Alysa Liu Ends 24-Year U.S. Women’s Figure Skating Gold Drought in Milan

Alysa Liu secured the first Olympic women’s figure skating gold medal for the United States in nearly a quarter of a century, topping the free-skate standings Thursday night at the Milan Cortina Games. The 20-year-old Californian totaled 226.79 points, her personal best, to edge Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto and Ami Nakai in a final round marked by small but decisive errors from her closest rivals.

Liu’s performance, delivered in a gold-sequined costume that matched the occasion, featured clean triple jumps, well-timed step sequences and confident spins. Her only noticeable deduction was a minor negative grade of execution on a late combination, yet the routine remained free of major mistakes. The margin proved critical when Sakamoto and Nakai, skating immediately after Liu, each under-rotated an element in their combination sequences, trimming enough points to settle the medal order.

Sakamoto finished with 224.90 points to add silver to the bronze she earned at the Beijing Games four years earlier. Nakai posted 219.16 to capture bronze, her first Olympic medal at age 17. The U.S. last reached the top step of the women’s podium in 2002, when Sarah Hughes won in Salt Lake City. Liu’s victory ends the longest American gold drought in the discipline since women’s figure skating was introduced to the Olympic program in 1908.

The outcome completed a remarkable return for Liu, who had stepped away from competitive skating after placing seventh in Beijing. She resumed training in late 2023, gradually re-entering international events before securing her Olympic berth at the 2026 U.S. Championships. Milan marked her fourth Grand-style competition since the comeback and her first major title since the 2020 World Junior Championships.

Nakai, the youngest medalist in the event, greeted Liu moments after her own score became official, embracing the American in the designated kiss-and-cry area. With the assignment of points confirmed, U.S. teammate Amber Glenn joined the celebration, raising Liu’s arm in acknowledgment of the crowd inside the Mediolanum Forum.

Glenn, 24, delivered a season-best free skate and climbed from 12th after the short program to finish fifth overall with 214.91 points. Her rebound was one of the night’s early storylines; she led the field through an ice resurfacing break and remained in the top position until Japan’s Mone Chiba, the event’s ninth skater after the interval, posted 218.33. Chiba ultimately placed fourth, narrowly missing the podium.

American Isabeau Levito, considered an outside medal contender, slipped on her opening triple flip and could not match the technical base value of the leaders. She concluded the competition in seventh with 209.68 points. Russia’s Adeliia Petrosian, competing as a neutral athlete under International Olympic Committee guidelines, attempted the only quadruple jump of the women’s segment—a quad toe loop—but fell on the landing. Despite a clean recovery throughout the remainder of her program, the deduction from the fall left her at 214.54, just 0.37 behind Glenn.

Imagem: imagem internet 13

The decisive segment unfolded after 18 skaters had completed their routines. Liu, starting fourth from last, opened with a triple Axel, rotated fully and landed on the back outside edge with minimal flow loss. She followed with a triple Lutz-triple toe combination, receiving high grades of execution, and closed her technical elements with a choreographed step sequence that reached Level 4. Judges awarded 75.32 in program components, underscoring her superior skating skills and transitions.

Sakamoto answered with a program featuring her trademark speed and soft knee bend, but an under-rotation on the back half of a triple flip-triple toe reduced her base value by 1.57 points. Nakai, skating last, doubled the second jump in her intended triple Salchow-triple loop combination, costing 3.03 points from her technical sheet. Those miscues defined the final podium spread of 1.89 points between gold and silver and 5.74 points between silver and bronze.

Beyond individual results, Liu’s triumph adds to a productive Games for the United States figure skating delegation. The team earlier claimed silver in the mixed-discipline event, and the men’s competition produced a bronze for Ilia Malinin. In the broader Olympic context, women’s figure skating remains one of the most watched winter events worldwide; audience data from the International Olympic Committee consistently lists it among top prime-time broadcasts.

The final results will be ratified by the International Skating Union in its official records. Medal ceremonies are scheduled for Friday evening in Milan’s Piazza del Duomo, where Liu is expected to receive her gold before traveling to Turin for the traditional Champions Gala.

Crédito da imagem: Associated Press