Feb 19 (Reuters) - Alysa Liu produced a dazzling performance to win the gold medal at the Milano Cortina Games as she capped a remarkable comeback journey to snap a 20-year Olympic medal drought for Americans in the women's figure skating event.
Kaori Sakamoto secured silver ahead of teenaged 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.
"That was unreal," she said after the gold medal was placed around her neck.
"Never would have thought," she added, shaking her head.
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 teammate Ilia Malinin punching the air in delight as he watched on from the stands and earned Liu a season's best score of 150.20 for her free skate and a total of 226.79.
It was Liu's second gold medal in Milan following the United States' triumph in the team competition earlier in the Games.
She came into Thursday's competition as the U.S.'s last realistic hope for gold after teammates and fellow "Blade Angels" Amber Glenn and Isabeau Levito put themselves out of contention in Tuesday's short programme. Liu delivered seven soaring triple jumps on Thursday to become the first American woman to win an individual medal since Sasha Cohen captured silver in 2006 and the first U.S. gold medallist since Sarah Hughes triumphed in Salt Lake City in 2002.
Sakamoto, a favourite coming into the competition, was looking to win her first gold medal in her final Olympics but it was not to be as the three-time world champion and Beijing bronze medallist paid the price for failing to deliver one of her jump combinations. She finished second with a total of 224.90.
Nakai came into Thursday's free skate leading both Sakamoto and Liu. While she nailed her opening triple Axel, her next element did not go to plan as she mistimed the expected triple loop-triple toeloop combination and had to settle for a triple-double effort -- which effectively cost her the gold.
The 17-year-old surprisingly finished a lowly ninth in the free skate but secured bronze with a total of 219.16.
The highly anticipated women's event marked the end of the figure skating competition at the Milano Cortina Games. Musician Megan Thee Stallion and tennis great Maria Sharapova were among those in attendance.
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Milan, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
