The Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics recently ended, and the United States secured a total of 33 medals across all events. One of those medals was a historic gold medal for figure skater Alysa Liu. She won gold for her free skate and became the first U.S. female to win an individual Olympic gold medal since Sarah Hughes in 2002.
She started skating when she was five years old, and eventually it became competitive. At 12 years old, she was competing against much older skaters and landing jumps that some older skaters couldn’t do.
In 2019, she competed at the U.S. Championships and won a gold medal at age 13. She broke the record set by Tara Lipinski, who won the U.S. Championships in 1997 at 14. Liu also landed three triple axels in the program, becoming the first American woman to do so. In 2020, she became the world junior bronze medalist, and earlier that season, she became the first female skater in the world to land a triple axel and a quadruple lutz in a single program.
At the Beijing Olympics in 2022, Liu helped the U.S. win bronze, and she placed seventh in the singles competition. Later that year, she secured bronze at the 2022 World Championships. Only weeks later, Liu announced that she would be retiring, after accomplishing so much at just 16 years old. She announced it on Instagram, and she said the decision was due to wanting to live a normal life, go to school, and step away from competitive figure skating.
Later, in an interview, she said, “I didn’t need an Olympic gold medal to validate my decisions. I just made those decisions because I knew in the moment I had to, no matter what the outcome was… whether I did come back or not, I had to do that.”
Many fans were left wondering why she would want to do this since she was on top at the time. Some people labeled her a quitter, but others respected her decision to want to have a normal life.
In the two years she spent away from figure skating, she enrolled at UCLA to study psychology, backpacked to Mt. Everest Base Camp, and enjoyed life without constant training and stress.
After a ski trip with her friends, she realized her love for being on the ice. She decided to come back, but on her own terms. Some of her specific expectations were that her team understand her ADHD, that she have more choice and artistic input regarding her programs, and that gold medals not be the main goal. She started working with coaches Massimo Scali and Phillip DiGuglielmo because they let her have control.
“I love their ideas, and they are such empaths and really understand me. Having creative control over what I do – this is a creative sport – that changes things; it is a game changer.”
In June 2024, she started training again to prepare for the 2024-2025 season. She trained hard and in 2025, she won the World Championships. Liu headed into the Milano Cortina Olympics ready to do her best and enjoy being on the ice.
An important part of Liu’s mentality going into the Olympics was to be calm and not focus on the pressure, but to focus on her love for figure skating. “I don’t really feel pressure,” she says. “I feel excited to be there and happy, because that’s the stage I always wanted to show my programs on, show my dress off, and just get myself out there. And I would do it again.”
Alysa Liu is a symbol of resilience. She emphasizes a joy-based approach to sports and proves that you can be successful as an athlete through passion and not the pursuit of always winning. Her journey shows people that stepping away and taking a break can lead to better performance when you return and improve your overall happiness.
