19-year-old Alysa Liu, who grew up in Richmond, won the gold and earned a standing ovation at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Boston on Friday night, ousting previous three-time world champion, Kaori Sakamoto of Japan.

Richmond’s own Alysa Liu, a two-time national figure skating champion and 2022 Winter Olympian, won the gold at the International Skating Union’s World Championships on Friday with an impressive 222.97 points, after being in retirement for two years.

The East Bay Times reports that the win makes Liu the first American woman to win the championship since 2006 when Kimmie Meissner earned the title. Previous three-time champion, Kaori Sakamoto of Japan won the silver medal with 217.98 points. Sakamoto’s teammate, Mone Chiba, came in third at 215.24, followed by Americans Isabeau Levito and Amber Glenn.

Liu reportedly gave a stunning free skate performance to Donna Summer’s “MacArthur Park” on Friday night after also winning the short program portion of the women's singles competition earlier in the week. USA Today writes that Lius’s winning performance received a standing ovation as stuffed animals rained down on the ice.

According to Liu’s Wikipedia page, she was the youngest-ever US women's national champion winner at age 13 and became the youngest skater to win two senior national titles at 14. At 16, Liu finished sixth at the 2022 Beijing Olympics and earned a bronze medal at the world championships that same year before announcing her retirement.

Liu said she decided to return to skating after going on a ski trip and feeling the familiar rush of adrenaline that comes with competing.

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