Alysa Liu Gold Medals: alysa liu gold medals mark Olympic breakthrough

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alyssa liu gold medals

Free skate and short program

Alysa Liu entered the free skate in third place after a couple of errors in the short program, including a mistake on her triple lutz where she failed to fully rotate in the element. She produced a showstopping free skate that drew deafening cheers from the crowd.

Alysa Liu Gold Medals and Scores

Wearing a sparkly gold dress and performing to Donna Summer, Liu scored 150. 20 in her free skate and posted an overall score of 226. 79 to take Olympic gold. The free-skate total pushed her to the top of the leaderboard by a narrow margin over Japan's Kaori Sakamoto.

Podium, presenters and retirements

Kaori Sakamoto won silver in what was described as her final performance before retirement. Seventeen-year-old Ami Nakai claimed bronze. Kaori Sakamoto, Alysa Liu and Ami Nakai received their medals from IOC president Kirsty Coventry.

Placings, falls and comebacks

Japan's Mone Chiba finished fourth. Amber Glenn rose from 13th to fifth after an excellent free skate. Russian champion Adeliia Petrosian came sixth following a fall. Liu, 20, becomes the first American Olympic champion in women's figure skating since Sarah Hughes in 2002, and the first USA medallist since Sasha Cohen in 2006. Her victory completed a remarkable comeback after she had previously quit the sport aged 16 following a missed medal at Beijing 2022.

Personal reaction and crowd response

Described in coverage as the alt girl with her iconic halo hair and lip piercing, Liu received a standing ovation from among the crowd, including Ilia Malinin, who had collapsed in the men's event earlier in the Games. "My family is out there, my friends are out there. I had to put on a show for them, " she said. She added, "When I see other people smiling, because I see them in the audience, I have to smile, too. I have no poker face. "

Social media surge and followers

After the victory Liu's Instagram following climbed sharply to 5. 3 million followers on Tuesday, one week after she won what was the first individual Olympic gold medal in women's figure skating in 24 years. Prior to the start of the Olympics she had fewer than 300, 000 followers. The surge put her ahead of Eileen Gu, who sat at 3. 7 million followers after a bump from over 2. 1 million before the Games. Gu, who competes for Team China despite being born and raised in the U. S., commented "YESSSSSS" on Liu's post celebrating the gold medal.

Comparisons, backgrounds and family

Both Liu and Gu are California-born Chinese-American athletes and have been compared on social media. Both are children of immigrants who came to the U. S. from China. Arthur Liu raised Alysa and her siblings in Oakland. Yan Gu raised Eileen in San Francisco. Eileen Gu won a gold and two silvers at these Games, bringing her total Olympic medal tally to six with three golds, making her the most decorated women's freeskier in the sport's history.

Skiing career moves and federation change

Eileen Gu competed in her first Freestyle Ski World Cup for the U. S. in January 2019 and then competed for China for the first time in June 2019 after requesting a change of nation with the International Ski Federation.

Commentary and context

Commentators, including Clay Travis, discussed Liu's gold-medal victory and the wider debate comparing the two Chinese-American athletes. The Chinese government launched a program to recruit foreign-born athletes, primarily with Chinese heritage, to boost competitiveness, notably for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and soccer.

Photo and event details

The gold medal ceremony and Liu's free skate took place in Milan, Italy; the free skate appearance and medal display are dated Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026, with a photo by Stephanie Scarbrough accompanying coverage.

Other notes from the context

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alyssa liu gold medals

Closing: Alysa Liu won Olympic women's figure skating gold with a 150. 20 free skate and a 226. 79 overall score, narrowly defeating Kaori Sakamoto while Ami Nakai took bronze; the victory triggered a major social-media surge and cemented Liu's comeback.