Oakland is ready to celebrate Alysa Liu’s gold medal win at the Winter Olympics when the figure skater returns home to the East Bay, Mayor Barbara Lee said.
Liu, 20, won gold on Thursday after the women’s free skate at the 2026 Milan Cortina Games, skating to Donna Summer’s “MacArthur Park.” Her win ends a 20-year medal drought for American women in figure skating, and Liu is the first American woman to bring home individual gold in 24 years.
“We can’t wait for her to return back to The Town so we can all celebrate her and her medals!” Lee said.
The U.S. 2025 world champion, Liu had returned to skating after retiring following the 2022 Beijing Olympics.
“Alysa embodies everything we love about Oakland – the heart, the determination, the refusal to back down — and she has shown young people right here in our city, and across the world, what becomes possible when you commit fully to your dream,” Lee said.
The mayor said that when Liu visited her at Oakland City Hall last August, it was the figure skater’s first time in the building and she was excited to be there. “Little did she know I was the one fan-girling over her,” the mayor said.
Liu studied at the Oakland School of the Arts and practiced at the Oakland Ice Center.
Soon after Liu’s gold medal skate on Thursday, the Oakland School of the Arts celebrated the alumni’s win. “@alysaxliu just won gold for the 2026 @olympics figure skating & we couldn’t be more proud of her!” the school posted on social media. “How phenomenal to see her put Oakland Bay Area on the map in such a profound way — staying true to her authenticity & culture.”
In a social media post on Thursday, Fentons Creamery also celebrated Liu, saying: “Ice cream for life? Seriously. We mean it.”