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02/19/26 06:07:00
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02/19 18:05 CST Alysa Liu dazzles to win figure skating gold, ending a 24-year
Olympic drought for US women
Alysa Liu dazzles to win figure skating gold, ending a 24-year Olympic drought
for US women
By DAVE SKRETTA
AP Sports Writer
MILAN (AP) --- Alysa Liu had just delivered a near-flawless Olympic free skate
on Thursday night, one that left a packed crowd inside the Milano Ice Skating
Arena standing and roaring, when a television camera zoomed in on the American
star as she was heading off the ice.
"That's what I'm f------------------ talking about!" Liu shouted into the lens.
Oh, they'll be talking about her for quite a while.
The 20-year-old from the San Francisco Bay Area, who walked away from the sport
before finding her way back again --- and finding herself in the process ---
delivered the U.S. its first women's figure skating gold medal in 24 years. She
finished with 226.79 points to upstage Japanese teammates Kaori Sakamoto and
Ami Nakai, who took silver and bronze at the Milan Cortina Games.
"I think my story is more important than anything to me," Liu said, her
frenulum piercing glinting in the light as she smiled, "and that's what I will
hold dear, and this journey has been incredible, and my life has just been ---
I have no complaints."
The moment Nakai's score was read after the final program of the night, U.S.
teammate Amber Glenn jumped into the kiss-and-cry and raised Liu's hand in
triumph. Liu sheepishly turned and applauded the 17-year-old Nakai, who raced
over and hugged her.
It was the first individual gold medal for an American woman since 2002, when
Sarah Hughes stood atop the podium in Salt Lake City, and it was the second
gold for Liu at the Milan Cortina Games. She and Glenn helped the Americans win
team gold.
"Her story of taking a step back, mental health, I think it really attests to
you never know what the journey to success is going to be," said Glenn, who
finished fifth. "I really hope that can reach the skating community, that it's
OK to take time."
It was a bittersweet silver medal for Sakamoto, the three-time world champion,
who intends to retire after this season. One of the most popular figure skaters
of her generation earned a bronze medal four years ago in Beijing and had her
heart set on gold.
"I'm really regretful," said Sakamoto, who finished with 224.90 points. "I feel
like I'm so disappointed, to be honest."
Liu's latest gold medal, meanwhile, blended right into her glittering
gold-sequined dress, only the blue ribbon standing out. And it seemed the
perfect complement to the golden stripes running through her dark brown hair,
which are meant to resemble the growth rings on a tree.
Liu has done a whole lot of growing up over the years.
She was the youngest U.S. champion ever when she won the first of back-to-back
titles at 13 years old. But after finishing sixth at the Beijing Games, Liu was
so burned out that she abruptly retired. She spent the next two years doing
bucket-list things like climbing up to the base camp of Mount Everest and
enrolling at UCLA, where she is studying psychology.
It was on a skiing trip a couple of years ago, when Liu felt the same familiar
adrenaline rush she once felt while skating, that she began to think about a
comeback. But this time, Liu would be skating on her terms, more carefree and
self-assured than she'd been as a child prodigy, when her life revolved around
the practice rink.
"I mean, it's just how my life has gone," Liu said, shrugging. "Everything in
general has led me to this point."
Even during warmups Thursday night, Liu skated with a grin on her face, never
showing any outward signs of pressure. She took the time to wave at friends and
family in the stands who had been keeping her out late for dinners, which she
called "super fun."
"What I was feeling," Liu said, "was happy and confident."
Glenn must have felt the same way a couple of hours earlier. She had to perform
long before her friend and teammate following a disappointing short program two
nights prior. But Glenn rebounded in spectacular fashion, and her season-best
free skate not only gave her a score of 214.91 points but it nearly put her on
the podium, too.
Glenn pumped her fist and fought back tears when her score was read, then she
took a seat in the new "leader's chair."
"It was nice to watch some great figure skating up close," Glenn said, "but
it's also conflicting, because you want to stay there but you don't want to
wish mistakes on anybody else."
She wound up staying there for quite a while.
Adeliia Petrosian, an 18-year-old Russian competing as a neutral athlete, tried
the only quadruple jump during the women's competition but fell on the quad toe
loop. She was clean the rest of the way, but the points Petrosian lost on that
fall ended up leaving her less than a half-point behind Glenn sitting in the
leader's chair.
"I feel a little ashamed," Petrosian said, after taking a few minutes to
compose herself, "for myself, for the federation, for my coaches and for the
spectators that it went this way. I understand that it's my own fault."
It wasn't until Mone Chiba --- the ninth skater to follow Glenn to the ice ---
that the three-time U.S. champ was bumped from her spot.
Chiba's stint in the leader's chair didn't last nearly as long.
Liu, who last year captured the first world title by an American woman since
2006, was perfect from her opening triple flip to her closing combination
sequence. As the last bits of Donna Summer's version of "MacArthur Park" faded
away, and the roar of the fans filled the void, Liu gave a casual flip of her
ponytail as if to say, "So what?"
Her coaches, Phillip DiGuglielmo and Massimo Scali, were a little more
rambunctious. They punched the air, gave each other a big hug, then headed over
to greet their star pupil when she stepped off the ice to await her score.
The score that ultimately would give her an Olympic title and end a long
drought for U.S. women.
"I don't need this," Liu said of the gold medal hanging around her neck, "but
what I needed was the stage, and I got that. So it was all good, no matter what
happened. I mean, if I fell on every jump, I would still be wearing this dress.
So it's all good."
___
AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
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