Butterflies in Formation

There’s a piece of coaching advice I’ve heard over the years, attributed to either Doug Leigh or Uschi Keszler, about how to manage your nerves during competition. The advice? “Everyone gets butterflies in their stomach. The trick is getting them to fly in formation.”

Alysa Liu had the butterflies, wind, and disco balls working her way tonight as she became the first US women’s Olympic champion since a stunned Sarah Hughes won the title in 2002. Not only did she have the best performance of the night, she skated with the freedom of knowing every part of her performance was made to her satisfaction, not to please anyone else first. She skated with such sparkling lightness today it might as well have been butterflies ferrying her around the rink.

That dazzling light illuminates an uncompromising Olympic Champion. This is a skater who was raised as a jumping prodigy and decided to retire at 16, satisfied with a World bronze medal and a basket of “first” and “youngest ever” accomplishments. It was a surprise to many within figure skating that she decided to bow out at the moment she seemed poised to truly ascend; it was shocking when she decided two years later to return. It also seemed impossible for Alysa to come back in the style she was planning: dyed hair, mugging for the camera in the tunnel, eating whatever she wanted, and with bouncy, vibrant programs that did not play to the classical establishment at all. It worked. Alysa’s success, both at the Olympics and over the last two seasons, is proof that healthy humans can win. Her commitment to skating as her whole self every time she performs is glorious. It’s inspiring for so many skaters who are trained to believe that the only way to succeed is by settling for less—food, muscle, sleep, growth, or independence. Alysa Liu, dropping F-bombs on live television with her one million watt smile says: you deserve more. Take up that space. It worked for me.

Alysa is walking the path that Kaori Sakamoto, now an Olympic silver medalist, paved with her own bouncy and commanding confidence. I remember Kaori getting a lot of flak early in her career for not being enough of the “right” thing and too much of everything else: too rounded (code for chubby, naturally), too sloppy, too relaxed. She proved those people wrong, of course: Three world titles in a row and a Grand Prix title are not accomplishments you collect by accident. But Kaori had to fight against the narrative that female figure skaters should be slight, shivering, and submissive. Kaori threw blade kicks over the judges heads and dodged bullets on behalf of this field for four years to reach this moment.

Kaori could not quite get the butterflies to align tonight. A missed doubled jump in combination, 1.89 points, cost her the Olympic title she dearly wanted. I hope Michelle Kwan and Kurt Browning can send her flowers, because they know exactly what it feels like to enter the Olympics as the favourite only to leave without the gold. Both Michelle and Kurt were multiple World Champions who never won an Olympic title to match and both are eternal legends of the sport. Alysa’s coach, Phillip DiGuglielmo, spoke for the entire sport when he hugged Kaori at the end of the event and said: “I love you. Thank you. Amazing. You’re always amazing.”

Rounding out the podium is Ami Nakai, winning a bronze medal at the Olympics before even competing at a World Championships. Young skaters often fare well at the Olympics, knowing their whole career is ahead of them and they can skate without the pressure of being an established champion. She had errors in the free skate but kept the reins on those butterflies, friends. Ami made good use of the Youth Advantage today.

I would be remiss to end this without pointing out the incredible performance from Amber Glenn today. The triple axel she landed today was superb and the way she held her nerve throughout her performance was so satisfying to watch. Women’s figure skating has often emitted a toxic stench of rivalry and bitterness, but Amber Glenn said, “No goddam way, not on my watch,” and was on her feet for every great skate that followed her. Queen!

The 2026 Olympics closes out what has been perhaps the most satisfying and joyful cycle of women’s figure skating since 2010. I wrote yesterday (with no small amount of dread in my heart, I might add) that figure skating could really use an uncontroversial women’s Olympic champion. I didn’t know if we would be so lucky. Maybe the butterflies were pulling for all of us watching, too, because we got a satisfying competition and a great champion. I hope this party never stops.