An electrifying moment came to the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Games when 20-year-old Alysa Liu of the United States dazzled in the women’s free skate to surge from third place after the short program and claim the gold medal, scoring a career-best 226.79 overall.
Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto and Ami Nakai took silver and bronze, respectively. Sakamoto gave a beautiful performance, but small errors on her jumps proved to be the difference between gold and silver on the night.
Liu’s victory marked the first U.S. win in women’s figure skating since Sarah Hughes’ gold at Salt Lake City 2002 — a 24-year drought. The achievement is made all the more remarkable by Liu’s journey back to the sport: she had returned after more than two years of retirement following the 2022 Beijing Olympics, where she finished sixth.
Skating to Donna Summer’s “MacArthur Park Suite” and dressed in glittery gold, Liu appeared utterly at ease under the pressure of the Olympic spotlight. “I was peak happiness when I was out there on the ice,” she said after the event. “Nothing could bring me higher than that.”
It was Liu’s second gold of these Games, having previously helped Team USA capture the team event gold in the opening week — the first time a women’s singles skater won two golds in a single Olympic Games.
In March 2026, following her wins, Liu was awarded the key to the city of Oakland and was named to the Time 100 list.
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