If you have been watching the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milan Cortina, Italy, you have probably heard of the name Alysa Liu and the two gold medals she won. One of these gold medals was the first gold medal won by an American woman after a gap of 24 years in the women’s free skate event. The last American woman to win gold in this event was Sara Hughes at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, who was actually at this year’s Olympics cheering on Alysa Liu. Alysa has also grown to be so popular because of her radiant energy, personality, and inspirational mindset, in addition to her signature hair and smile. Mia Pizzelli, a sophomore at HHS, says, “I love her routines and her energy and I think she is a real inspiration.”
Twenty year old Alysa Liu is not new to fame. She grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, and began her skating career at just five years old at the Oakland Ice Center, where she quickly gained attention from coaches for her talent. Originally, her father wanted her to take up recreational skating lessons as he thought figure skating would be a good fit for her. However, because of how much talent and passion she had for the sport, she quickly turned towards competing. In 2019, Alysa Liu, at just 13 years old, became the youngest ever to win the Women’s U.S. National Championship. Additionally, at the Detroit national championships, she became the first woman from the U.S. to land three triple Axels. Later, in 2020, she earned the title of being the first woman ever to land a quadruple Lutz and a triple Axel.
Alysa’s Olympic debut was in 2022 at the Beijing Winter Olympic Games. At this event she contributed to Team USA’s bronze medal from the team event, as well as placing sixth in the women’s singles competition. However, after the Beijing Winter Games, Alysa Liu announced her retirement from skating at only 16 years old after realizing how burnt out she was from the sport.
Alsya, in order to live a normal life, decided to take a long break from competitive skating. She wanted the opportunity to live a normal life as a teenager, which she had not been able to do since she was homeschooled and spent practically all of her time training. During her four year break, Liu pursued normal teenage interests such as checking off bucket-list items, which included climbing to the base camp of Mount Everest. Additionally, she spent her time with friends and family, playing video games, reading, hiking, listening to music, dying her hair, and she even made the decision to study psychology at UCLA.
In 2024, during a skiing trip and a casual trip to the rink, she came to that realization that she missed skating. Alysa called her old coach saying that she wanted to return to skating and he tried to talk her out of it. This time Alysa returned to skating on her own terms, making decisions about her training, music, clothes, and choreography. Alysa wanted to focus on having fun and expressing herself on the ice, not caring about winning medals. Margaret D’Souza, a sophomore at HHS, shares, “I think she is so inspiring.”
Her joyful personality and contagious energy could be seen in the 2026 Olympic games during her freeskate performance to the song, “MacArthur Park,” by Donna Summer. This performance was flawless, she landed every single jump, and the whole time you could see her confidence and pure joy shining through. She jumped from third place from her short program performance, to first place, earning her a career-best score of 226.79. Her second gold medal was earned by Team USA during the team event where she performed the trending song, “Stateside,” by PinkPantheress featuring Zara Larsson. Anna Galvin, a sophomore at HHS, shares, “I really enjoyed watching her skate and I think it is so impressive how figure skaters and olympians are.”
Alysa Liu has won the hearts of many because of her inspiring comeback story, radiant personality, and mental health advocacy. Many people can learn from Alysa Liu’s experiences and find joy again in doing what they love. It is safe to say that Alysa Liu has grown to be a role model for many and will continue to impress us in her future skating endeavors.
