she became the youngest-ever U.S. women’s champion.
She made her Olympic debut in Beijing in 2022 — then abruptly retired from the sport at age 16, burnt out from years of nonstop training.
And then? She took a break to do normal teenage things, including getting her license and travel. She decided to return to the sport on her own terms — and the comeback was absolutely full force. She won the 2025 World Championships, the first American woman to do so since Kimmie Meissner in 2006.
Liu, now 20, has been completely unapologetic about her decision to step away.
“Quitting was definitely still to this day, like one of my best decisions ever,” Liu said in October. “And coming back was also a really good decision.”
Isabeau Levito: Tinkerbeau Has Entered the Chat
The youngest Blade Angel is 18-year-old Levito, a New Jersey native whose mom hails from Milan — making these Olympics something of a homecoming for her family. She is known for her poise and grace on the ice — earning her the name “Tinkerbeau” from some fans — and her sense of humor off of it.
And that humor has been on full display in Milan. Levito went viral just this week for her enthusiastic response to an interviewer’s question about how much fun she’s been having in the Olympic Village: “You can’t evict me.”
It perfectly captures the energy of someone who knows this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience and is squeezing every last drop out of it.
Why the Blade Angels Matter Beyond the Ice
What makes the Blade Angels resonate so deeply isn’t just their skill — it’s the way they’re showing up. Three women who could be tearing each other apart in the most high-stakes competition on the planet are instead choosing friendship, choosing joy, choosing to have fun with it.
Glenn is 26, Liu is 20, Levito is 18. They span nearly a decade in age, but they’ve built something that feels genuinely real. With a pop-culture-perfect team name, a Taylor Swift endorsement, viral moments stacking up by the day, and — oh yeah — the talent to actually medal, the Blade Angels aren’t just representing Team USA on the ice.
They’re the Olympic story of 2026. And the women’s individual event — the last figure skating medals of these Games — is where it all comes together.
