NPR84%
U.S. figure skater Alysa Liu said she didn't care if she medaled. She won gold75%
By Rachel Treisman0%
2/19/2026, 10:34:29 PM
BS Summary: This article contains 20 faulty reasoning types, including Appeal to Emotion, In-Group Bias, and Halo Effect, with Framing Effect as the most egregious example at 28.5% saturation with 255 hits. Analysis detected 1,290 faulty-reasoning hits from 896 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 67.1% and a BS Rank of 75% (5,348 of 21,175 articles). This article is worse (more manipulative) than 74.70% of the article peer group.
MILAN — Alysa Liu has won Olympic figure skating gold, the first U.S. woman to do so in over two decades.
It's an ironic outcome for the 20-year-old, who said earlier this week that she wasn't motivated by a medal.
She doubled down while talking to the press right after her win on Thursday.
"I don't need this," she said about the hunk of gold.
"But what I needed was the stage, and I got that, so I was all good no matter what happened."
In fact, Liu seemed more energized about a different kind of gold: a new version of her sparkly competition dress, which made its debut on Thursday.
"If I fell on every jump, I would still be wearing this dress," Liu said with a laugh.
She said she was buoyed by a late-night dinner with family and friends, who were watching in the stands ("I had to put on a show for them!") as well as the smiles on the faces of the strangers ("I have to smile too, I have no poker face").
Liu dazzled the Milano Ice Skating Arena with her joyful free skate, set to Donna Summer's "MacArthur Park Suite" and loaded with sassy poses, effortless-looking triple jumps and an ear-to-ear grin.
She and her signature raccoon-striped ponytail soared, exuding a carefree confidence and getting the crowd — progressively louder with every clean landing — onto its feet.
She later described her feelings on the ice as "calm, happy and confident."
Liu's easygoing demeanor and expressions of genuine enjoyment have been her hallmarks since she returned to the sport in 2024.
She retired two years earlier — at age 16 — after finishing sixth at the Beijing Olympics.
"I am grateful for both Olympic experiences but I feel like I am more gracious now because I have stuff that I want to share, and I want to be here," Liu said.
"And I think that's the difference from last time."
Liu came back with a newfound love of the sport and sense of self (see her "smiley" lip piercing and grunge hair stripes), and by 2025 was the new world champion.
She leaves her second Olympics with two gold medals, one from the team event and one in the individual — the first for a U.S. woman since Sarah Hughes in 2002.
When asked what message she wanted that to send to others, Liu replied: "I guess it's doing stuff that people tell you you shouldn't do.
I've been doing a lot of that."
Other highlights from a banner night
Liu's performance immediately shot her straight to the top of the leaderboard, where she stayed through the end of the night.
The two skaters after her, Kaori Sakamoto and Ami Nakai of Japan, claimed silver and bronze, respectively.
It was a literal passing of the torch: Sakamoto, who won bronze in Beijing, is retiring after these Olympics; Nakai is just 17 and in her debut senior season.
The Milan crowd erupted in another round of cheers as the scores, and reality, sunk in.
An exuberant Liu exchanged long hugs with her coaches and also with the Japanese skaters, who were visibly emotional.
"I honestly didn't think that I was going to win a medal, so when I found that out I was overjoyed," Nakai told reporters though a translator.
"Alysa Liu actually came up to me and said, 'Congratulations, it's amazing that you won a medal on your first Olympics.'"
Liu also shared a sweet moment with her teammate Amber Glenn, who had a triumphant night of her own despite finishing off the podium in fifth place.
It was a redemptive skate for Glenn, who came into the night in 13th place after one costly mistake at the end of her first routine Tuesday.
The free skate, her second chance, went much more smoothly — she nailed another triple axel and landed all of her jumps, despite putting a hand down to steady herself at one point.
Glenn, who later told NBC she had been thinking of her six-year-old self, moved into first place and stayed there until she was dethroned by the final skaters of the night.
The other member of the "Blade Angels," Isabeau Levito, finished the night in 12th place.
It was a cathartic night for fans of U.S. figure skating, who have been through the wringer in recent weeks — between ice dancers Madison Chock and Evan Bates narrowly missing out on a gold medal, and heavy favorite Ilia Malinin missing the podium altogether.
Malinin later cited Olympic pressure as a factor in his shaky performance.
When asked if she'd experienced any of that, Liu defiantly struck a defiant tone.
"You would have to explain what Olympic pressure is," Liu said.
"Who is giving — who is the pressure?"
Malinin, Chock and Bates are scheduled to take Olympic ice one more time for the exhibition gala on Saturday.
The invitation-only tradition features performances by a mix of medalists and fan favorites, giving them a chance to show off their choreography and creativity without a medal on the line.
Liu has expressed her excitement about the gala all week, including fresh off Thursday's win.
Before she was officially added to the schedule, she was dropping hints about a new program and costume, "unlike any dress I have."
"I want to be out there more," she said.
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