At just 16, Alysa Liu retired. Liu had done everything. She had won a bronze medal at the 2022 World Figure Skating Championships, becoming the first U.S. woman to do that in six years. Liu represented the country at the Beijing Games, modeled for Ralph Lauren, and appeared on national television. Yet, even with all that, it was simply too much for a 16-year-old.

And now, here we are in 2026, watching her stand at the top of the Olympic podium.

Liu won gold at the 2026 Milan Winter Olympics after a near-flawless free skate that lifted her from third place to first. The arena had barely settled when the magnitude of the moment hit her.
“I just like… can’t process this. There’s no way,” Liu could be heard telling her coaches in the hallway moments after stepping off the ice.

With that performance, she became the first U.S. woman to win Olympic gold in figure skating since Sarah Hughes. And while the cheers still echo through the arena, Liu is already speaking about something bigger than victory: protecting herself, her identity, and her balance.

“You have literally grown up in front of the world. How do you protect your identity, outside of the podium, outside of competitions?” asked Shreya Verma, correspondent for Essentially Sports, during the post-event interaction.

News served to you like never before!

Prefer us on Google, To get latest news on feed

Prefer Us on Google

“Yeah, I mean, protecting my identity is my main goal,” Liu replied calmly. “I know exactly what it’s like to kind of not have that. So, my experience with it before has taught me how I should guard myself.”

That experience is central to everything unfolding here tonight.

Liu once fell out of love with figure skating. She began at five and never stopped until she was 16. She was homeschooled, training constantly, living away from family and friends. Speaking earlier with NBC News, she explained how isolating that life became; how deeply she craved a normal human connection. She didn’t feel like she had a proper childhood.

So she stepped away. Completely.

She enrolled at UCLA, lived like any other student, traveled , laughed with friends, and simply lived.

“I don’t go online that much,” Liu said after her skate. “I hang out with friends and family as much as possible. Being grounded is really what keeps me. I love exploring other hobbies, doing side quests… it keeps me curious. I’m protecting that.”

She believes it’s that protection, of her joy, her balance, her mental health, that shaped what we witnessed tonight.

Alysa Liu’s Gold Medal Win Changes an Important Figure Skating Narrative

In modern figure skating, difficulty often defines greatness. Skaters like Ilia Malinin and Amber Glenn push technical limits because the scoring rewards it. Bigger elements, rarer jumps, higher risk; higher reward.

But Liu approached this final differently.

She was the last American to take the ice, waving to spectators during warmups in a glittering golden dress, looking completely at ease. There was no visible tension; only presence. She moved through her program with lightness, gliding into a triple lutz and triple salchow, smiling throughout. Every clean landing drew a louder roar from the crowd.

Her free skate score: 150.20.
Her total: 226.79.
Gold medal secured.

Before she even began, Olympic champion Tara Lipinski had sensed what might unfold.
“I believe gold medals are usually chosen by skates that are free and skated with wild abandon, and she is the skater capable of that.”

After the result, commentator Johnny Weir captured the broader meaning of the night: Liu has shown the world and the skating community that there is more than one way to win.

And watching from rinkside, that truth feels undeniable.

Tonight wasn’t just about technical brilliance.
It was about joy.
And joy, skating freely under Olympic lights, carried Alysa Liu all the way to gold.