The Winter Olympics promise plenty of high adrenaline, fierce competition, historic firsts and emotional moments over 2 1/2 weeks. Here are some of the names and narratives to keep an eye on.

Liu, 20, earned the first individual Olympic medal for an American woman since Sasha Cohen’s silver in 2006 — the first gold medal winner since Sarah Hughes in 2002. And she did so with a smile, marking a triumph and return to glory for American women’s skating.