N.J. figure skater’s ‘shocking mistake’ ends medal hopes at Milano Cortina Olympics

Isabeau Levito wanted her final performance at the Milano Cortina Olympics “to just look beautiful.” Based on the slight grimace that crossed her face as the judges revealed her score, the 18-year-old figure skater’s showing in the free skate on Thursday was not what she had hoped for or expected.

The Mount Holly native made what NBC commentator Tara Lipinski called “a shocking mistake” on a triple flip that sent her falling to the ice early in her routine. While she recovered for an otherwise solid performance, she was unable to add another triple jump later in the program and the nine-point deduction took her out of medal contention.

“I kind of just skated, so I’m not so sure how I feel about how I skated,” Levito told reporters in Milan. “I feel strong right now. I don’t feel too tired, and for the most part, I’m not going to frown at the Olympics, so I think that’s why I’m smiling.” As to her ability to recover after the fall, the 2023 U.S. champion added, “I kind of just went on autopilot because in training, I just go, go, go.

It’s a lot of repetitions. I do my best when I’m thinking less. So, I just went on autopilot, and the rest just went how it usually goes.” It was a disappointing end to an otherwise impressive Olympic debut for the New Jersey teenager, who trains in Mount Laurel.

Levito won over the crowds with her Italian roots and a younger generation of fans with her quirky social-media presence throughout her time in Italy — and, clearly, she wasn’t ready for it to end.

She made headlines when she told NBC that she was having so much fun in the athletes’ village that organizers “ can’t evict me .” Her mission before leaving for Italy was to make an impression, and clearly, she accomplished that and more. She stood in eighth place after the short program, or just six points out of a spot on the medal stand.

She needed a perfect performance in the free skate — along with plenty of luck — to become the first American woman to medal at the Olympics in 20 years. Instead, it was Alysa Liu who ended that drought with a perfect free skate to win the first U.S. gold medal in the event since Sarah Hughes in 2002. She narrowly beat a pair of Japanese competitors, with Kaori Sakamoto taking silver and Ami Nakai winning bronze.

Levito finished 12th. “This has been like a fantasy,” Levito said. “I really love being here. Living in the village feels like being on a university campus, which is new to me. I’m a teen, so I’ve never been to university. Walking into the dining hall and seeing friends there, walking past the rings every day, and then getting to do what I’m passionate about, my skating.

“It feels like once in a lifetime because I’ve never experienced something like this before. And I don’t have a bad thing to say about it.” Her program, with music from Cinema Paradiso, was a tribute to her Italian roots. While Levito grew up in New Jersey, her grandmother — her nona, as she calls her — lives just 13 minutes from the Milano Ice Skating Arena.

Levito wasn’t the only skater with ties to New Jersey who competed on Thursday. Olga Mikutina, a Ukrainian born athlete who moved to Austria when she was 12, trains about 15 hours a week at Montclair’s ice rink and helps students, faculty and staff with tech issues at the university’s IT service desk.