American figure skater Alysa Liu’s golden routine caps joyful comeback story

MILAN – Four years after she stepped away from her sport saying she had lost her love for it, American

Alysa Liu skated on Feb 19 night

as though she had flicked the light back on in a long-darkened disco, and soared to Olympic women’s gold.

Her joyful programme to Donna Summer’s MacArthur Park – in a glittering gold dress with her striking brunette and platinum-blonde striped hair – felt much more about fun than perfection as the 20-year-old brought the sold-out crowd at the Milano Ice Skating Arena to their feet.

The reigning world champion started the day in third but, by the time she struck her final pose, pointing skyward, for a total score of 226.79 points, the gold medal felt almost like an afterthought to the grin she wore as she became the first American to win the women’s figure skating event since 2002.

Joy, it seems, is her competitive superpower.

“The most important part of my story is human connection,” said Liu, who returned to skating in 2024 and also won a team gold on Feb 9. “That’s all I want in my life, human connection. And damn, now I connect with a hella ton of people. So that’s my dream, and I am glad that I have my creative ideas and I can share those as well.

“I think my story is more important than anything (results or medals), and that’s what I will hold dear. And this journey has been incredible.”

Three-time world champion Kaori Sakamoto secured silver with 224.90, ahead of Japanese teammate Ami Nakai, who claimed bronze with 219.16.

Liu returned to skating in 2024 on her terms.

Her smile has drawn particular attention at the Milano-Cortina Games because of her unique new frenulum piercing. She has a curved arrow piercing the tissue connecting the underside of her upper lip to her gums.

“I guess it’s doing stuff that people tell you you shouldn’t do. I’ve been doing a lot of that,” Liu said. “I’m glad that a lot of people are now watching so that I can show them everything that I’ve come up with in my brain, share my stories.”

Asked about her influences, she said, “I really had myself and I think that all I needed was myself.”

Her transformation happened during the forced isolation of Covid-19.

“I got alone time, I got to think a lot and so yeah, it was when Covid hit. That’s when I had my first: what to do with myself? There’s nothing to do and I’m grateful that I had that moment of realisation, a light-bulb moment.

“But yeah, a lot happened in four years.”

Sakamoto’s final Olympic skate ended in bittersweet fashion, with her missed jump combination in her free skate to Edith Piaf songs costing her the gold.

It was a detail she replayed in her mind as she finished just 1.89 points behind Liu.

“I thought I might be able to finish with a smile but instead I’m ending it with this sense of frustration,” said Sakamoto, who was seen sobbing on the sidelines as the winner was announced.

“Still, I’ll try to make this experience valuable for the future.

“The points I lost on those mistakes were exactly the margin that cost me the gold medal... that’s the most frustrating part – I know I left something out there.”

The 25-year-old, who also won team silver, tried to acknowledge the distance she has travelled since her Beijing 2022 singles bronze and team silver.

While she will retire at the end of this season, she hopes to return to the Olympic stage one day “as a coach to future gold medallists”, as she praised her younger teammates – 17-year-old Nakai and Mone Chiba, who finished fourth with 217.88 points.

“For a 17-year-old to skate with that kind of composure and finish third is amazing,” said Sakamoto. “Being able to compete with both of them here is something I’ll always treasure.”

Nakai, who led after the short programme in which she nailed a triple axel, did not quite execute her free skate with the same ease.

Although she paid the price for downgrading a triple-triple jump combination into a triple-double effort, she was still overwhelmed by her unexpected bronze.

“At first, I didn’t even think I’d be able to compete in the Olympics and now I’ve won a bronze medal, it still doesn’t feel real,” said Nakai, who became one of Japan’s youngest women’s singles medallists. REUTERS