LEILA FADEL, HOST:
Alysa Liu won gold in the women's figure skating competition yesterday, becoming the first American woman to do so since 2002. Liu came out of her teenage retirement with an unusually laid-back approach to competition and now leaves these Olympics with not one, but two gold medals. NPR's Rachel Treisman has been watching all the action at the Milano Ice Skating Arena, and she joins me now. Good morning, Rachel.
RACHEL TREISMAN, BYLINE: Hey, Leila.
FADEL: So Liu was a favorite to medal. She's the reigning world champion, and she started the night up in third place after her first program on Tuesday. What did she do out there to seal the deal?
TREISMAN: Oh, my gosh, she just dazzled. She skated to Donna Summer. She was rocking this gold dress and a huge smile the whole time. She was flying. Her striped ponytail was flying. She landed all of these back-to-back triple jumps and at certain points was gliding on her knees and just made it look so easy and fun. And she later told us that the way she felt out there on the ice was, quote, "calm, happy and confident." And you could just feel that watching her. I have been watching a lot of skating at this rink over the last two weeks, and the energy there during her four minutes was just on another level in terms of the crowd, clapping and cheering and the way the entire room got on its feet when she was done.
FADEL: Now, Liu has said all along she isn't motivated by medals. What has she said about leaving Milan, though, with two golds?
TREISMAN: Yeah. She has been very clear that she now sees skating as a chance to express and enjoy herself. It's not about winning competitions for her, even though she just keeps doing that, too. And even moments after her win yesterday, she was telling journalists she didn't need the medal. She just needed the stage. She frankly seemed the most excited about getting to perform for her friends and family in the crowd - that's different from her last Olympics in Beijing - and bringing out a new version of her gold dress. And she just kept talking about how excited she was to perform in the exhibition gala tomorrow. And that's not a medal event. It's just another chance for skaters to show what they can do. Here's what she said about it.
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ALYSA LIU: I mean, the same reason why I'm excited for the rest of - like, the earlier competitions. It's because I get to share more of my ideas.
FADEL: Liu's teammate Amber Glenn was also a medal favorite going into the Olympics. How did things turn out for her?
TREISMAN: She started the night in 13th place after that pretty shocking stumble in the first night of competition, but Glenn turned things around with a gorgeous routine. She totally redeemed herself and moved into first place. She stayed there for a while until she was dethroned at the end of the night. She ultimately finished fifth. And, again, it was pretty unlikely that she would make the podium because of her score coming into the second half of the competition, but she left the ice so much happier this time around, and that's what she said she wanted after Tuesday's disappointment. And, like Liu, she's leaving with a gold medal from the team event.
FADEL: So who else joined Liu on the podium?
TREISMAN: The last two skaters of the night, they're both from Japan. Kaori Sakamoto won silver. She's the reigning bronze medalist, and this is her last Games before she retires. And Ami Nakai won bronze. She's 17 and just at the beginning of her career. What really stood out to me was the sportsmanship. The U.S. and Japan have been rivals throughout these Olympics on the rink, but they only had nice things to say about each other all week.
FADEL: Now, there's one more chance to see figure skating at these Olympics at tomorrow's exhibition gala. What can we expect?
TREISMAN: Yeah. It's an invitation-only performance. It's a mix of medalists and fan favorites. From the U.S., we'll see Amber Glenn, Madison Chock, Evan Bates and Ilia Malinin, who's been teasing something all week.
FADEL: That's NPR's Rachel Treisman. Thank you, Rachel.
TREISMAN: Thank you.
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FADEL: For a few more days, Rachel is writing a daily newsletter about covering the Olympics. It's called Rachel Goes To The Games. You can subscribe at npr.org/wintergames. Check out Up First Winter Games, too, a new video podcast from the team that brings you Up First. That's us. Find it every afternoon at youtube.com/npr. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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