Team USA’s Alysa Liu wins Olympic women's figure skating gold ending 24-year medal drought

MILAN, ITALY: Alysa Liu won the gold medal in the women’s figure skating final on Thursday, February 19, marking the first time an American woman has earned an Olympic gold medal in this event in 24 years. 

Following a brief retirement and a high-stakes comeback, Liu delivered a season-best performance to defeat her Japanese competitors and reclaim the top of the podium for Team USA.

Alysa Liu makes history by winning gold after 24 years

This win is a huge milestone for the United States, as no American woman had reached the podium in singles skating since Sasha Cohen in 2006. 

The last American to take home the gold was Sarah Hughes at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games. 

Liu performed flawlessly, landing all her jumps with a smile, and she couldn't hide her excitement when she finished. 

While celebrating with her coaches, she exclaimed, "That's what I'm f***ing talking about!' and "Holy s**t!"

Liu achieved a total score of 226.79, helped by a season-best free skate score of 150.20.  Notably, Sakamoto finished just behind Liu while Nakai appeared to come much closer.

Alysa Liu makes incredible comeback after facing spies

Liu’s success is even more impressive because she recently came out of retirement following the 2022 Beijing Games. 

Her life has been quite dramatic, especially after it was revealed that she and her father were targeted by a spying operation from the Chinese government before her 2022 Beijing appearance.

Looking back on that time in an interview with Fox news in October 2025, Liu said, "You know what I mean? It's so … unbelievable. You know what I mean like, that's crazy." She even mentioned it felt a bit "freaky" at the time, explaining, "In a weird way, I was like, 'Am I like in some prank show?' Like, is this world real? Like, I must be some movie character."

Alysa Liu's dream movie

Because her life has been so unique, she is open to having her story made into a movie. However, she has some specific requests, saying, "They gotta make me look like a super cool hero or something. And just, I can't just be the kid that got spied on and did nothing about it." 

Most importantly, she wants the film to focus on her father. She explained, "I would just have the main focus be like my dad's story, because, like, his story is so cool and, like, also just like everything that only happened because of what he did. So, I feel like we got to start with the roots."