Rachel Treisman

skaters on the roster include Ice Dancers Madison Chalk and Evan Bates and Ilya Malinin, who finished well off the podium but says he has something special planned.

Rachel Triesman and PR News, Milan.

Reigning world champion Alyssa Liu, reigning U.S.

champion Amber Glenn, and Isabel Levito were among the favorites coming into the short program, widely considered the U.S.

's best hope at a women's medal in two decades.

After a strong skate, Liu stands in third place and Levito in eighth.

In a shocking twist, Glenn is in 13th place, despite a strong program up until her very last jump.

She nailed a triple axel, one of only a few women at these Olympics doing that jump, but then did only a double rather than the required triple on a separate jump, losing substantial points and leaving the ice in tears.

All three women have a chance to make up some points at Thursday's free skate, which ends with medals.

Rachel Triesman, NPR News, Milan.

That really is one of the most serious complications of pregnancy.

We were like, we don't believe this.

Like, this is impossible.

Malinin's wobbly free skate and eighth place finish reminded fellow U.S.

figure skater Nathan Chen of his own experience.

He fell during his program at the 2018 Olympics, then came back to win gold four years later.

The phenomenon of athletes getting the yips, or twisties, is actually highly studied, and sports psychologists say it's crucial for athletes to recover and heal in order to build up their resilience and come back even stronger.

Malanin won't have long to wait for his chance to bounce back.

He's set to try to defend his title at the World Figure Skating Championships in March.

Rachel Treisman, NPR News, Milan.