Winter Olympics 2026

Alysa Liu Wins Figure Skating Gold, Ending 24-year Olympic Drought for US Women

Liu, who briefly retired after the 2022 Beijing Olympics, hails from the San Francisco Bay Area.
Alysa Liu Wins Figure Skating Gold, Ending 24-year Olympic Drought for US Women
Gold medalist Alysa Liu of Team United States poses on the podium during the medal ceremony for the Women's Single Skating on day 13 of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Ice Skating Arena in Milan, Italy, on Feb. 19, 2026. Matthew Stockman/Getty Images
Kimberly Hayek
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American figure skater Alysa Liu on Feb. 19 emerged victorious in the Olympics, winning the United States’ first Olympic gold medal in women’s figure skating since 2002, defeating Japanese skaters Kaori Sakamoto and Ami Nakai at the Milan Cortina Games.

Liu, 20, hails from the San Francisco Bay Area and returned to competitive ice skating after retiring after the Beijing Olympics in 2022 because of burnout. She earned a career-high 226.79 points.

Kimberly Hayek
Kimberly Hayek
Author
Kimberly Hayek is a reporter for The Epoch Times. She covers California news and has worked as an editor and on scene at the U.S.-Mexico border during the 2018 migrant caravan crisis.