Alysa Liu’s gold-medal free skate at the 2026 Winter Olympics was a defining moment that instantly shifted the narrative and captured the internet overnight.
In Milan, Liu delivered a near-flawless long program, blending technical precision, emotional lift, and cleaner-than-expected landings to surge to the top of the podium and end a 24-year drought for American women in Olympic figure-skating gold.
That winning moment didn’t just secure hardware; it became an instant cultural snapshot, defined by raised arms, a swelling roar from the crowd, and the camera lingering on one of Team USA’s top young athletes.
Now, that iconic image has been recreated as a viral tribute by Bratz, mimicking Liu’s podium pose and costume.
Liu’s career has been one of U.S. figure skating’s most compelling arcs, rising from a prodigy who became the youngest U.S. senior champion at 13, before stepping away at the top of the sport and then returning to reclaim the summit.
After a solid Olympic debut in Beijing (sixth place) and a World bronze in 2022, she briefly stepped away before staging a high-profile comeback that produced a 2025 World title and a dominant Grand Prix Final victory.
At the 2026 Milano-Cortina Games, she delivered the program of her career, powering through technically ambitious elements while elevating her presentation, and converted that peak performance into Olympic gold.
Liu now owns two U.S. national titles, a World championship (2025), a World bronze (2022), a Grand Prix Final title, multiple Challenger Series victories, and Olympic gold, all at the age of 20.
Her gold also carried weight for Team USA. Combined with earlier team-event contributions, it helped push the United States to 12 gold medals and 33 total in Milano-Cortina, finishing second behind Norway in the final medal standings in what was arguably the country’s most memorable Winter Olympics.