Alysa Liu’s life story is as remarkable as her skating.
“A lot of what I’m going to say is like tabu basically … Skating isn’t everything for me, it’s just something that I enjoy. I don’t take it as seriously as other people.”
In 2019 when just 13 years old, Alysa became the youngest ever U.S. Ladies Figure Skating Champion. In 2020, she was the World Junior Bronze Medalist. 2 years later, at just 16 years old, she was the World Bronze Medalist and took part in the 2022 Beijing Olympics.
Then …. she retired!!! Alysa didn’t enjoy skating anymore; she felt that she had no freedom and was ‘living on other peoples’ schedule and rules.’ She wanted to get out into the world and ‘do more.’ She started doing normal things she had never had time for – going on her first ever vacation, hanging out with friends, getting her driver’s license.
Her life changed again when she went on a ski trip in 2024 and felt an adrenaline rush she hadn’t had since quitting skating. She felt ‘the high of the fight’ she had only experienced in skate competitions and realized how much she missed it. She decided to return to skating.
11 months later, Alysa Liu was the 2025 World Figure Skating Champion. And, as we all know, she won the 2026 Olympic Gold Medal – at the ripe young age of 20!!
For Alysa Liu, skating is her way to display her art; she honestly doesn’t care about medals. Her passion and joy are evident every time she skates. “It feels like I just rediscovered figure skating. … I’ve developed into my own person.”
What a gift!