Alysa Liu Gold Medals Propel U.S. Skater to Olympic Gold and a Social Media Surge
alyssa liu gold medals arrived in dramatic fashion at the 2026 Winter Olympics: a comeback free skate that produced a 150. 20 free-skate score and a 226. 79 overall total, a narrow victory that immediately reshaped the sport and her public profile.
Free skate turned a short-program stumble into gold
Alysa Liu entered the free skate in third place after a couple of errors in the short program, including a triple lutz where she failed to fully rotate the element. In the free skate she wore a sparkly gold dress and performed to Donna Summer, delivering a performance that drew deafening cheers and a standing ovation from members of the crowd, including Ilia Malinin. Liu scored 150. 20 in the free skate and finished with an overall score of 226. 79, narrowly beating Kaori Sakamoto, who took silver in what was billed as her final performance before retirement.
Alysa Liu Gold Medals and the podium ceremony
The 20-year-old was awarded the gold as Kaori Sakamoto took silver and 17-year-old Ami Nakai claimed bronze. Kaori Sakamoto, Liu’s rival whom Liu beat to the world title last year, received her medal alongside Liu and Nakai from IOC president Kirsty Coventry. A photo captured Liu displaying her medal after the women's free skate in Milan, Italy on Feb. 19, 2026.
Scores, placements and notable finishes
Liu’s win made her the first American Olympic champion in women's figure skating since Sarah Hughes in 2002 and the first U. S. medallist in the event since Sasha Cohen in 2006. Mone Chiba finished fourth. Amber Glenn climbed from 13th after the short program to finish fifth following an excellent free skate. Russian champion Adeliia Petrosian came sixth after a fall. The victory was described as a much-needed boost for the U. S., their only gold in singles figure skating following Ilia Malinin's collapse in the men's event.
Instagram boom and comparisons with Eileen Gu
alyssa liu gold medals sparked a social-media surge. Team USA’s Alysa Liu reached 5. 3 million followers on Instagram on Tuesday, roughly one week after winning what was described as 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. Liu’s rise to global sensation and fan favorite status translated into follower gains that left fellow Chinese-American athlete Eileen Gu behind on the platform: Gu had about 3. 7 million followers after the Games, up from over 2. 1 million before the Olympics. Liu was described in one piece as being on pace to potentially double that number, and Gu left a celebratory comment — "YESSSSSS" — on Liu’s post.
Family ties, national choices and broader debate
The two athletes have been compared on and off social media. Both are children of immigrants who came to the U. S. from China: Arthur Liu raised Alysa and her siblings in Oakland, and Yan Gu raised Eileen in San Francisco. Eileen Gu competes for Team China despite being born and raised in the United States; she won a gold and two silvers at these Games, bringing her Olympic medal total to six with three golds and making her the most decorated women's freeskier in the sport's history. Gu switched national affiliation after competing for the U. S. in January 2019 and then competing for China for the first time in June 2019 following a request to the International Ski Federation. Commentary and debate over those choices were discussed on air by OutKick founder Clay Travis on ' Live. ' The Chinese government has also been cited for launching a program to recruit foreign-born athletes with Chinese heritage to boost competitiveness, notably ahead of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and in soccer.
On the ice, Liu framed the win personally: "My family is out there, my friends are out there. I had to put on a show for them, " she said, adding, "When I see other people smiling, because I see them in the audience, I have to smile, too. I have no poker face. " The victory completed a comeback narrative — Liu had previously quit the sport at 16 after missing out on a medal at Beijing 2022.
A full schedule including times of medal events was published for the Games; details of forthcoming skating events and the rest of the schedule are unclear in the provided context.
