Alysa Liu was the first woman in history to win the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics on February 20 in women’s figure skating by her electrifying performance in the free skate to the music of Donna Summer’s song “MacArthur Park”. With a combined total score of 226.79, Alysa Liu became the first American woman to claim Olympic gold in the discipline in 24 years, ending a long medal drought for U.S. women’s figure skating. Her win, driven by happiness, strength, and a very inspiring second-chance narrative, has established her as one of the all time greats in the sport.
She made a comeback to the ice two years later, in 2024, after two years of retirement and then proceeded to win the 2025 World Championship, and brought that to the Olympics. Her story is self-discovery, empowerment, and unwavering passion about the sport she loves at the very young age of 20.
Alysa Liu Medals
During the course of her figure skating career, Alysa Liu has earned a remarkable number of medals nationally and internationally. The jewel of her career is her Olympic gold at the 2026 Winter Games, but it is by no means the only feat that she has made it to the podium with.
At the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, she claimed gold with a total score of 226.79, finishing ahead of Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto (silver) and 17-year-old Ami Nakai (bronze). Her free skate score of 150.20, nearly matching her personal best of 150.97, was the best performance of the entire competition, delivering the United States its first women’s figure skating gold since Sarah Hughes at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games.
Prior to her retirement and comeback, she had already built a remarkable medal record. She won back-to-back U.S. Championship titles in 2019 and 2020, becoming the youngest skater ever to accomplish that feat, and represented the United States at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics at just 16. After coming back in 2024, she won the 2025 World Championship, which is an indicator that she had yet to reach her best skating.
Alysa Liu Awards
In addition to medals, Alysa Liu has received multiple awards on the basis of her unique talent and revolutionary contributions to figure skating. Her list of firsts is almost unrivalled in the contemporary first days of the sport.
At just 13, she became the youngest woman to land a triple axel in international competition at the 2018 Asian Open Trophy in Bangkok. She then made history again in 2019 as the first American woman, and first woman in the world, to execute a quadruple jump in competition, along with the first woman to combine a quad with a triple axel.
She was the eighth American woman to take home a gold medal in the singles figure skating competition and is in a long-standing tradition that includes such skaters as Kristi Yamaguchi (1992), Tara Lipinski (1998), and Sarah Hughes (2002).
FAQs
Q: What medal did Alysa Liu win at the 2026 Winter Olympics?
A: Her figure skating score was 226.79 which made her win the gold medal in the women category.
Q: Why is her gold medal historically significant?
A: It became the first American female figure skating gold as well as U.S. women after Sarah Hughes in 2002.
Q: Did Alysa Liu retire before the 2026 Olympics?
A: Yes. She retired for two years before making a comeback in 2024, winning the 2025 World Championship and then Olympic gold in 2026.
Q: Who did she beat to win gold?
A: She beat Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto (silver) and Ami Nakai (bronze), holding off world number one Sakamoto in the process.
Q: How old is Alysa Liu?
A: She is 20 years old, making her comeback and Olympic triumph all the more extraordinary.
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