Clovis-born Alysa Liu wins Olympic gold, first U.S. woman in 24 years

Alysa Liu, a 20-year-old skater born in Clovis and a former Central Valley resident, captured the Olympic gold medal in the women's figure skating event at the Milano Cortina 2026 Games, becoming the first American woman to win Olympic figure skating gold in 24 years. The victory also ends a run in which the United States had gone without a women's Olympic figure skating medal since 2006.

Liu entered the individual competition in third place after posting a short program score of 76.59, and she delivered a decisive free skate that closed the gap on the leaders. The New York Times observed that "Liu made up the difference with a lively and clean free skate, recapturing the magic from last year’s worlds." Photographs show Liu draped in a U.S. flag and wearing an Olympic gold medal, a moment credited to Jamie Squire / Getty Images in national coverage.

Locally, ABC30 in Fresno noted Liu "is coming home with full hands, already winning gold as part of the team event, performing the Women's short program for the USA." Wikipedia records that on February 6 Liu participated in the 2026 Olympic Figure Skating Team Event and placed second in the short program behind Kaori Sakamoto, a result that contributed to the United States' team outcome earlier in the Games.

Liu’s rise combined prodigious early success with rapid senior accomplishments. Team USA lists her as the youngest U.S. national champion in history, having won that title at age 13 in 2019. Team USA also records that she earned a bronze at the 2022 ISU World Figure Skating Championships and then became the 2025 World Figure Skating Champion in Boston, winning both the short and free programs at that event.

Her preparatory work before international breakthroughs included on-ice skill and choreography time abroad: Wikipedia notes that, after being too young to compete at both junior and senior World Championships in one season, her season ended in January and she worked on skating skills and choreography with Italian skater Carolina Kostner in Rome in an arrangement made by her coach Laura Lipetsky. That sequence preceded her world title in Boston in 2025 and her Olympic success in 2026.

Media response has been substantial: Team USA’s official video of Liu’s Olympic win, posted February 20 on the organization’s YouTube channel, described the performance as "a stunning moment in Olympic figure skating, when Alysa Liu, free of tension and stress gave a fearless performance for gold at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Games." The video had more than 300,000 views and nearly 10,000 likes in the immediate aftermath, reflecting strong national attention on a Clovis-born athlete now holding both a team and an individual Olympic gold.