An incredible Alysa Liu (USA) struck gold in a fantastic Free Skating at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026. It was a grand finale for the Olympic Figure Skating competition with spectacular performances and suspense until the end at the Milano Ice Skating Arena.

A golden dress and a gold medal for Alysa Liu

Reigning ISU World Champion Alysa Liu (USA) skated off with gold, the first Olympic gold for a U.S. woman since 2002. Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto claimed the silver medal while Short Program leader Ami Nakai earned the bronze in her Olympic debut.

When she got out to skate, Liu’s focus was just to enjoy her performance and the moment. She came out in her sparkling golden dress and laid down a perfect performance to “Mac Arthur Park Suite” by Donna Summer, reeling off seven triple jumps, difficult spins and footwork. But the World Champion did more than that; she danced, and she entertained. The crowd was on their feet before the program ended and the cheers were almost louder than the music. Liu couldn’t believe what she just had done. She set a new season's best with 150.20 points and totaled 226.79 points, which was a personal best.

Alysa Liu (USA) produced a sensational performance on Thursday to win gold © Getty Images

“My story is more important than anything to me, and that's what I will hold dear,” Liu said. "This journey has been incredible. 

“I was feeling calm, happy, and confident. I’ve been having fun the whole time. This experience is really cool.

“I’m so grateful — I have such a great support system around me, friends who really hold me down. No matter what happens in life, I think I have a very beautiful life story, and I feel really lucky. I’m glad that now there are a lot of people watching me, so I can show them everything I’ve come up with in my head and share my stories. I want to be a storyteller.”

Kaori Sakamoto shines silver

Sakamoto had to skate right after Liu and she nailed a big double Axel and triple flip right out of the gate in her program to “Hymne à l’amour” and “Je ne regrette rien”. Everything looked great, but then the Japanese champion had a wobbly landing on the second triple flip and could not add the planned triple toe for a combination, losing precious points. Although she finished on a high note, Sakamato knew her mistake was costly. With 147.67 points, she ranked second in the Free Skating and remained second overall at 224.90 points to win silver after her bronze from 2022.

Kaori Sakamoto (JPN) won the silver medal in a thrilling competition on Thursday © Getty Images

"Four years ago in Beijing, I won what felt like a miraculous bronze medal. Now, four years later, I came here aiming for gold,” Sakamoto commented. “I'm frustrated that I couldn't win it and ended up with silver. But the fact that I can feel frustrated even though I moved up a medal color shows how much I’ve grown over these past four years. All the experiences I’ve accumulated have led to this growth, and I think that’s something I can be proud of."

Ami Nakai’s wonderful world

Skating last, Nakai knew she had to deliver. The ISU Four Continents silver medalist opened her program to “What a Wonderful World” with a nice triple Axel and followed up with four more clean triples. However, she doubled a planned triple toe in combination and stepped out of it. Nakai, the youngest figure skater at the Games, ranked ninth in the Free Skating with 140.45 points but held on to the bronze medal on 219.16 points. 

"I feel very happy that I was able to land the Axel,” Nakai noted. “But there were also parts where I made mistakes on jumps, so I honestly felt frustrated and wondered what was going to happen. When the scores came out, I couldn't tell where my ranking was. I was searching for it. I thought I didn't make it. When I looked next to my name, it had a three next to it. That's when I finally realized it meant a bronze medal. I was really surprised, and honestly, I even wondered if it was real."

Ami Nakai (JPN) celebrates with Alysa Liu after securing a bronze medal in Milan © Getty Images

Reigning ISU World bronze medalist Mone Chiba (JPN) came fourth with a beautiful program to “Romeo and Juliet” on 217.88 points. 

“Even though I gave absolutely everything I had, it still wasn’t enough,” Chiba shared. “Today, in both the short and the free, being able to skate on the Olympic stage feeling this happy, or rather this grateful, and being able to perform calmly and as myself, that was truly a beautiful experience.”

Amber Glenn (USA) rose from 13th place after the Short Program to fifth. Skating to “I Will Find You” and “The Return”, the U.S. Champion landed a great triple Axel and ranked third in the Free Skating (214.91 points). 

“Of course, today there were small mistakes, but I feel like I handled myself really well,” Glenn said. “There were many, many things I had to struggle with to get to where I am today in that performance. But I’m really happy with how I was able to skate. I told myself, no matter what, you’re going to look up and say, ‘I’m at the Olympics.’ And I’m really proud that I was able to do that.”

Amber Glenn (USA) ranked third in the Free Skating © Getty Images

Adeliia Petrosian (AIN) was the only woman in the event to go for a quadruple jump, a toeloop, but she missed it and finished sixth on 214.53 points.

Quick Facts