Alysa Liu delivered a flawless free skate in Milan to surge up the standings and win the women’s Olympic gold medal. The 20-year-old also left Italy with two gold medals after helping the United States capture team-event gold nearly two weeks earlier.
Alysa Liu’s immediate reaction mixed raw celebration with detachment from the medal itself. As she exited the ice, she shouted a profane celebration toward the camera, then said afterward she did not need the medal and that she needed the stage, adding she was “all good” regardless of the outcome.
Alysa Liu became the first American woman to win Olympic gold in the discipline since 2002. Earlier in her career, she became the youngest U.S. national champion at 13 and competed at the Olympics at 16.
After placing third at the 2022 world championships, Alysa Liu retired and later enrolled at UCLA and hiked to Mount Everest base camp in 2023. A family ski trip helped her recognize she missed physical challenge, leading to a return built around her having final say and coaches focused on “making memories,” not setting gold-medal goals.
