Clad with a sparkly gold dress and her iconic smile, Oakland’s Alysa Liu made history at the Milan Cortina Olympics on Thursday.
The 20-year-old skated her way to gold in the women’s singles figure skating event, leading several points ahead of Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto and Ami Nakai, who won the silver and bronze medals, respectively.
Liu is the first American woman to take the gold home at an Olympics individual figure skating event in 24 years since 2002 by Sarah Hughes, three years before Liu was born. Although she won gold in the mixed team event for USA earlier this Olympics, this is her first individual Olympic title.
After her win, an outpour of congratulations came from local Bay Area organizations and other notable athletes who are celebrating her historic gold medal. Here are just a several that we found heartwarming:
Visit Oakland celebrated Liu in a joint Instagram post with her home rink, Oakland Ice Center, and thanked her for “sharing [her] love of Oakland with the world.” The post also included her high school alma matter, Oakland School for the Arts.
Training in San Francisco, Liu described that she frequently takes the BART to travel from Oakland and back. The public transport system applauded the Oakland native for making the Bay Area proud.
Fellow Bay Area figure skaters Brian Boitano, Dorothy Hammill and Kristi Yamaguchi celebrated the win on Instagram with a shared selfie, highlighting the historical significance of the win.
Liu also got a shoutout from the legendary gymnast Simone Biles, posting “SLAY QUEEEEEN,” on her Instagram story with a repost of Liu’s win.
Sharks Ice and the San Jose Sharks also congratulated the skater, applauding her win for the gold medal.
The San Jose Sharks congratulated Alysa Liu on her golden performance Thursday.
Broadcaster and former figure skater Tara Lipinski, who also won the gold medal in the same event in 1998, wrote a heartfelt message to Liu on her Instagram, welcoming her to the gold club.
Watch all the action from the Milan Cortina Olympics and Paralympics on NBC and Peacock.
Faiza Ashar
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