After 2024 world silver, Isabeau Levito says she doesn’t “feel any more pressure” ahead of Grand Prix season opener
The 17-year-old American on new programs and new confidence after a brilliant 2023-24 season
Figure Skating
U.S. figure skater Isabeau Levito is embracing this moment in her career.
She enters the 2024-25 season fresh off a silver medal win at the 2024 World Championships in Montreal, Canada, but that’s not changing much for her approach.
“Being world silver medallist definitely came with some confidence,” said Levito in a media availability ahead of Skate America 2024, where the 17-year-old will make her ISU Grand Prix season debut. “I don’t feel any more pressure than I usually do at this event this year. I’m just excited to skate my best.”
Levito is still rounding into form as she heads to Texas.
She’s competed twice this season, taking third at the Cranberry Cup International in August and silver last month at the Nebelhorn Trophy.
Coming into Skate America, Levito has made a change in her programs, moving on from a short program set to Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake to one featuring Breakfast at Tiffany’s “Moon River.”
“I only did one competition with [Swan Lake], and then we decided we needed to have a short program that was a little more different in style than my free,” explained Levito. “So, we went with Breakfast at Tiffany’s.
“I haven’t had a costume quite like this one yet,” she added. “I feel very classy, and I really love it.”
The American’s free program uses Franz Liszt’s piano solo Liebesträume.
“When we listened to the music, we thought of the Primavera statue in Italy in San Remo,” Levito says. “It’s very spring. The choreography is very statuesque where I hit a lot of poses, and it’s kind of like a statue that’s coming to life.”
It’s a metaphor that might perfectly describe Levito, as she continues finding herself ahead of two very important seasons.
She’s less than six months away from a home World Championships in Boston that will determine how many women Team USA can send to the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Italy.
Those Games are just under 500 days away.
Still, Levito insists she’s not thinking about the results at those major events.
“I’m focused on trying to be more consistent with performances, like I’ve been in the past,” she said of her goals for the season. “[And] to just keep building up my accomplishments, and live up to what I did last season, too.”