Alysa Liu Wins Olympic Figure Skating Gold in Milan, Ending a 24-Year U.S. Drought
On February 19, at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, 20-year-old Chinese-American skater Alysa Liu won the women's figure skating title with a total of 226.79 points — the first Olympic gold for an American woman in the event since Sarah Hughes at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games, ending a 24-year drought. Having already helped the United States win the team event, Liu leaves these Games with two gold medals.
Third after the short program, Liu delivered a season-best free skate of 150.20 points for an international personal best total. Japan's Kaori Sakamoto took silver with 224.90, and 17-year-old Ami Nakai won bronze.
Born in California and raised in Richmond in the Bay Area, Liu is the daughter of Arthur Liu, an immigrant lawyer from Sichuan. She began skating at five, became the youngest U.S. national champion in history at 13, stepped away from the sport after the 2022 Beijing Olympics, returned in 2024, and won the 2025 world title. After her victory she said hearing the crowd's cheers and feeling connected with the audience was the moment she would remember most. (GSM, based on U.S. Figure Skating and public reporting)
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：刘美贤在米兰冬奥会夺金后咬住金牌庆祝（2026年2月19日）。图片来源：Wikimedia Commons（CC BY-SA 4.0，YantsImages 摄）。Photo: Alysa Liu bites her gold medal at the Milan Winter Olympics, Feb. 19, 2026. Source: Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0), YantsImages.
