Alysa Liu won Olympic gold on Thursday -- an unexpected fairy-tale ending to an up-and-down week for the U.S. figure skating team.

MILAN (AP) — Alysa Liu had just delivered a near-flawless Olympic free skate on Thursday night, one that left a packed crowd inside the Milano Ice Skating Arena standing and roaring, when a television camera zoomed in on the American star as she was heading off the ice.

Alysa Liu's dynamic performance in Thursday's free skate earned her a gold medal, the first for the United States in the women's individual event since Sarah Hughes in 2002. And she did it on her terms.

After an amazing free skate, Alysa Liu celebrated her figure skating performance with six explosive words at the Winter Olympics.

Team USA wasn’t expected to get many medals Thursday. But the events it was in contention for were important ones. The U.S. came into Thursday still third in overall medals, still trailing Norway and Italy.

U.S. speedskater Jordan Stolz had a lot of hype accompanying him in these Winter Olympic Games. He's now got two gold medals, one silver, with one event to go.

Elana Meyers Taylor won her first gold medal, and sixth overall, taking first in women's monobob. She is now tied with Bonnie Blair as the most decorated female American winter Olympian. Her teammate, Kallie Humphries, took bronze.

Under longtime coach Oren Smadja, Muki rose to the top of the sport. He won world gold in Tokyo in 2019, two European titles, and an Olympic team bronze medal in Tokyo.