It was a historic night for American figure skater Alysa Liu at the Winter Olympics in Milan on Thursday, as she captured her first-ever Olympic gold medal in the women’s free skate final.

The victory also marked the first U.S. women’s singles figure skating gold in 24 years. After a strong short program earlier in the week put her in prime position, Liu delivered a flawless free skate, finishing with a final composite score of 226.79.

“I was feeling calm, happy, and confident,” Liu said. “I’ve been having fun the whole time. This experience is really cool. I got to see my siblings and my friends the past two nights — we even had a late-night dinner together. It was super fun. I’m just so happy that I could bring Oakland to Milan.”

She’ll take part in the Olympic gala on Saturday for one final skate. While the event carries no competitive stakes, many are already wondering what comes next for Alysa Liu.

One of her coaches, Massimo Scali, offered clear insight into her immediate future. Liu, now 20, famously retired at 16 after falling out of love with the sport amid the intense pressure she faced at such a young age.

Yet after more than a year away, she returned refreshed — and by all accounts, she’s enjoying skating more than ever. That joy appears set to continue into 2026, as Scali reportedly shared that the plan is for Liu to compete at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships from March 24–29 in Prague, Czech Republic.

Liu has even asked to perform both her Olympic short program and free skate again as early as next week — a remarkable development considering that just four years ago, she wasn’t sure she wanted to step on the ice at all.

Her love for the sport is clearly back, and it’s showing in her performances. But as she stood on the podium, her thoughts were with her coaches.

“I was looking at Massimo and Philip [DiGuglielmo], and they both looked so happy,” Liu said. “I was just happy for them.”