When Alysa Liu stood atop the Olympic podium to give U.S. women's figure skating its first gold in 24 years, it also underscored China's threat once again.
Liu scored a total of 226.79 points in the women's singles figure skating at the 2026 Milan–Cortina d'Ampezzo Winter Olympics at the Ice Skating Arena in Milan, Italy, on the 20th (Korea time), winning the gold medal. With this, the United States returned to the top of women's singles for the first time since Sarah Hughes at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games. The gap was long, and the period at the end was clear.
In the free skate Liu was unshakable. The quality of her jumps, the density of her steps and the steadiness that ran through the entire program stood out. After her performance the crowd responded with a standing ovation. She said she started calmly and focused on her breathing. I poured out everything I had, she said. It was calculated focus.
At this competition Liu became a two-time champion, sweeping the individual title after the team gold. The result was overwhelming. She laughed that if you were paid per gold medal she would have taken two, but the time behind it was not light.
At 13 she became the youngest winner of the U.S. championships. The label "prodigy girl" was attached early. But after the 2022 Beijing Games she announced her retirement citing burnout. She later went to the Everest base camp in the Himalayas, enrolled at UCLA to study psychology, and after time away from the ice chose to return in 2024. She said it was the perfect decision. The victory is proof of that choice.
The silver went to Japan's Kaori Sakamoto (224.90 points), and the bronze to Ami Nakai (219.16 points). But the center of this stage was clear. Liu, who left and returned, completed her story from the highest place.
Meanwhile, Liu is known for a unique background. Her father, Arthur Liu, is a democracy activist who organized pro-democracy student movements in China.
Arthur was 25 in 1989 when the Tiananmen incident occurred; he emigrated to the United States, learned English while working in restaurants, entered college, earned an MBA and a law degree, worked as a lawyer, married and has five children, including Alysa.
Because of that background Arthur was a target of close surveillance by the Chinese government. Yahoo Sports explained that during the 2022 Beijing Olympics Liu was a target of close surveillance by the Chinese government because of her father, Arthur.
The outlet said the FBI discovered this and met with Liu just before the Beijing Winter Olympics to inform her of the matter.
Liu recalled her feelings upon hearing the news: It was really crazy. I couldn't believe I was being watched because of my father's background. It felt unreal, like a lie.
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