Alysa Liu Gold Medals Spark Social Surge and Spotlight a Unique Family Story
Alysa Liu added Olympic gold to her world title with a 150. 20 free skate and a 226. 79 overall score in Milan on Feb. 19, 2026, and the result has quickly pushed alysa liu gold medals into the cultural conversation beyond the ice.
Dominant free skate sealed the title
Liu, 20, entered the free skate in third place after errors in the short program but delivered a mistake-free routine set to Donna Summer while wearing a sparkly gold dress, drawing deafening cheers. Her 150. 20 free-skate score lifted her to 226. 79 overall and the Olympic crown, completing a comeback after she had quit the sport at 16 following Beijing 2022.
Close podium and notable finishes
Liu narrowly beat Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto, who took silver in what was her final performance before retirement, while 17-year-old Ami Nakai claimed bronze. Mone Chiba finished fourth; Amber Glenn rose from 13th after the short program to finish fifth following an excellent free skate; Russian champion Adeliia Petrosian placed sixth after a fall.
Alysa Liu Gold Medals on the podium
The three medalists—Kaori Sakamoto, Alysa Liu and Ami Nakai—received their medals from IOC president Kirsty Coventry. Liu became 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.
Crowd reaction and a personal comeback
Among the crowd was Ilia Malinin, who had collapsed in the men’s event; he joined others in a standing ovation as Liu finished. Liu, described in coverage as the alt girl with halo hair and a lip piercing, said, "My family is out there, my friends are out there. I had to put on a show for them. " 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 boom and comparisons with Eileen Gu
Liu’s Olympic victory has driven a rapid social-media surge: she reached 5. 3 million Instagram followers on Tuesday, roughly one week after winning the first individual Olympic gold medal in women’s figure skating in 24 years; she had fewer than 300, 000 followers before the Games. By contrast, fellow Chinese-American athlete Eileen Gu, who competed for China and added a gold and two silvers at these Games for a career Olympic total of six medals (including three golds), now has 3. 7 million Instagram followers after holding just over 2. 1 million before the Olympics. Gu left a one-word comment—"YESSSSSS"—on Liu’s gold-medal post.
Family background and surrogacy details
Liu’s father, Arthur Liu, is a political refugee and a lawyer who decided at age 40 to start a family on his own. He raised Alysa and her siblings in Oakland and fathered five children through two surrogates and anonymous egg donors. That family story has attracted attention alongside Liu’s performances on the ice.
Surrogacy and legal context
Single fathers by choice who use gestational surrogacy remain rare. Research cited in coverage notes that single-father households in the U. S. increased roughly fourfold since 1960, with about 2 million single fathers living with children under 18 as of 2016, though most of those fathers are divorced, separated, or widowed. High-profile single fathers surrogacy such as Andy Cohen and Ricky Martin have spoken publicly about the route. Legal rules vary: the United Kingdom has treated the surrogate as the legal parent at birth and has only recently updated laws to allow prospective single parents a clearer path; U. S. surrogacy law differs by state—examples highlighted include Alaska, Kansas and Arizona—and California, where the Liu family lives, is described as surrogacy-friendly.
Public debate and media attention
Discussion of Liu’s victory and the contrast with Gu’s choices has entered broader media and television commentary; commentator Clay Travis discussed Liu’s gold and the debate over Gu’s decision on national television. The wider debate has noted that both Liu and Gu are children of immigrants from China—Arthur Liu raised Alysa in Oakland, while Yan Gu raised Eileen in San Francisco—and has drawn attention to programs the Chinese government launched to recruit foreign-born athletes for events including the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and in soccer.
It is unclear in the provided context what Liu’s next competitive schedule is or what event she will skate in next.
