Alyssa Liu wins gold for the United States in women’s figure skating at the 2026 Winter Olympics

Alyssa Liu won one gold medal in women’s individual figure skating on Thursday; she became the first American woman to take the Olympic podium in this event since 2006. Kaori Sakamoto of Japan won the silver medal and Ami Nakai of Japan won the bronze medal.

The last American woman to win a medal in individual figure skating was Sasha Cohen, who won a silver medal in 2006. Sarah Hughes was the last American woman to win a gold medal in 2002 – four years before Liu was born. Michelle Kwan also won a bronze medal in those Olympics. This is Liu’s second gold medal.

As she walked down the hallway after the win, Liu could be heard telling her coaches, “I just love it; I can’t act on it. There’s no way.”

The 20-year-old Liu started the free skate in third place behind Japan’s Nakai and Sakamoto after the short programme on Tuesday. Isabeau Levitow, 18, was in eighth place, while Amber Glenn, 26, was in 13th after an error in her short programme.

Glenn was the first American skater to take the ice for her free skate. After failing to complete a triple loop on Tuesday, her score in the free skate was 67.39. During Thursday’s skate, she nailed a triple Axel, though she had to catch herself with her hand after nearly falling during the final loop. She scored 147.52 for a total score of 214.91.

In the photos, Glenn was captured hugging his coach after the skate. Glenn was clearly thrilled, smiling and jumping with joy. Despite entering the free skate in 13th place, she was on top of the leaderboard for most of the event, ultimately losing to Japanese skater Moné Chiba. Glenn finished the competition in fifth place and Chiba took fourth place.

Liu praised Glenn’s pop-score comeback in a brief interview with an NBC Olympics correspondent.

Liu said, “She did great. I saw it on the bus on the way here, and oh, she killed it, and I’m really happy for her.”

Levitow was the next American woman to skate. She took the ice with her short program with a score of 70.84. She fell on the landing of her opening triple flip and lost nine points but managed to skate through the rest of her routine.

Levitow looked disappointed after leaving the ice, while Glenn cheered her on. She also looked emotional while reading the score of 131.96. Levitow achieved a total score of 202.80 and placed 12th overall.

Liu was the last American competitor to take the ice and the third-to-last skater. She looked comfortable during warm-ups and waved to the audience during rehearsals. She entered the rink with a score of 76.59 after her carefree short programme. Liu looked casual and energetic as she sailed through a triple Lutz and triple Salchow during her free skate. She had a wide smile on her face throughout the entire event and the crowd started cheering loudly every time she jumped.

Liu looked particularly comfortable during her choreographic step sequences and triumphantly finished the routine as her family gave her a standing ovation.

Liu’s score was 150.20, for a total score of 226.79.

“This is truly exceptional!” she shouted at the camera after she finished her skate. She jumped off the ice to hug her coaches and could be heard saying, “That was great!” She immediately grasped her skate guards. Glenn and Liu were also seen hugging.

Sakamoto earned a silver medal for her skate to a medley of songs by Edith Piaf. She missed a triple jump but otherwise skated cleanly and hugged Liu after coming off the ice.

Nakai struggled on some of her jumps, but the high difficulty score of her routine meant she still won the bronze medal. Following the reading of Nakai’s score, Liu and Nakai also shared a hug.

The United States also previously won a gold medal in the team skating event at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Games.