The Blade Angels Take to the Ice in Olympic Figure Skating

The U.S. women’s figure skating team, affectionately known as the Blade Angels, is finally hitting the ice. Today, February 17th, marks the beginning of the women’s individual figure skating competition, and Isabeau Levito, the last member of the U.S. team, will be making her Olympic debut.

Alisa Liu and Amber Glenn have already showcased their skills on Olympic ice, even bringing home medals from the team event. Liu performed in the short program, while Glenn excelled in the free program.

What to Know About the Women’s Short Program

• Event: Women’s Short Program
• Date: February 17th, 12:45 PM ET
• Location: Milan Ice Skating Arena (Milan, Italy)
• Broadcast: USA Network (12:45 PM ET), NBC (2:40 PM ET)
• Streaming: DIRECTV (free trial available)

Among the competitors today, Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto, who led the team short event, and Italy’s Lara Naki Gutman have already secured medals in the team event. Sakamoto, the current bronze medalist, is notably the only skater returning from a podium finish in 2022.

Following today’s performances, the top 24 skaters will move on to the free dance segment scheduled for February 19th, where medals will be awarded based on the overall scores.

Start Time for Women’s Short Program

The 2026 Olympic women’s short program kicks off today at 12:45 PM ET. It will begin airing on USA Network and will transition to NBC at 2:40 PM for the concluding segments.

Watching Olympic Figure Skating for Free

If you don’t have cable, you can stream the Olympics for free through various live TV streaming services. Personally, I find DIRECTV to be a reliable choice, offering a 5-day free trial along with different plans starting at $69.99 per month that include both USA Network and NBC.

With a subscription, you can catch every moment of the Olympics, including coverage through Peacock starting at $10.99 per month.

Figure Skating – Women’s Short Program Competitors

1. Victoria Safonova (AIN)
2. Adelia Petrosyan (AIN)
3. Meda Variakosite (LTU)
4. Zhang Ruiyang (CHN)
5. Kristen Spurs (GBR)
6. Livia Kaiser (SUI)
7. Maria Seniuk (ISR)
8. Alexandra Fagin (BUL)
9. Julia Sauter (ROU)
10. Olga Mikutina (AUT)
11. Iida Karunen (FIN)
12. Kimmy Ripond (SUI)
13. Ekaterina Krakova (POL)
14. Jia Shin (KOR)
15. Hain Lee (KOR)
16. Lorine Surid (FRA)
17. Sofia Samodelkina (DAZ)
18. Ami Nakai (JPN)
19. Madeleina Scissas (CAN)
20. Roena Hendricks (BEL)
21. Nina Pinzarone (BEL)
22. Nina Petrokina (EST)
23. Lala Naki Gutman (ITA)
24. Alisa Liu (USA)
25. Ysabeau Levito (USA)
26. Anastasia Gubanova (GEO)
27. Kaori Sakamoto (JPN)
28. Amber Glenn (USA)
29. Chiba Hyakuon (CHIBAMONE)

Upcoming Figure Skating Schedule at the 2026 Olympics

• Women’s Singles – Short Program – February 17th 12:45 PM ET
• Women’s Singles – Free Skate – February 19th 1:00 PM ET
• Exhibition Gala – February 21st 2:00 PM ET

*Medals will be awarded at the end of these events.

Conclusion of the Winter Olympics

The 2026 Winter Olympics will wrap up with a closing ceremony on February 22nd at 2:30 PM ET.