American figure skater Alysa Liu claimed Olympic gold in the women's free skate at Milan-Cortina 2026, overcoming a third-place short program to deliver a showstopping performance. The 20-year-old scored 150.20 in her free skate, pushing her to the top of the leaderboard with an overall score of 226.79.

Liu's victory ended a 20-year gold medal drought for USA women's figure skating, with her last compatriot to win being Sarah Hughes in 2002. The American superstar, known for her signature halo hair and lip piercing, performed to Donna Summer while wearing a sparkly gold dress that matched her achievement. Her win came after a critical error in the short program where she failed to fully rotate her triple lutz.

Japan's Kaori Sakamoto took silver in her final competitive performance before retirement, while 17-year-old Ami Nakai claimed bronze in her Olympic debut. Sakamoto, who won three world titles during her career, scored positively on all 12 elements but couldn't match Liu's technical difficulty. The victory provided a much-needed boost for Team USA after Ilia Malinin's collapse in the men's event earlier in the competition.