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<\/a>MILAN, Italy – Alysa Liu went from pre-teen phenom to retired at 16. In a scene no one could have predicted two years ago, the 20-year-old Californian emerged as the Olympic gold medalist following the women\u2019s free skate Thursday night at the Milano Cortina Games. She became the eighth U.S. woman to stand atop the Olympic podium and the first since Sarah Hughes did so at Salt Lake in 2002.<\/p>\nEntering the evening in third place, Liu scored highest on her triple Lutz-triple toe combination, then on her triple Lutz-double Axel-double toe sequence to record a free skate score of 150.20, which was a season’s best score and a total score of 226.79. which was a personal best score. Despite having a Lady Gaga program that she skated at the U.S. Championships, Liu chose to skate to the same Donna Summer’s “MacArthur Park” music as when she won the world championship last year, which was equally as surprising.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt took a lot to get to this point,\u201d Liu said. \u201cI love this music, and I just skate to my favorite songs. I think it was the perfect program for me. Being grounded is really what keeps me curious. A lot happened in four years. My family was here watching. In Beijing, we didn\u2019t have a crowd, so the fact that there was a crowd had me up even more, so\u00a0 I was honored to perform.\u201d<\/p>\n
Liu, who won her first U.S. title at age 13, was sixth at the Beijing Olympics. After winning the bronze medal at the 2022 World Championships one month later, she retired. Two years of finding herself in other activities that were not related to the strenuous training schedule that had occupied her childhood, allowed Liu to free her mind and eventually return to the ice.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope with all of this attention, I can raise awareness of mental health in sports, mental health in general,” Liu added. “I think my story is pretty cool. I hope that inspires people, as well. All I want in my life is human connection. That\u2019s my dream. I am glad I have creative ideas and I can share those ideas, as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Liu is also the first U.S. woman to win an Olympic medal of any color since Sasha Cohen won silver in Torino 2006. Earlier in the in the Olympics, she won the gold medal in the team competition. Liu is the first woman to claim two gold medals at a single Games.<\/p>\n
“Four years ago in Beijing, I won what felt like a miraculous bronze medal,” Sakamoto said. “Now, four years later, I came here aiming for gold. \u201cI’m frustrated that I couldn’t win it and ended up with silver. But the fact that I can feel frustrated even though I moved up a medal color shows how much I\u2019ve grown over these past four years. All the experiences I\u2019ve accumulated have led to this growth, and I think that\u2019s something I can be proud of.”<\/p>\n<\/a>Japan\u2019s Kaori Sakamoto earned the silver medal, improving from her bronze medal at the 2022 Beijing Olympics. Skating to an Edith Piaf medley, which includes the song “Non, je ne regrette rien”, which translates to “I have no regrets, Sakamoto scored highest on her double Axel-triple toe-double toe combination. She struggled on the landing of her second triple flip and could not add a planned triple toe for a combination, which cost her some needed points. She earned a free skate score of 147.67 and a combinated score of 224.90 for the silver. The 25-year-old now has three Olympic silver medals, two from the team events in 2022 and 2026, and a bronze from the individual event in Beijing.<\/p>\n