2026 Winter Olympics Women's Figure Skating: Alysa Liu Wins Gold in Historic Comeback, Ami Nakai Shocks the World at 17

The women's figure skating event at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan delivered the most dramatic and emotional night of the entire Games. On February 19 at the Milano Ice Skating Arena, 20-year-old Alysa Liu of the United States skated to Donna Summer's "MacArthur Park" and into history — becoming the first American woman to win Olympic figure skating gold in 24 years.

Final Women's Figure Skating Results — 2026 Olympics

Alysa Liu: The Comeback Queen Who Skated Her Own Way

Liu was nearly flawless in her free skate after sitting third in the short program, scoring a career-best 226.79 overall to claim the Olympic crown. Sarah Hughes was the last U.S. champion at Salt Lake City in 2002.

Liu nailed her signature triple Axel to open her "MacArthur Park Suite" free skate before adding six more triple jumps. She bobbled her final loop and used her hand to stay upright, but it was the Olympic moment she had been seeking. The crowd roared on every landing. After finishing, she shouted to the camera, bounced off the ice to hug her coaches, and could be heard saying "That was so great!"

After the final skater, Ami Nakai of Japan, delivered her free skate and the scores were revealed showing Liu was champion, the first thing she did was run to Nakai and lift her up off the ground.

How old is Alysa Liu? Alysa Liu was born on August 8, 2005, making her 20 years old at the 2026 Milan Cortina Games.

Who Is Alysa Liu's Father? The Extraordinary Story of Arthur Liu

Alysa's father Arthur Liu was born and raised in a small mountain village in China's Sichuan Province. At 25, he fled China after participating in the 1989 Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests. He relocated to the Bay Area, earned a law degree from UC Hastings, and established his own law practice, Inter-Pacific Law Group Inc.

Alysa Liu and her four younger siblings were all born to surrogate mothers through anonymous egg donors. Their mother, Yan "Mary" Qingxin, served as legal guardian during the children's early years after she and Arthur divorced. Arthur's mother Shu moved from China to California to help raise the children, returning to China in 2016.

Arthur told "60 Minutes" in January 2026 that he has spent "a half a million to a million dollars" on Alysa's career. "I spared no money, no time," he said. "I just saw the talent." At the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, Arthur and Alysa were targeted in a spying operation that the U.S. Justice Department alleged was ordered by the Chinese government.

Ami Nakai: Japan's 17-Year-Old Sensation Makes Olympic History

Ami Nakai was born on April 27, 2008, in Niigata, Japan. She is the sixth woman to land a triple Axel at a Winter Olympic Games. Entering her first-ever senior season, she was not even on the Olympic radar — just one year ago she finished 15th at Japanese nationals.

The 17-year-old was assured and undeniable in her Olympic debut, landing a triple Axel in the short program and scoring a personal best of 78.71 points to lead the entire field, besting veterans from the U.S. and Japan alike, including three-time world champion Kaori Sakamoto.

After the results were announced, Nakai said: "When I saw the number '3' next to my name, I thought, 'Well, I guess I didn't make it after all.' Then I realized it meant I had won the bronze medal. I was completely shocked and even wondered if it was real."

Nakai made history as the youngest Japanese figure skater to win an Olympic medal, helping Japan achieve its first-ever double podium finish in women's figure skating.

Kaori Sakamoto Ends Her Olympic Career with Silver

Sakamoto gave a beautiful performance, with her signature class evident from start to finish in her Edith Piaf free skate. But just a few small errors on her jumps made the difference between gold and silver on the night. Sakamoto was seen in tears after the event concluded. The three-time world champion had already announced that Milan Cortina would be her final Olympics. After Sakamoto's retirement, both Ami Nakai and Mone Chiba emerged looking like top contenders for the 2030 French Alps Games.

The Comeback That Defined a Generation

Alysa Liu started skating at age 5, became the youngest U.S. national champion at 13, competed at her first Olympics at 16 in Beijing in 2022, and then retired — before returning two years later. During her two-year hiatus, she climbed to the top of Mount Everest base camp at 17,000 feet above sea level. She won the 2025 World Championships and arrived in Milan as the reigning world champion — then proved it on the biggest stage of all, to a Donna Summer classic, in front of a roaring crowd and the woman who last won this title 24 years ago: Sarah Hughes, who was in the stands watching her successor make history.