‘What the hell?’ Alysa Liu wins USA’s first women’s figure skating world title in 19 years

• Liu completes stunning comeback with world title
• Japan's Sakamoto finishes second and Chiba third

Alysa Liu completed her stunning comeback to competitive figure skating with a world championship title on Friday night in Boston, becoming the first American woman to win the sport's biggest competition outside the Olympics in nearly two decades.

The 19-year-old from Clovis, California, who vanished from the sport nearly three years ago uncertain if she'd ever return, delivered a spellbinding free skate inside a sold-out TD Garden to dethrone three-time defending champion Kaori Sakamoto of Japan. Skating in a shimmering gold dress to the pulsing sounds of Boston-born Donna Summer, Liu landed all of her jumps cleanly and drew a standing ovation before finishing with 222.97 points overall - enough to secure gold in front of a rollicking home crowd.