Event chairs Nicole Kidman, Beyoncé, Venus Williams and Anna Wintour have guests dress to the theme ‘Fashion is art’ at the event controversially funded by new honorary chairs Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos

• Olympic champion Liu withdraws from worlds

• US star rests after historic Milan gold medal

• Sarah Everhardt replaces Liu on US team roster

Olympic figure skating champion Alysa Liu has withdrawn from the world championships later this month, an unsurprising move for the defending champ after she won the first Winter Games gold medal by an American woman in more than two decades.

Liu would have performed alongside Olympic teammates Amber Glenn and Isabeau Levito when worlds begin 24 March at O2 Arena in Prague. Bradie Tennell was the first alternate but declined, so Sarah Everhardt will take Liu’s place on the US team.

In Milan, athletes showed that patriotism can be generous. In Los Angeles, that definition will be tested on the biggest, loudest stage sport can offer

The Milano Cortina Winter Games ended on Sunday night as the Olympics always do: in light, spectacle and speeches about unity. In Verona, the Olympic flag passed to the French Alps and the twin flames were extinguished. But unofficially, at least, a flame also flickered 6,000 miles west.

If these Games felt political, just wait until Los Angeles a little more than two years from now.

• American given rousing reception by crowd in Milan

• Alysa Liu and Mikhail Shaidorov among other performers

Alysa Liu had the opportunity to cherish skating on the same Olympic ice where she won two gold medals one more time. Ilia Malinin had the chance to replace some disappointing memories with much better ones.

The two Americans were among more than 40 Olympic figure skaters who took part in the traditional exhibition gala on Saturday night, which not only serves to wrap up the program but to celebrate the entire sport.

After stepping away from figure skating, the US star climbed back on her own terms. Her journey culminated in a medal, but it was about much more than that

Alysa Liu made her way through a mixed zone teeming with hundreds of reporters at a quarter past midnight early Friday morning, an Olympic gold medal draped around her neck, the sequins in her color-coordinated dress glimmering beneath the klieg lights and crush of television cameras. The 20-year-old from West Oakland had just become the first American woman to win figure skating’s biggest prize in 24 years, drilling seven clean triples to leapfrog a pair of Japanese rivals from third place after Tuesday’s short program and gatecrash her sport’s most rarefied air. But to hear Liu tell it, her second gold in 12 days was merely a passing footnote in a Milan fortnight she doesn’t want to end.

Liu’s carefree mindset should and will be studied in the weeks, months and years after these Olympics – especially these Olympics – as a counterpoint to the results-obsessed mindsets that have shattered the mental wellbeing of so many athletes thrust into the pressure-cooker of the world’s biggest sporting event. She spoke candidly and insightfully on how her unique journey from child prodigy to burnout case to second-act skater gave rise to an indifference to scores or placements. All she wanted in the end was a chance to make the US team and share her artistry on the world stage.

• 20-year-old delivers near-flawless free skate

• Kaori Sakamoto and Ami Nakai win silver and bronze

Alysa Liu completed a stunning comeback to competitive figure skating by winning the first Olympic women’s figure skating gold medal for the United States in 24 years on Thursday night.

The 20-year-old from Clovis, California, who vanished from the sport nearly four years ago uncertain if she’d ever return, delivered a career-best long program to overtake Japanese rivals Kaori Sakamoto and Ami Nakai. Skating in a shimmering gold dress to Donna Summer’s MacArthur Park Suite, Liu cleanly landed all seven of her triple jumps, including three in combination, and drew a standing ovation before finishing with 226.79 points overall.

Stars, new events, iconic Alpine venues and a return to full Olympic atmosphere after the pandemic era. Here’s everything you need to know about Milano Cortina 2026

The Winter Olympics are back – and this time they’re zigzagging across northern Italy. Milano Cortina 2026 will be the most spread-out Winter Games ever staged, jumping from Milan’s arenas to the Dolomites’ classic Alpine slopes. With returning superstars, brand-new events and Italy leaning hard into its Olympic heritage, these Games may feel like they’ve arrived quietly – but there is a lot going on. From how and when to watch, to who matters and why these Olympics could look very different, here are your most pressing questions answered.

• This article was amended on 5 February 2026. In an earlier version, a map misspelled the resort of Livigno as “Livingo”.