Alysa Liu delivered a dazzling performance to win Olympic gold at the Milano Cortina Games, snapping a 20-year Olympic medal drought for Americans in women's figure skating. Japan's Kaori Sakamoto took silver, with teammate Ami Nakai earning bronze.
Skating with confidence, Liu executed a flawless free skate, bringing the crowd to its feet. "The way I felt out there were calm, happy and confident. I've been having fun. This experience is really cool," Liu stated.
Liu, who retired at 16 in 2022 citing burnout, returned with a new perspective and greater creative control. This resurgence included a world title last year. Dressed in gold, the 20-year-old celebrated her performance, earning a season's best score of 150.20 for her free skate, totaling 226.79.
This victory marks the first individual Olympic medal for an American woman since Sasha Cohen's silver in 2006 and the first U.S. gold since Sarah Hughes in 2002.
Sakamoto, a favorite, was disappointed after a jump combination error affected her performance. "My goal was to get the gold medal, and now I feel like I'm so disappointed," the 25-year-old said.
Nakai, who led after the short program, made an error on a key jump combination, ultimately securing bronze with a total of 219.16. "I feel sad about that, but I think this means that moving forward, I am carrying the weight of the Japan team," Nakai commented.