Team USA figure skater Alysa Liu delivered a superb routine to win gold in dramatic fashion, highlighting an action-packed Day 13 at the Milan Cortina Games. Liu secured the first gold medal since 2002,

U.S. figure skater Alysa Liu is central to the story of the 2026 Winter Olympics, but her father's story is a gripping one too.

MILAN (AP) — Alysa Liu had just delivered a near-flawless Olympic free skate on Thursday night, one that left a packed crowd inside the Milano Ice Skating Arena standing and roaring, when a television camera zoomed in on the American star as she was heading off the ice.

Alysa Liu, who won women’s singles figure skating gold at the Winter Olympics 2026, has a background story unlike most athletes — one involving alleged spying and her father’s escape from China.

Day 13 at the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics featured dramatic finishes in women's hockey and figure skating -- and gold medals for the United States.

Liu has a frenulum piercing in the tissue that connects her upper lip to her gums, a piece of jewelry that hangs down over her two front teeth and can be spotted whenever she smiles widely. She referred to the piercing as her "smiley" in a video interview with Milwaukee-based NBC affiliate TMJ4 News that was published in January 2026.