A night to remember in Cortina
Alysa Liu didn’t just win gold. It broke a 24-year curse for American women’s figure skating. With an almost perfect free program, the 20-year-old surpassed the Japanese favorites and won the most precious metal.
“It was the first individual gold medal for an American figure skater since 2002,”
when Sarah Hughes won in Salt Lake City. The incredible thing is that Liu had walked away from the sport after Beijing 2022. This return was not good, it was historic.
The blow in extra time that is worth a gold
While Liu shined on the ice, another epic battle raged on the hockey rink. United States against Canada, again. And like in the best stories, it went into overtime.
Down 1-0 and with the clock against them, captain Hilary Knight tied it with 2:04 minutes left. The tension was palpable. Then, in overtime, Megan Keller sealed the victory with an unstoppable shot.
It was the third Olympic gold for American women’s hockey. A blow on the horn against his greatest rival. These athletes wrote another glorious page in this rivalry that defines sport.
Other battles on ice and snow
The night had more protagonists. Speed skater Jordan Stolz, who already had two golds, was just shy of third. He settled for silver in the 1500 meters, surpassed by China’s Ning Zhongyan.
In the halfpipe, champion Eileen Gu overcame a spectacular fall on her first descent. He got up, adjusted his skis and on his second chance secured his place in Saturday’s final. That’s character.
And meanwhile, the United States and Canada also advanced to the semifinals in women’s curling. It seems that when ice is involved, these two nations are destined to meet.
A night where effort, resilience and second chances were the real winners.
