A viral video shows a young Isabeau Levito in a car seat, emphatically stating her Olympic ambition. “I skate every day so I can go to the Olympics,” she declares. “I want to go to the Olympics so much. I can be the winner forever! And I need to do it!”

That dream is now a reality. With the Winter Games in Milano Cortina, her Olympic debut is also a partial homecoming, as her mother, Chiara, is from Milan and much of her family lives there. “No one needs a hotel or has to travel,” Levito notes. “My mom is the only one who has to make arrangements.” (Levito’s father died in 2019.)

Raised in New Jersey, Levito began skating at age 3 after mimicking skaters on TV during the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, which her mother was watching. “She was eager to see if I’d be interested because she loved watching figure skating,” Levito says. “I always loved it—gliding is my favorite part and what got me hooked as a child. I enjoyed the sensation of gliding.”

Levito also studied ballet, which accounts for her pronounced dance-like style on the ice. At age 6, her mother, who worked as an embryologist, found it difficult to manage both activities and told her to choose one. Chiara described skating as “ballet on ice” in Italian, presenting the choice as ballet on ice versus ballet on the floor. Levito chose the allure of gliding but continues to take ballet classes weekly.

Since her senior debut in 2022, Levito has medaled at every U.S. national championship, winning the title in 2023. The next year, she secured her first world championship medal with a silver finish.

Beyond her balletic grace, a signature of Levito’s skating is her consistency, which she credits to her perfectionism and skill in handling competitive pressure. “This season, I feel very connected to myself,” she explains. “I have a sense that I shouldn’t listen to music with headphones before competing; I should listen to nothing. Everyone else has earbuds in and is focused, but I found that stresses me more. I need quiet and stillness in my mind because once you’re on the ice, the lights are bright and it’s overwhelming.”

She plans to use this approach in Milan. “This year, I’m very focused on staying present, moving from one competition to the next, and I’ve been building confidence in my performance ahead of the Olympics,” she states. “I’m trying to stay as grounded as I can. I want to savor every Olympic moment and not stress about how extraordinary it is to be there.”

After securing her team spot in January, Levito quipped that she might be more thrilled about the Olympic Village than the competition. “I’m just so excited and stoked for the Village. I don’t think I’ll be anxious about the main reason I’m there—that’s the extra part, the side quest,” she remarked. “It’s really the Village I’m excited about.”

However, her lightheartedness shouldn’t be misunderstood. Her reliable jumps and graceful artistry have captured the notice of judges worldwide. She depends on her coach, Yulia Kuznetsova, to select her seasonal music and help with choreography. “She understands me perfectly, and I’ve always adored her choices,” Levito says. “When I was younger, Yulia would give me five music pieces to pick from. As I aged, it became three, then two, then one. She simply knows me that well.”

Targeting the Milan Olympics, they selected Italian-themed programs for her short and long routines this season, using music from Sophia Loren’s Houseboat and other Italian sources. “We definitely considered the Olympics being in Milan and my connections there,” Levito says.

At 18, Levito is the youngest of the three women on the U.S. Olympic team and is expected to be a top contender for years. With intense focus on rising technical standards in women’s skating, she acknowledges room to grow. “I won’t retire until I compete with a triple axel,” she asserts. “It’s something I desperately want.” Past attempts at that jump or a quad led to injury, so she aims to pursue them after this season. “It’s a personal goal,” she says. “It’s on the way.”