The final chapter of women’s figure skating at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics unfolds Thursday night with an unprecedented potential podium sweep by Japanese athletes, while American champion Alysa Liu carries her nation’s golden aspirations against formidable competition.
Japan’s formidable trio—Ami Nakai (17), Kaori Sakamoto (25), and Mone Chiba—stand positioned to achieve what no nation has accomplished in Olympic history: a complete women’s figure skating podium domination. Nakai, inspired by legendary skater Mao Asada, leads the competition after delivering one of only two successful triple axels during Tuesday’s short program. Sakamoto, the 2022 Beijing bronze medalist, trails by a mere point in what she暗示 might be her Olympic finale.
Challenging the Japanese dominance is American skater Alysa Liu, who has positioned herself as the only non-Japanese contender within striking distance of the podium. The 20-year-old from California’s Bay Area has staged a remarkable comeback after a two-year retirement, during which she rediscovered her passion for skating. Her victory at last year’s World Championships—ending a 16-year American drought since Kimmie Meissner—preceded her current quest to become the first U.S. women’s Olympic champion since Sarah Hughes in 2002.
The competition’s unpredictable variable arrives in the form of Russian skater Adeliia Petrosian (18), who competes as a neutral athlete amid Russia’s ongoing exclusion from international events due to geopolitical circumstances. As the latest prodigy from controversial coach Eteri Tutberidze’s stable, Petrosian represents the only contender capable of executing quadruple jumps—a technical element that could dramatically alter the competition’s outcome. Despite limited international exposure and concerns about inflated domestic scores, her Milan performances have demonstrated medal-winning potential.
This showdown marks another chapter in Russia’s figure skating dominance, with no non-Russian athlete having claimed Olympic gold since South Korea’s Yuna Kim at the 2010 Vancouver Games. The evening promises not only technical excellence but compelling narratives of perseverance, national pride, and athletic legacy across generations of skaters.