"I didn't let myself believe she could win. I told myself I would be over the moon if Alysa Liu simply got a bronze medal. My heart has been broken too many times by wishing that my favorite would win gold in women's figure skating. Nancy Kerrigan in 1994? Silver. Michelle Kwan in 1998 and 2002? Silver and bronze. Sasha Cohen in 2006? Silver."
"That all ended on Thursday night, when Alysa Liu executed an exuberant and electrifying free skate to Donna Summer's "MacArthur Park" that vaulted her to Olympic gold. I haven't stopped smiling since. The carefree 20-year-old from California has carved a new, healthier path for women's skating that seems powered by joy rather than fear. But before I get to breaking down what made Liu so brilliant, let's look at how the rest of the women shaped up."
"She opened with a beautifully confident triple axel, perhaps the best she's ever done in competition. In a program of calm, focused power, she went on to nail her next five jumping passes. The only jump standing in the way of a clean skate was her nemesis, the triple loop-the jump that she had popped in the short program, dashing her Olympic dreams. The dreaded triple loop got the best of her again, and she put her hand down on the ice on the landing."
Years of disappointment from U.S. favorites missing Olympic gold culminated in a long absence of individual U.S. women's medals since 2006. Alysa Liu delivered an exuberant and electrifying free skate to Donna Summer's "MacArthur Park" that secured Olympic gold and signaled a joyful, healthier direction for women's skating. The 20-year-old from California exuded carefreeness and confidence. Amber Glenn, after a weak short program, rose from 13 th to produce a season-best performance, opening with a confident triple axel and landing five subsequent jumping passes. A recurring triple loop error marred Glenn's skate, but the program finished strongly.
Read at Slate Magazine
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