Northern CA native Alysa Liu clinches Olympic gold medal in figure skating
Oakland native Alysa Liu secured the gold medal in Milan after a strong showing in the women’s individual figure skating competition.
This is Liu’s second gold medal at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, after she helped win the Olympic team championship in figure skating.
The women’s single figure skating competition wrapped up Thursday with 24 skaters completing their four-minute free skate. Liu, a 20-year-old skater who trains in the Bay Area with the St. Moritz Skating Club, was in third place going into the second performance of the competition.
During the short program competition Tuesday, Liu earned 76.59 points, finishing behind Japanese skaters Kaori Sakamoto and Ami Nakai.
Donning a sequined gold outfit, Liu skated a nearly flawless program to a suite of Donna Summer songs Thursday night in Milan. Her score for the second skate was 150.20 points, falling just short of her personal best score on the program.
Combining her short program and free skate scores, Liu earned a 226.79, an all-time best for the season and enough to secure the top spot on the podium.
The 20-year-old was born in Clovis, though she calls Oakland home.
Liu returned to the Olympics after coming out of retirement at only 18 years old. In 2025, Liu became the world champion in figure skating at the International Skating Union World Championships in Boston.
The skater competed for Team USA at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics at just 16 years old, after which she announced her retirement from skating. At her first Olympics, Liu placed sixth.
Early on in the 2026 Games, Liu competed her short program — set to “Promise” by Icelandic singer-songwriter Laufey — as part of the team skating event. Though her skate earned a score good enough for second place, Team USA finished on top after eight skating events across four disciplines: women’s singles, men’s singles, pairs and ice dance.
This story was originally published February 19, 2026 at 2:36 PM with the headline "Northern CA native Alysa Liu clinches Olympic gold medal in figure skating."
