Alysa Liu became the first American woman to win an individual Olympic figure skating gold medal in nearly a quarter of a century when she held off Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto and Ami Nakai on Thursday night.

Alysa Liu wins gold in women's figure skating, ending a 24-year medal drought for American women and capturing the first U.S. gold in the event since Sarah Hughes in 2002.

From gold-medal favorite Ilia Malinin of the U.S. finishing eighth in the men’s event to the hotly debated final in ice dance to the pairs champions coming from fifth to snag gold, the skating competitions have been full of surprises.

Alysa Liu carried the flag of the Blade Angels into Thursday night’s free skate all the way to the top of the podium. Ranked third after the women’s Olympic short program, Liu was one of the final three skaters on Thursday.

Team USA's "Blade Angels" take on Olympic ice one last time. Here's how to watch women's single skating, free skating.

Liu, who retired in 2022, comes back to become the 8th American woman to claim gold and the first since Sarah Hughes in 2022.

World champion Alysa Liu says she skated "on another level" after the American put herself in contention for Olympic figure skating singles gold against the powerful Japanese women at the Milan-Cortina Winter Games.

Alysa Liu delivered the U.S. its first women’s figure skating Olympic gold medal in 24 years, performing a near-flawless free skate Thursday night in a glittering golden dress to upstage Japanese rivals Kaori Sakamoto and Ami Nakai at the Milan Cortina Games.