Before talking about her experience at the Olympic Village, the Team USA figure skater Isabel Levito admitted he had eyes for another of his sport’s stars.
“Oh my god, someone said my celebrity crush is Cha Jun-hwanthis is so real,” Levito, 18, said a resurfaced clip from a recent Instagram Live with another Team USA figure skater Alyssa Liu.
Liu, 20, replied: “Is it a bit?”
Levito and Cha, 24, were both members of the 2024 Stars on Ice tour, which is where Levito’s affinity for the skater first blossomed.
Alysa Liu’s incredible comeback story has brought her to the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina, Italy, after previously retiring from competitive figure skating. Liu made history as the youngest U.S. figure skating champion at just 13 years old and represented Team USA in Beijing at the 2022 Winter Olympics when she was (…)
“Everybody was really good with him was that he was perfect,” Levito explained. “In group rehearsals, when everyone was bad, everyone would look at Cha Jun-hwan and say, ‘But he’s perfect.'”
Cha, representing the Republic of Korea, finished 4th in the men’s figure skating event at the 2026 Olympic Gamesfalling just 0.98 points behind Japan Shun Satowho took home the bronze medal.
Levito’s clip began circulating online after his comments loving life in the Olympic Village went viral earlier this week.
Cha Jun-hwan of South Korea competes in the men’s individual free skate final of figure skating during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at the Milano Ice Skating Arena in Milan on February 13, 2026.
WANG Zhao/AFP“I’ve spent every night in the (Olympic) Village. It’s been everything and more,” Levito told NBC in a video released Monday, Feb. 16. “You can’t evict me.”
She added: “I don’t think there’s anything not to enjoy. I haven’t even gotten to compete yet and I feel like my experience is complete. Not complete, but I’m having a blast. The best time.”
The American star had plenty of time to explore the Village grounds, arriving in Italy weeks before she finally hit the ice to compete in the women’s figure skating short program event on Tuesday, February 17.
“I feel like I’m exactly where I want to be and I’m really happy that things have lined up and worked out well for me to be here,” Levito said. “I’m excited for the opportunity to compete.”
Levito finished in 5th place in the short program, with American Liu in 3rd. Amber Glennthe third member of Team USA’s Blade Angels, had a disappointing skate and finished in 13th place.
“I feel great,” Levito told NBC after his performance. “I feel like I skated with the elegance that I wanted to skate with. And I’m very happy that my Olympic debut looked like this… I felt special.”
Every two years, the Summer or Winter Olympic Games bring together the world’s best athletes to compete in the same city and live in the same Olympic Village. They are usually in their 20s in peak physical condition, forced to be close in the midst of a high-stress, high-risk environment. It is ripe for extracurricular activities. In fact, People reports that (…)
She continued: “I love this show. I love the dress and I love the character that I play on this show. So I feel very confident and very satisfied and happy with myself right now.”
Liu was in a similarly positive mood after his short program on Tuesday.
“It felt great,” Liu told reporters. “I don’t know if I felt so good because it was Olympic ice, or because my best friend, my brothers, my (dad) and my friends were watching. I don’t know which, I’m just so happy, and this moment is so exciting.”
Levito, Liu and Glenn, 26, all return to the ice for the women’s free skate on Thursday, February 19.