MILAN — Alysa Liu delivered the U.S. its first ladies’s determine skating Olympic gold medal in 24 years, performing a near-flawless free skate Thursday night time in a glittering golden costume to upstage Japanese rivals Kaori Sakamoto and Ami Nakai on the Milan Cortina Games.
The 20-year-old from the San Francisco Bay Space, who had walked away from the game after the Beijing Video games 4 years in the past solely to launch a exceptional comeback, completed with a career-best 226.79 factors. Nakai and Sakamoto, skating proper behind her, every made a mistake on a mixture sequence, and that made the distinction within the medals.
Sakamoto had 224.90 factors to earn a silver to go along with her bronze from Beijing. Nakai completed third with 219.16 factors.
The second Nakai’s rating was learn after the ultimate program of the night time, teammate Amber Glenn jumped onto the kiss-and-cry stand and raised Liu’s hand in triumph. Liu sheepishly turned and applauded the 17-year-old Nakai, who raced over and hugged her.
It’s the primary gold medal for an American girl since 2002, when Sarah Hughes stood atop the rostrum in Salt Lake Metropolis.
Glenn completed in fifth behind Mone Chiba of Japan, a shocking rebound from a disastrous quick program Tuesday night time. Her season-best free skate gave a rating of 214.91 factors, and nearly landed her on the rostrum as effectively.
Glenn pumped her first and fought again tears when her rating was learn, then she took a seat within the new “chief’s chair.”
She wound up sitting there for fairly some time.
By an ice resurfacing. And thru eight packages by different skaters, together with American teammate Isabeau Levito, whose fall on her opening triple flip in an in any other case elegant efficiency stored her from taking excessive spot herself.
Adeliia Petrosian, the 18-year-old Russian competing as a impartial athlete on the Milan Cortina Video games, tried the one quadruple soar throughout the ladies’s competitors however fell on the quad toe loop. She was clear the remainder of the way in which, however the factors Petrosian misplaced on that fall ended up leaving her lower than a half-point behind the chief.
It was Chiba — the ninth skater to observe Glenn — that lastly took over first place.
That didn’t final lengthy with Liu subsequent on the ice.
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AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
