BOSTON – Alisa Liu slid around the ice in disbelief, her golden dress sparkles in the lights of TD Garden, and the roar of gratitude from the sold-out crowd reminded her why she returned to the sport after nearly two years of retirement.
When her score was finally read, the 19-year-old from Clovis, California made history.
Liu became the first American women’s figure skating world champion in nearly 20 years, and took off three-time defending champion Sakamoto with a fantastic free skating on Friday night. Her programme to rendition of “MacArthur Park” by Boston native Donna Summer earned her a standing ovation and allowed her to finish Liu with 222.97 points.
“I mean, that means me and everything I’ve experienced,” Li said. “My last skating experience, my time, and this time, I am very happy, I am mainly happy to be able to deliver two of my best performances.”
Liu’s coaches Phillip Diguglielmo and Massimo Scali pulled her into the arena kiss and the embrace of Clyae. A while later, Sakamoto came from where she had been watching in the leader’s chair and squeezed her tightly as if the Japanese hero had handed her a torch as the first world champion from the United States since Kinmee Meissner stood on the podium in 2006.
“What’s wrong?” Liu asked incredibly. “I don’t know. I don’t know how to handle this.”
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Sakamoto finished with 217.98 points and added silver medals to his previous three golds. Her Japanese teammate Mone Chiba was third with 215.24 points, while Isabeau Levito and Amber Glenn gave the Americans three of their top five.
“We’re all very strong,” Levito said. “And we are all that kind of fighter, we all have our strengths, we are very different, but we are all very sweet to each other.
Liu was once considered a rising star in sports. This was the youngest champion in the United States when he won at age 13 in 2019, defending the title the following year. She fulfilled her childhood ambitions by competing in the Olympics, finishing sixth in the 2022 Beijing tournament and won a bronze medal at the World Championships that year.
Then she left. Liu decided that skating would be less joyful and would be a job, and that he wanted to focus on being a regular college student. When she went on ski trips and felt a rush of competition, she began to think about her comeback.
Earlier last year, she became official with a mysterious post on social media. And while the road back to the infamous, whimsical sport was bumpy, it’s true that Liu took a big step forward with a second-place finish to Glenn at the US Championships.
She took her final step on the podium Friday night.
“It wasn’t yesterday, but I wasn’t expecting this. I had no expectations,” Liu said. “I don’t expect competition anymore. That’s because, ‘What can I put out in terms of performance?’ I really lived up to my expectations. ”
She left former champion Sakamoto with a sense of adoration and admiration.
“She’s gone, now she’s back, and the world champion,” Sakamoto said. “I’m not saying she’s changed. Her cheerfulness and kindness, and the way she’s always happy, took her to the podium stopping step.”
