One evening last month at the Milano Ice Skating Arena, a young woman with striped hair and a glittering gold dress captivated a crowd with her four-minute free skate program to Donna Summers’ ‘MacArthur Park Suite’. Alysa Liu, the two-time American Olympic figure skater in question, went on to win the Women’s Singles only a few minutes later, breaking a 24-year drought for Team USA. However, her gold medal isn’t the only reason for her recent rise to fame. Solidifying her as an inspiration to many, her journey to the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics makes her a unique skater on the scene.
Liu began ice skating at just five years old, and she was a natural from the beginning. At 12 years old she landed her first triple axel in competition and by 14, she was celebrating a bronze medal at the World Championships. She finally made it onto Team USA for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, where she placed sixth. Somewhere along the way, however, she started realising that the pressure was too much, leading to her early retirement following the Olympics. Skating was no longer her passion — she wanted to live a life of her own and learn more about who she was outside of the sport.
Two years later, a much-changed Alysa Liu put her skates back on. This time though, she wanted to rediscover her passion on her own terms. She would pick her own program songs and competition dresses, choose when to train, and be involved in choreographing her routines. So, here we are, watching as Alysa Liu reemerges as a new skater.
The difference is tangible. Her recent Olympic free skate felt intimate, like we were getting to see Liu dancing in a space of her own — no pressure, no one watching, just a beaming smile and excitement shining through every jump. Behind this performance is Liu’s new mindset. “I skate now to show what I can make, and what I can do,” she said in an interview with Elle, discussing how it’s no longer about the win and more about the artistry and self-expression. This is the core of what makes her so inspiring to the Olympics’ audience. For me, she represents someone who was able to break free, be grounded in who she is, and go after what she wanted at an age that can be so confusing for people. It seems crazy that, at 20 years old, someone could possibly commit to being unabashedly themselves, but somehow this is exactly what she has managed to do. In this sense, she teaches us a lesson in confidence and ambition. She shows us that we can be young and wise at the same time — we can know ourselves and what we want if we choose to. From there, we should be unafraid to express who we are. With Alysa Liu as the perfect example, it’s clear to me now that ‘easier said than done’ should never mean don’t do it.
“Alysa Liu 2026 Olympics Women’s Figure Skating Final” by Jaybeeinbigd22 is marked with CC0 1.0.