SI

Women’s Figure Skating Free Skate Results: Alysa Liu Wins Gold, Ending 20-Year Drought for U.S.

An American took the Olympic podium in a women's individual skating event for the first time since 2006. You can catch up on all the action with Sports Illustrated's play-by-play recap.
Liu is the first American woman to win an individual gold medal at the Olympics in over 20 years.
Liu is the first American woman to win an individual gold medal at the Olympics in over 20 years. | Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

The final figure skating event of the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics has come and gone, and boy, was it a good one.

Team USA's Alysa Liu took home the gold on Thursday following a flawless performance to Donna Summer's "MacArthur Park," a star-solidifying turn that was as flawless as it was decisive; her next closest competitors—silver and bronze medalists Kaori Sakamoto and Ami Nakai of Japan—trailed by nearly two and eight points, respectively. With the win, Liu is now the first American woman in 20 years to medal in an individual Olympic skating event, and the first since 2002 to win gold.

Meanwhile, despite finishing Tuesday's short program in 13th after a score-bombing mistake, Team USA's Amber Glenn nonetheless rallied for fifth place overall. And she actually held on to the top spot for much of the competition, until she was ultimately bumped by Mone Chiba of Japan.

As for the third of Team USA's so-called "Blade Angels," the 18-year-old Isabeau Levito finished in 12th with an overall score of 202.80. Her routine was beautiful, but a fall at the start hurt her chances.

You can read a full play-by-play recap of the event, including our live reactions to each of Team USA's performances, below.


More Winter Olympics on Sports Illustrated

Listen to SI’s Olympics podcast, Daily Rings, below or wherever you listen to podcasts.


Published | Modified
Madison Williams
MADISON WILLIAMS

Madison Williams is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated, where she specializes in tennis but covers a wide range of sports from a national perspective. Before joining SI in 2022, Williams worked at The Sporting News. Having graduated from Augustana College, she completed a master’s in sports media at Northwestern University. She is a dog mom and an avid reader.

Share on XFollow madisonwsports
Brigid Kennedy
BRIGID KENNEDY

Brigid Kennedy is a contributor to the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in November 2024, she covered political news, sporting news and culture at TheWeek.com before moving to Livingetc, an interior design magazine. She is a graduate of Syracuse University, dual majoring in television, radio and film (from the Newhouse School of Public Communications) and marketing managment (from the Whitman School of Management). Offline, she enjoys going to the movies, reading and watching the Steelers.