By Rory Carroll
Feb 19 (Reuters) – Alysa Liu skated to the gold medal at the Milano Cortina Olympics on Thursday to cap a remarkable comeback journey and snap a 20-year-medal drought for American women in the event.
Kaori Sakamoto secured silver ahead of Japanese teammate Ami Nakai, who claimed bronze.
In a commanding and joyful performance, Liu nailed jump after jump as the sold-out crowd at the Milano Ice Skating Arena erupted.
Liu stunned the skating world when she retired from the sport at age 16 after the Beijing Games in 2022 citing burnout and the desire to pursue other interests.
She returned two years later with a newfound perspective on the sport, taking control of her programmes and training and won the world championship in Boston last year.
Aptly dressed in a shimmering gold outfit, she joyously celebrated her flawless performance by playfully flicking back her striped ponytail at the end of her routine. Her performance left her team mate Ilia Malinin punching the air in delight as he watched on from the stands and earned Liu the highest-scoring free skate of her career.
Liu adds the individual gold medal to the team gold she won earlier in Milan.
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Milan, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
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