“What the hell?” said she, who had just accomplished the impossible.
Seconds before Alysa Liu finished her MacArthur Park free program at the world figure skating championships, the crowd of more than 19,000 in the TD Centre in Boston, stood up as one, screaming for her. They broke the sound barrier.
“What the hell?” Liu kept saying.
And then the marks came up. She defeated three-time world champion Kaori Sakamoto of Japan and everybody else who had been toiling in the trenches for years for this moment. And Liu had the moment. She had a gold medal draped over her dress, a walking gold shimmer of little gold medals. And this, just in time, a year before the Olympics in Milan.
Lui had been a wonderkid early in her career. She had won the U.S. title six years ago, when she was only 13 years old. She qualified for the Beijing Olympics when she was only 16. And she retired from skating three years ago, after she won a bronze medal at the world championships. Shock rippled through skating circles. How could she? She was just at the cusp of greatness!
About a year ago, she un-retired, realizing that she loved the sport and wanted to be in it. “Moments like these make me realize 16-year-old me was so right,” she said. “Like, I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t decide to retire for a little bit, so I just am glad that I listened to myself and just do whatever, because it works out in the end.
“I’d be like, girl trust yourself. Keep not listening to everybody. I was like always kind of always in my own world and people would always tell me not to make the decision I made, but I’m really glad. I think I have good intuition. Maybe.”
Listen to anybody? When she was announced to skate her short program earlier in the week, she did a cartwheel onto the ice. Who does that? And then she shocked everybody by winning the short program with a heartfelt skate to “Promise,” a program she loves so much, she just might keep it for next year.
Sakamoto, who was going for her fourth consecutive world victory, finished only fifth in the short program, after doing only a double flip – triple toe loop instead of a triple-triple. Doesn’t sound like a big deal, but in this tight-fought battle, it was.
Liu skated early, because of her lower ranking on the world stage – she was the lowest ranked of the three U.S. women, and she scored 74.58. As the competition continued, Liu continued at the top of the leaderboard, and in the end, had defeated Sakamoto by 3.66 points.
Amber Glenn, undefeated this season, fell on her signature triple Axel, finishing only ninth. Other top-name skaters had troubles, too. Chaeyeon Kim of South Korea, stumbled out of her triple Lutz-triple toe loop combo and plunged to 11th place, her face long with disappointment.
European champ Nina Petrokina of Estonia, did a triple Lutz- double toe loop instead of a triple toe loop. That was her only miscue. She plunged to 12th place. Kimmy Repond, third at Europeans when she was only 16 a couple of years ago, threw her fists when she finished her short program, lost a couple of levels only and finished 10th. Indeed, it was tough out there.
Some people shone, not quite as brightly as Liu. But they were Mone Chiba, recovered from her illness at Four Continents, She finished second with a standing ovation and 73.44, skating to Donna Summer, who is a native of Boston. Isabeau Levito, who suffered an injury that she thought would take her out for the entire season – she missed the US championships – was sublime with her Audrey Hepburn “Moon River” routine and finished third with 73.33.
Canada’s Madeline Schizas skated the program of her life to finish sixth in the short program, under the pressure of having to finish in the top 10 to allow Canada to send two women to the Olympics. The crowd roared when she finished, as they stood to applaud. It was a dream skate.
So there was Liu, under unexpected pressure of winning the short program, with having competed little in years. She took it in her stride. Had she ever dreamed of such a result?
“No,” she said. “Even yesterday, I didn’t expect this. I didn’t have expectations coming in. I never have expectations coming into competitions any more. It’s more so what I can put out performance-wise and I really met my expectations on that part today, so there is nothing to complain about.”
MacArthur Park had been written by singer/songwriter Jimmy Webb, who released the song in 1967 with Irish singer/actor Richard Harris, who made it No. 2 on the Billboard Hot Top 100.
(It includes the unforgettable lyrics: “Someone left a cake out in the rain,
And I don’t think that I can take it. Because it took so long to bake it.
And I’ll never have that recipe AGAIN!!!! Oh no!!!”)
Webb watched the event and posted: “Congratulations to Alysa Liu for winning the 2025 world figure skating championships. She chose the MacArthur Park Suite for her routine and we loved her performance! Bravo!”
Michelle Kwan, watching too, said of Liu: “She exudes pure joy.”
Before Sakamoto even walked into the rink for the free, she was emotional. Equipped with a box of tissues at all times. She admitted she had been emotional all day, crying on the bus while she was doing her makeup.
According to Golden Skate, Sakamoto said Wakaba Higuchi was texting her, saying: “Let’s just do our best.” That made Sakamoto cry even more.
You wouldn’t know it when she skated. She had received criticism early in the year for choosing “All That Jazz” but by the time she hit the world championships, her routine was a masterpiece, skated with strength and punch and electricity. The program had no breather. She had beautiful transitions in and out of movements. Her trademark giant double Axel set things off, and Sakamoto did it all. When she finished, she jumped up and down on the ice, and the crowd gave her a standing ovation.
The 24-year-old Sakamoto received 146.95 for the free, far eclipsing everybody else. Mone Chiba had done 141.80, while Amber Glenn, pulling up all of her socks, got 138.00, and Isabeau Levito, with her gorgeous Liebestraum, got 136.51.
Did Sakamoto have it in the bag? No, not when she’s up against a skater who is performing for the love and the joy of it, who feels no expectation, who is climbing her own bean stalk in her own way.
That would be Alysa Liu, the wild card of the competition. The crowd roared at every element. Everything level four. Everything clean, done, MacArthur Park humming as it has been for 58 years. While Sakamoto got 74.89 for technique, Liu got 78.27.
While Sakamoto got 72.06 for presentation, Liu got 70.12. A nod to Sakamoto’s brilliance.
But Liu won the free with 148.39 points and the gold medal overall with 222.97, about five points more than Sakamoto.
After Liu got her marks, she rushed over to Sakamoto who had been sitting in the leader’s chair. Sakamoto met her with a box of tissues. Liu took one and then they hugged, both crying.
They had stood on the world podium together in 2022. “Alysa did retire from the sport and now she’s back and the world champion,” Sakamoto said. “I wouldn’t say that she has changed. I feel like her cheerfulness, her kindness, and the way she’s always so happy, brought her to this position on top of the podium.
“In fact, if I would say something has changed, it’d be that she’s more bright, she’s happier now.”
Sakamoto said she had been emotional all the time she sat in the leader’s chair and when Liu won, she cred again.
“And then I was feeling a bit frustrated that I wish it was me, then I started crying again. So there’s just a lot of emotions piling up inside of me.”
Having lost the title, Sakamoto says she feels a weight off her shoulders. It’s important she said, to feel a “crushing defeat” because now she can be an underdog, a challenger. That is easier, leading to the Milan Olympics.
Liu regards Sakamoto as “the greatest of all time.
“She’s an amazing skater. Love watching her skate and I’m going to look forward to seeing her competitions for next season. Yeah, just more competitions with her and shows too, hopefully.”
And by the way, Mone Chiba of Japan won the bronze medal with an exquisite skate, learning much from skating in such a packed, noisy arena. She ended with 215.24 points.
American women finished first, fourth and fifth, earning three spots for women at the Olympics next year.
So did Japan, whose skaters finished second, third and sixth (Wakaba Higuchi.)
Canada, however, will remain at only one spot for the Olympics next year. Schizas, taking all the pressure and the only Canadian skater in this event, finished 11th and missed 10th spot by only 3.37 points. She landed a double Lutz- triple toe loop instead of a triple -triple. “I’m happy with parts of how I skated,” she said. “I trained really well going into this.
“I have no regrets about it. I really wish tonight I could have been a top-10 finish. Eleventh will be a tough pill to swallow. We’ll see how the rest plays out. It’s not over yet.
“Every other year that (score of 190.79) would have been enough for a top 10. But maybe not today.”
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