At the Milan-Cortina Games, not only was the ice lit up, but the event also highlighted some significant moments from the past.
It’s been quite a while since an American woman claimed a medal in figure skating—the last time was back in 2006 with Sasha Cohen’s silver, following the impressive performance by Sarah Hughes in Salt Lake City.
Now, 20-year-old Alisa Liu has added her name to the list.
Liu, hailing from Clovis, California, trains at the St. Moritz Skating Club in Oakland. She took to the ice for the women’s free skate on Thursday night, aiming for a historic achievement.
Ultimately, she clinched first place in the women’s free skate competition with a score of 150.20 points, marking a season’s best, and accumulating a total of 226.79 points.
After Tuesday’s short program, where Japan’s Ami Nakai and Kaori Sakamoto led, Liu came into the free skate with a little momentum. She had scored a personal best of 76.59 under the Olympic spotlight during that program, and was positioned just ahead of Nakai and Sakamoto. It felt beautiful and uniquely hers.
Earlier in the Olympics, Liu played a vital role in the U.S. team’s gold medal victory in the team event. She placed second in the short program behind Sakamoto, helping her team secure the win.
“I really enjoyed doing the team event,” she shared. “It felt really special.”
Having won the national title at just 13 years old, she became the youngest U.S. champion ever. By the time she was 16, she had already earned a place at the Beijing Olympics, finishing in sixth place and drawing comparisons to skating legends like Kristi Yamaguchi and Michelle Kwan.
However, Liu faced burnout and stepped back from skating after the 2022 Games, opting to study psychology at UCLA.
“I really hated skating,” she admitted. “Over time, I realized it didn’t have to be that way.”
She made a comeback in 2024 and made headlines last year by becoming the first American woman to win a world title since 2006. Arriving in Milan, she was no longer just a prodigy; she had matured as an artist.
“I love the process of making things,” Liu expressed. “Skating is a way to express yourself.”
This mindset accompanied her during the free skate performance, regardless of whether she walked away with gold. Throughout the week, she emphasized that competing against Nakai or Sakamoto was not her primary focus.
“My goal is simply to perform my program and tell my story,” she said.
Meanwhile, the other American skaters struggled, with Amber Glenn finishing in 13th and Isabeau Levit in 8th. This left Liu as the last hope for ending a lengthy Olympic drought for American women.
And perhaps that’s precisely what mattered. She’s skating not to shoulder the weight of national pride but for her own passion. Training has become her playground, and competition is more of a “guilty pleasure.” She now defines her relationship with the sport, owning it instead of it owning her.
Having once stepped back to protect herself, she now skates driven by her own desires.
