One of the most endearing things about the women’s singles free skate finals at the 2026 Winter Olympics was the simple reminder that sports are fun.
While Alysa Liu embodied that in her seemingly effortlessly graceful routine, the silver and bronze medalists in Japan are representing two generations of skate in the Land of the Rising Sun. Silver medalist Kaori Sakamoto and bronze medalist Ami Nakai stood alongside Liu on the podium as a triumvirate.
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REQUIRED READING: Alysa Liu is happiest figure skater on Earth — and Olympic champion
It was a sweet moment away from the podium, however, that showed what the moment meant to gold and bronze. A clip was shared of Nakai jumping in excitement and Liu embracing her and hoisting her off the ground before just letting the moment take over and jumping for joy together.
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See Alysa Liu’s incredible Gold medal free skate performance
See the best moments from the Women’s figure skating free skate as Alysa Liu wins a Gold medal to end a 20-year drought for American women. USA’s Alysa Liu competes in the Women’s figure skating free skate on Feb. 19, 2026.
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See Alysa Liu’s incredible Gold medal free skate performance
See the best moments from the Women’s figure skating free skate as Alysa Liu wins a Gold medal to end a 20-year drought for American women. USA’s Alysa Liu competes in the Women’s figure skating free skate on Feb. 19, 2026.
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See Alysa Liu’s incredible Gold medal free skate performance
Alysa Liu of United States competes in the Women’s figure skating free skate on Feb. 19, 2026.
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See Alysa Liu’s incredible Gold medal free skate performance
Alysa Liu of United States competes in the Women’s figure skating free skate on Feb. 19, 2026.
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See Alysa Liu’s incredible Gold medal free skate performance
Alysa Liu of Team United States competes in the Women’s figure skating free skate on Feb. 19, 2026.
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See Alysa Liu’s incredible Gold medal free skate performance
Alysa Liu of United States competes in the Women’s figure skating free skate on Feb. 19, 2026.
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See Alysa Liu’s incredible Gold medal free skate performance
Alysa Liu of United States competes in the Women’s figure skating free skate on Feb. 19, 2026.
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See Alysa Liu’s incredible Gold medal free skate performance
Alysa Liu of Team United States competes in the Women’s figure skating free skate on Feb. 19, 2026.
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Best photos of Olympics figure skating women’s free skate, Team USA
Japan’s Ami Nakai competes in the Women’s figure skating free skate on Feb. 19, 2026.
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Best photos of Olympics figure skating women’s free skate, Team USA
Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto competes in the Women’s figure skating free skate on Feb. 19, 2026.
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Best photos of Olympics figure skating women’s free skate, Team USA
Amber Glenn of United States competes in the Women’s figure skating free skate on Feb. 19, 2026.
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Best photos of Olympics figure skating women’s free skate, Team USA
USA’s Amber Glenn competes in the Women’s figure skating free skate on Feb. 19, 2026.
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Best photos of Olympics figure skating women’s free skate, Team USA
Amber Glenn of United States competes in the Women’s figure skating free skate on Feb. 19, 2026.
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Best photos of Olympics figure skating women’s free skate, Team USA
Amber Glenn of Team United States competes in the Women’s figure skating free skate on Feb. 19, 2026.
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Best photos of Olympics figure skating women’s free skate, Team USA
Amber Glenn of Team United States reacts after competing in the Women’s figure skating free skate on Feb. 19, 2026.
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Best photos of Olympics figure skating women’s free skate, Team USA
Amber Glenn of United States reacts after her performance during the Women’s figure skating free skate on Feb. 19, 2026.
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Best photos of Olympics figure skating women’s free skate, Team USA
Isabeau Levito of Team United States competes in the Women’s figure skating free skate on Feb. 19, 2026.
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Best photos of Olympics figure skating women’s free skate, Team USA
Isabeau Levito of United States competes in the Women’s figure skating free skate on Feb. 19, 2026.
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Best photos of Olympics figure skating women’s free skate, Team USA
Isabeau Levito of United States competes in the Women’s figure skating free skate on Feb. 19, 2026.
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Best photos of Olympics figure skating women’s free skate, Team USA
Isabeau Levito of United States competes in the Women’s figure skating free skate on Feb. 19, 2026.
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Best photos of Olympics figure skating women’s free skate, Team USA
Isabeau Levito of United States competes in the Women’s figure skating free skate on Feb. 19, 2026.
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Best photos of Olympics figure skating women’s free skate, Team USA
USA’s Isabeau Levito competes in the figure skating women’s single free skating final during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at Milano Ice Skating Arena in Milan on February 19, 2026. (Photo by WANG Zhao / AFP via Getty Images) ORG XMIT: 776395610 ORIG FILE ID: 2261955262
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Best photos of Olympics figure skating women’s free skate, Team USA
Adeliia Petrosian of Team Individual Neutral Athlete competes in the Women’s figure skating free skate on Feb. 19, 2026.
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Best photos of Olympics figure skating women’s free skate, Team USA
Anastasiia Gubanova of Georgia competes in the Women’s figure skating free skate on Feb. 19, 2026.
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Best photos of Olympics figure skating women’s free skate, Team USA
Loena Hendrickx of Belgium competes in the Women’s figure skating free skate on Feb. 19, 2026.
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Best photos of Olympics figure skating women’s free skate, Team USA
Haein Lee of the Republic of Korea competes in the Women’s figure skating free skate on Feb. 19, 2026.
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Best photos of Olympics figure skating women’s free skate, Team USA
Niina Petrokina of Estonia competes in the Women’s figure skating free skate on Feb. 19, 2026.
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Best photos of Olympics figure skating women’s free skate, Team USA
Nina Pinzarrone of Belgium competes in the Women’s figure skating free skate on Feb. 19, 2026.
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Best photos of Olympics figure skating women’s free skate, Team USA
Sofia Samodelkina of Kazakhstan competes in the Women’s figure skating free skate on Feb. 19, 2026.
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Best photos of Olympics figure skating women’s free skate, Team USA
Jia Shin of South Korea competes in the Women’s figure skating free skate on Feb. 19, 2026.
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Best photos of Olympics figure skating women’s free skate, Team USA
Iida Karhunen of Finland competes in the Women’s figure skating free skate on Feb. 19, 2026.
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Best photos of Olympics figure skating women’s free skate, Team USA
Julia Sauter of Romania competes in the Women’s figure skating free skate on Feb. 19, 2026.
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Best photos of Olympics figure skating women’s free skate, Team USA
Olga Mikutina of Austria competes in the Women’s figure skating free skate on Feb. 19, 2026.
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Best photos of Olympics figure skating women’s free skate, Team USA
Lara Naki Gutmann of Italy competes in the Women’s figure skating free skate on Feb. 19, 2026.
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Best photos of Olympics figure skating women’s free skate, Team USA
Ruiyang Zhang of the People’s Republic of China competes in the Women’s figure skating free skate on Feb. 19, 2026.
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Best photos of Olympics figure skating women’s free skate, Team USA
Ekaterina Kurakova of Poland competes in the Women’s figure skating free skate on Feb. 19, 2026.
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Best photos of Olympics figure skating women’s free skate, Team USA
Ruiyang Zhang of Team People’s Republic of China competes in the Women’s figure skating free skate on Feb. 19, 2026.
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Best photos of Olympics figure skating women’s free skate, Team USA
Kimmy Repond of Switzerland competes in the Women’s figure skating free skate on Feb. 19, 2026.
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Best photos of Olympics figure skating women’s free skate, Team USA
Israel’s Mariia Seniuk competes in the Women’s figure skating free skate on Feb. 19, 2026.
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Best photos of Olympics figure skating women’s free skate, Team USA
Livia Kaiser of Team Switzerland competes in the Women’s figure skating free skate on Feb. 19, 2026.
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Best photos of Olympics figure skating women’s free skate, Team USA
Livia Kaiser of Switzerland performs in the Women’s figure skating free skate on Feb. 19, 2026.
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Best photos of Olympics figure skating women’s free skate, Team USA
Lorine Schild of France competes in the Women’s figure skating free skate on Feb. 19, 2026.
The infectiousness of the smiles cuts both ways.
“When I see other people smiling, I see them in the audience, I have to smile too,” Liu said after she won gold. “I have no poker face.”
Although this is Sakamoto’s final Winter Olympics, the future is in good hands with 17-year-old Nakai, who turned heads from start to finish in Milan. “I started off feeling pretty nervous, but I was able to approach it with my usual self, my usual mindset. That part really felt good,” Nakai said, per The Japan Times.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 17-year-old Ami Nakai hugs Alysa Liu after both skaters medal at Olympics
