It’s virtually impossible to not smile while watching Alysa Liu. Her beaming grin is infectious and radiant – permeating throughout her skating.
Her comeback attempt speaks to the power of dreams and redemption. After doing away with the sport as a teenager, her return to the ice is a testament to the joy of youth. It frankly deserved a crowning moment.
She got one. Liu’s routine on Thursday evening in Milan was golden – making her the first American woman to win the Olympic skating event since Sarah Hughes in 2002.
Scored to Donna Summer’s classic ‘MacArthur Park Suite,’ the California native nailed every element of her free skate program.
It was joyful, exuberant, full of that kind of life that disappears when you get older.
Her celebration reflected that. ‘That’s what I’m f***in’ talking about!’ a radiant Liu screamed into the cameras as she walked off the ice and into an embrace from her coaches.
American figure skater Alysa Liu has won the gold medal for women’s individual
Still, there was potential to be knocked off the top of the podium. After she had finished, Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto stood as her biggest obstacle of the two skaters remaining.
But Sakamoto’s planned triple flip + triple loop combination didn’t materialize after an awkward landing on the first spin. Even though she added the loop in later, the judges docked her score for the missed execution.
Liu embraced her as tears rolled down Sakamoto’s face when she came off the ice. The Japanese skater’s score still managed to come in behind Liu, earning her a medal before her planned retirement.
It all came down to the final skater, 17-year-old Ami Nakai of Japan. The third element of her skate went awry when a planned triple lutz+triple toeloop turned into only a triple+double.
But Nakai finished with a sublime skate regardless. Corrections on her technical score put her ahead of Liu by just a quarter of a point – requiring the American to wait for the judges.
Nakai required a score of 148.09 to win the gold. She got a 140.09, earning her the bronze.