How she changed figure skating forever.
Slate Magazine • • sports
Key Points:
- Alysa Liu won the Olympic gold medal in women's figure skating with a joyful and electrifying free skate performance to Donna Summer’s “MacArthur Park,” ending a 24-year gold medal drought for American women in the sport.
- Liu’s approach to skating, focused on joy rather than fear or pressure, marked a refreshing shift in the sport’s culture and helped her deliver a season-best score of 150.20.
- Other American skaters Amber Glenn and Isabeau Levito delivered strong performances, with Glenn finishing fifth after a season-best free skate and Levito showing promise for future Olympics despite errors.
- Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto earned silver with a mature but slightly flawed program, while 17-year-old Ami
