I must admit. U.S. Olympic figure skater Alysa Liu has me stumped. I have been watching amateur and professional athletics for over 50 years, and I have never seen an athlete embrace a pressure-packed situation with such grace, freedom, and joy. Her victory in the Women’s Free Skate final was one for the ages, but I hope people also remember the path that Liu took to this remarkable feat.
She should be applauded for the determination, attitude, and professionalism she demonstrated on the ice. But as important as her road to Olympic Gold is, the refreshing outlook she now brings to her sport and her life is more important. There are valuable lessons to learn in how she carries herself for non-athletes and athletes alike.
Liu’s Amazing Path to Gold
To say that Lui’s path to history was unconventional would be a gross understatement. Liu grew up in the Bay Area city of Richmond, the oldest of five siblings whose father immigrated from China during the haze of that country’s 1989 Democracy Movement. She took up skating at age five to please her father, who was an avid fan of US figure skater Michelle Kwan. She had a great aptitude for the sport and started receiving group and individualized training to help further her career.
She began serious competition at age 10, and the next year she became the youngest female skater to earn the intermediate gold medal at the 2016 US Championships. At age 12, Liu became the youngest woman ever to land a triple Axel.
A year later, at the age of 13, she won the 2019 U.S. National Championships, becoming the youngest skater to do so. She would successfully defend her title the next season. Also in 2020, at a Grand Prix event, she became the first woman ever to land a quadruple Lutz and triple Axel in a single program.
Transitions, Beijing Olympics, Retirement
The Covid crisis, a growth spurt, and injuries slowed down her development. But she got back on track and won her first senior international event at the 2021 Cranberry Cup in Boston. She next won her debut ISU Challenger Series event, the CS Lombardia Trophy, by over 32 points, aided by landing a triple Axel. She would go on to win the 2021-22 ISU Series by 40 points.
At the 2022 U.S Championships in Nashville, Liu was forced to withdraw from the event after she tested positive for COVID-19. She petitioned to be included on the 2022 U.S Winter Olympic team. She was successful and became the youngest member of the American team.
At the Beijing Games, she helped the U.S team earn gold in the team event. She finished seventh in the Women’s Single event, but she was pleased with her performance. However, after earning a bronze at the 2022 World Championships, Liu announced her retirement at age 16. siting burnout.
Time Away from the Rink and Reflections
How did she spend her time away? Doing anything but skating. For two years, Liu did what she wanted, including international backpacking trips with friends, spending time with family, and entering UCLA to study psychology. She became her own person, unshackled from the pressure and tension of the skating world. In 2024, she decided to return to skating, but under her conditions.
Liu said this about her comeback conditions. “I wanted to pick my own program music and my own costumes. I want to be more involved in the creative process of my program. In addition, I needed more control over my training. If it’s time to take a break, I’ll take a break. If it’s time to ramp it up, I will do it. And I am going to eat what I want to eat. No starving myself.”
Her Return and Olympic Triumph
She contacted her former coaches, Phillip DiGuglielmo and Massimmo, and began training again. Despite much skepticism in the skating world, she experienced immediate success on her return. She placed first in a Challenger Series event in October 2024 and won a silver medal at the U.S. Championships in January 2025. Two months later, she dazzled the crowd with her free skate performance, taking home the gold at the World Championships, putting an exclamation point on her miraculous comeback.
Fast forward a year to last month’s U.S Figure Skating Championships, which also doubled as the Olympic trials, and Liu took another calculated risk, debuting a new long program. Once again, her belief in herself paid off as she skated two error-free programs en route to a silver medal. This set the stage for her second Olympic experience, which began with her assisting the U.S. in bringing home the gold medal in the Team event.
Then, after finishing in third place in the short program of the Women’s Singles event, she brought the crowd to its feet, gliding on the ice in a joyous, free, and confident manner to win her gold medal. The audience, the announcers, and the viewing public were mesmerized as she seemed to float through her routine set to the music of Donna Summer’s “MacArthur Park.
She skated off the ice to thunderous applause from the audience, who immediately knew they had witnessed something special. In doing so, she became the first American woman to take home a gold medal in the event since Sarah Hughes in 2002
Secret to Success
There will be tons of books written about Alysa Liu’s career. They will talk about her success on the ice, her improbable comeback, and what the future holds for her. But I hope at least one delves into the real reason for her success. By letting go of the self-imposed pressure on her career and taking control of her destiny, she not only improved her performance but also found joy in doing so.
She, unlike any other athlete I have ever witnessed, understands the difference between needing to succeed and joyously and freely competing on her own terms. This is a great message to convey to all coaches, athletes, parents, or anyone struggling to navigate through life.
