Alysa Liu is the first American woman figure skater to win Olympic gold in 24 years, with the last one being Sarah Hughes in 2002. Her stellar performance in the short program was but a preview of what to come in the free skate.
The final contest was a tight one for the 20-year-old figure skater. Liu only had less than a two-point lead over Japan's Kaori Sakamoto, who is participating in her final Winter Olympics. Ami Nakai was also hot on her heels as the 17-year-old Japanese figure skating star had a stellar Olympic debut.
However, it was Liu's passion and technical ability that got her the top spot of the podium. The American committed fewer mistakes than her Japanese counterparts, which was more than enough to win her the gold.
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It was evident in her post-performance reaction how clean the routine was.
Alysa Liu Says Expletives After Gold-Medal Performance
Liu was confident and comfortable throughout her winning performance. She landed every trick and was at home on the ice.
The moment she released herself from her final pose and skated her way to her coaches, she couldn't contain her emotions and unleashed a NSFW celebration that was immortalized on ESPN's Instagram account.
"That's what I'm [expletive] talking about!" Liu said after her free skate.
Liu was the youngest U.S. Women's National champion at 13 years old, but she called it quits at 16 due to the pressures of the sport and lack of passion for it. She returned to the sport after a two-year absence, winning gold at the 2025 World Figure Skating Championships in Boston.