Meet The Top Contenders For Olympic Gold In Women’s Figure Skating

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The wait is almost over for one of the most anticipated events of the winter Olympics. Women’s Singles figure skating begins in Milano-Cortina this Tuesday, Feb. 17, with the Short Program. Two days later, on Thursday, Feb. 19, the Free Skate will determine who stands atop the Olympic podium.

Though a handful of athletes enter this week’s competition as clear medal-favorites, if the action thus far in Milano-Cortina has taught us anything, nothing is guaranteed.

In the ice dance, gold medal favorites Madison Chock and Evan Bates fell short of their elusive title to the controversial French duo, Guillaume Cizeron and Laurence Fournier Beaudry.

The men’s singles competition brought even more drama, with two-time defending world champion Ilia Malinin faltering under immense Olympic pressure, paving the way for a spectacular gold medal-winning performance from Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Shaidorov.

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Will the women’s competition bring more upsets? Time will tell.

When competition begins Tuesday, 30 women will take to the ice in Milan, vying for a spot in the top 24 and qualification for the free skate. Among those 30 athletes, only a select few are expected to contend for gold.

Meet your contenders:

Kaori Sakamoto (Japan)

Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto has effectively ruled women’s figure skating since the ISU’s ban of Russian athletes in 2022. After winning Olympic bronze behind the Russian prodigies Anna Scherbakova and Alexandra Trusova, Sakamoto asserted a strong hold on international podiums.

The 25-year-old from Kobe, Japan, won three consecutive world championships from 2022 to 2024, settling for a close silver behind American Alysa Liu in 2025. Sakamoto was the first Japanese woman to win the World Championships since the legendary Mao Asada (2014) and the first woman to win three consecutive World titles since Peggy Fleming (1966–1968).

Known for her powerful, technically superior skating and diverse international experience, Sakamoto will be difficult to beat with clean performances in the short program and free skate.

Alysa Liu (United States)

The only woman to defeat Sakamoto at a world championships since 2022: Alysa Liu. The 20-year-old from Oakland, CA, surged to the 2025 world title in her first season back on the ice. Liu retired after competing in the 2022 Beijing Olympics, only to return to skating “on her own terms.”

Since returning to the ice, Liu has defied the odds, surging to a historic world title – the first women’s gold for U.S. Figure Skating since Kimmie Meissner in 2006. “I never, ever would have dreamed of becoming a world champion after coming back to the sport,” she said last spring.

To be honest, I don’t have any expectations anymore going into competitions,” Liu told the media following her win.

Therein lies the former-child-prodigy’s advantage – her psyche. The ever-authentic skater has repeatedly told the media that “she does not get nervous.” In a sport where dreams are often torn apart by mental errors (see: last week’s men’s free skate), Liu’s mental fortitude – complemented by her charisma and jumping ability – is her biggest asset.

“I don’t know what’s up with me… They’re going to actually have to dissect my brain when I’m dead and figure me out,” she told MSN earlier this month.

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Mone Chiba (Japan)

Japan has three contenders for gold in Milano-Cortina, and 2025 world bronze medalist and 2024 Four Continents champion Mone Chiba is second in line. Chiba is a first-time Olympian for Team Japan and comes to Milan after a “year of growth and valuable new experiences.”

These experiences included winning her first world medal, ranking behind only Liu and Sakamoto, and beginning her 2025-2026 season with gold-medal wins at Skate Canada International and the Finlandia Trophy.

In Canada, Chiba defeated world silver medalist Isabeau Levito (United States) and fellow countrywoman Ami Nakai. At the Finlandia Trophy, she defeated three-time U.S. champion Amber Glenn. With excellent on-ice presence and technical precision, 20-year-0ld Chiba could challenge any and all skaters for a medal.

Amber Glenn (United States)

When you think of dynamic, powerful skating, you think of Amber Glenn. The 26-year-old from Texas had a near-perfect 2024-25 competition season, winning the U.S. title and every competition she entered prior to the world championships.

At worlds, Glenn faltered under the pressure, falling to fifth place. Though the veteran has struggled with consistency as of late, she is the three-time defending U.S. national champion for a reason. “I felt like I was gonna throw up,” Glenn told The Athletic after securing her third U.S. title.

Nausea or not, Glenn powered to a career-best free skate score and an American record. Known for her jumping ability, Glenn is one of just a handful of women who compete the highly difficult triple axel jump.

When Glenn landed the jump in the Olympic team event last week, she became just the second American woman to land the jump at an Olympic Games. If Glenn can harness her nerves and land the jump in the short and long programs, she could become the first U.S. woman to win Olympic gold since 2002.

Adeliia Petrosian (AIN)

Few skaters represent a bigger ‘question mark’ than Russian ‘neutral-athlete’ Adellia Petrosian. Petrosian enters Milano-Cortina as Russia’s only hope for women’s gold, after the nation’s skaters won the previous three women’s titles.

The 18-year-old from Moscow has won three consecutive Russian championships but has been banned from international competition for the majority of her career due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

In May 2025, the International Skating Union (ISU) announced that Petrosian had been approved as an Individual Neutral Athlete (AIN), making her eligible for Olympic competition. Months later, she won the Skate to Milano competition, clinching her Olympic berth for Milano-Cortina. En route to the win, Petrosian defeated the 2024 and 2023 European Champions, Loena Hendrickx (Belgium) and Anastasiia Gubanova (Georgia).

As of February 14, she has not yet practiced in Milan, but Petrosian is capable of gold. In typical Russian fashion, the skater has a triple axel and quadruple jumps in her arsenal. If she can deliver, she’ll be a legitimate contender for gold.

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Ami Nakai (Japan)

She’s only 17 years old, but she’s a sleeper contender for Olympic gold. Nakai finished second behind Sakamoto at the most recent Japanese Championships, and the Olympic rookie has already impressed fans and fellow skaters alike.

Nakai joins American Amber Glenn as one of the few women capable of landing a triple axel in Milano, a skill she’s reportedly been landing since she was in fifth grade (Yahoo Japan). “I started practicing at the end of my fifth year of elementary school in Niigata. At first, it was just a game,” she said.

The “game” quickly turned into an international competition. In 2022, Nakai landed two triple axels in one program. The young star heralds three-time world champion Mao Asada as her idol – and it’s no wonder: Asada was also renowned for her stellar triple axel.

If Nakai can complete her jumps, the prodigy could contend for Olympic gold.

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Isabeau Levito (United States)

The third of the United States’ trio, ‘The Blade Angels,’ (Liu, Glenn, and Levito) 18-year-old Isabeau Levito is experienced beyond her years. Despite being the youngest in the trio, Levito has been a staple for the U.S. women since turning senior during the 2021-22 season.

Levito had particular success from 2023 to 2024, winning the U.S. national title in 2023 and clinching silver at the world championships behind Kaori Sakamoto the following year.

This season, Levito won the 2025 CS Cranberry Cup International over Sofia Samodelkina of Kazakhstan and Shin Ji-a of South Korea, and finished second behind Mone Chiba at Skate Canada International.

In a magical twist of fate, Levito’s first Olympic berth takes her back to her mother’s native Milan. Skating to medleys that feature iconic Italians (Sophia Loren and Ennio Morricone), Levito’s performances will be crowd pleasers.

Haein Lee (South Korea)

South Korea’s Haein Lee is an outsider to contend for the podium, but the skater could surprise skating fans in Milan. Lee seemingly peaked in 2023, winning silver at the world championships and gold at the Four Continents championships.

She went on to finish 6th at the 2024 World Championships and 9th in 2025.

However, the 20-year-old reportedly landed a triple axel in training this week in Milan. If Lee can land the skill cleanly, she could capitalize on the errors of the favorites preceding her. Lee hopes to follow in the footsteps of legendary South Korean skater, Yuna Kim, the 2010 Olympic champion.

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