Womens Free Skate: Alysa Liu Wins Gold, Ending U.S. Olympic Medal Drought
In a dramatic turn for U. S. figure skating, the Womens Free Skate produced a gold-medal performance from Alysa Liu that ended the United States' long absence from the Olympic ladies' podium. Liu moved past rivals late in the program to claim the top spot, a result that matters both for immediate medal counts and for the momentum of American women's skating at these Games.
Womens Free Skate: how the Americans fared
U. S. hopes entered the segment with three contenders grouped together after the short program: Alysa Liu, Isabeau Levito and Amber Glenn. Liu was the only American in medal position after the short, and the free skate reshuffled the leaderboard. Amber Glenn produced a powerful free skate, posting a 147. 52 that vaulted her temporarily to the top of the standings. She was later overtaken by Japan’s Mone Chiba and then by Liu, whose flawless free program secured the gold medal.
Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto and Ami Nakai finished with silver and bronze, respectively. Amber Glenn ultimately placed fifth, while Isabeau Levito finished with a total score of 202. 80, good for 12th place. The result marks the first time an American woman has reached the top of the podium in this event since an earlier U. S. medal in 2006, when Sasha Cohen won silver.
Why the Womens Free Skate result matters
Liu’s victory interrupts a two-decade gap in U. S. women’s Olympic medals in the event and signals a notable competitive resurgence. The sequence in the free skate — an American briefly surging to first before being surpassed by international challengers and then reclaimed by Liu — highlights how narrow margins and single-performance excellence decide the Olympic podium.
For the American skaters involved, the free skate delivered a blend of breakthrough and frustration: a gold for Liu, a near-miss for Glenn after a high-scoring program, and an uphill climb for Levito, who landed outside the top ten in the final placement.
Speedskating ripple: Jordan Stolz takes 1500m silver
The skating story of the day was not limited to the ice rink. In long-track speedskating, Jordan Stolz added a silver medal in the 1500m to his earlier success, bringing his Games tally to two golds and one silver. Stolz had been a heavy favorite in the event, having established dominant form in recent races, but the 1500m produced an upset when Ning Zhongyan posted an Olympic-record performance to win gold.
Stolz’s silver came amid evident emotion; the usually composed skater showed visible disappointment on the podium when he was not at the top. He acknowledged the quality of the winning race and noted that his own legs were not where he would have wanted them early in the race. Still, Stolz recovered strongly enough to move up places and secure the silver. He now has one competition remaining in these Games: the mass start event later in the schedule.
What to watch next
- For U. S. figure skating: how Alysa Liu’s gold shifts momentum and development plans for the American ladies who competed in both short and free segments.
- For speedskating: Jordan Stolz’s final event in the mass start, where he will aim to convert his multi-medal performance into further Olympic hardware.
- Overall medal picture: the Womens Free Skate gold and Stolz’s silver both feed into a larger push by the U. S. across ice sports at these Games.
These outcomes underline how single performances — a flawless free skate or an Olympic-record speedskating run — can rapidly reshape medal tables and national narratives during an intense Olympic schedule. Details remain subject to the unfolding competition, and individual trajectories will become clearer as remaining events conclude.
