Alysa Liu

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Alysa Liu
Personal information
Born8 August 2005 (aged 20)
Clovis, California, U.S.
EducationUniversity of California, Los Angeles (currently attending)
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese 劉美賢
Simplified Chinese 刘美贤

Alysa Liu (born August 8, 2005) is an American figure skater. She won gold medals in singles and the team competition at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Liu is a two-time U.S. Champion in singles (2019 and 2020). Following the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, where she placed eighth in singles, Liu retired from competitive figure skating.[1] After over two years away from competition, Liu resumed her career in the fall of 2024. In March 2025, she won the World Championship in singles.[2]

At the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy, Liu became the first women's singles gold medalist for the United States since Sarah Hughes in 2002.[3]

Early life

Alysa Liu was born on August 8, 2005, in Clovis, California, and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, mainly in Oakland. Liu began skating at the age of 5, and by the age of 7, she was already competing at national levels. Her father, Arthur Liu, is a Chinese dissident who went into exile in 1989 because of the Tiananmen Square Protests.[4][5]

Liu went to Chinese school for three years before going to Oakland School for the Arts. When Liu started missing too many classes for travel because of figure skating competitions, she went to California Connections Academy and began homeschooling at her father's law office in between practices. Liu graduated from high school in June 2021 at age 15.[6] In fall 2023, she began going to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

Olympic career

2022 Olympics

On August 30, 2021, US Figure Skating announced that Liu had been picked to compete at the 2021 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, with the goal of qualifying a spot for American women at the 2022 Winter Olympics.[7] Liu came in first in both parts of the competition to take the gold medal and the first of six available Olympic places.[8] Liu was the overall women's winner on the 2021–22 ISU Challenger Series.

At the 2022 U.S. Championships in Nashville, Liu placed third in the short program, scoring 71.42 points. She was forced to withdraw from the event after testing positive for COVID-19. She successfully petitioned to be included on the 2022 U.S. Winter Olympic team, alongside Mariah Bell and Karen Chen. Liu was the youngest athlete named to the American Olympic team.[9][10]

In the women's event at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Liu placed eighth in the short program.[11] She moved up to seventh place in the free skate.[12]

On April 9, 2022, Liu announced on Instagram that she was retiring from figure skating because she felt good with her career.[13]

2026 Olympics

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In January 2026, she was named to the U.S. team for the 2026 Winter Olympics[14][15][16] On February 6, Liu took part in the team event, placing second behind Kaori Sakamoto in theshort program. Liu's result with those of her teammates helped earn an Olympic gold medal for Team USA.[17]

On February 17, Liu competed in the short program segment of the women's singles event, earning a personal-best score and placing third behind Ami Nakai and Kaori Sakamoto.[18][19][20] Two days later, Liu competed in the free skate segment. Her performance won the free skate, made her personal-best combined total score, and helped her win the gold medal. She became the first American woman to win a medal in figure skating at the Olympics since Sasha Cohen in 2006 and the first to win gold since Sarah Hughes in 2002.[21][22][23]

Personal life

Liu has talked about being diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).[24] Liu has also openly spoke about immigrant rights in the United States.[25]

Alysa Liu Media

References

  1. ↑ Alysa Liu retires from figure skating competition at age 16 (in en-US). NBC Sports. Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  2. ↑ Alysa Liu (in en-US). U.S. Figure Skating. Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  3. ↑ Thompson, Marcus. Alysa Liu, bursting with joy, wins first U.S. Olympic women's figure skating gold in 24 years (in en-US). New York Times (2026-02-20). Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  4. ↑ Kahler, Kalyn (16 May 2019). "In Quads We Trust: 13-Year-Old Liu Is the Future of U.S. Ladies' Figure Skating". Sports Illustrated. https://www.si.com/olympics/2019/05/16/alysa-liu-us-figure-skating-future-quad. Retrieved February 21, 2026. 
  5. ↑ Hersh, Philip (December 21, 2018). "Skating prodigy Alysa Liu, a senior national competitor at 13, is using the present to avoid future shock". NBC Sports. https://olympics.nbcsports.com/2018/12/21/skating-prodigy-alysa-liu-a-senior-national-competitor-at-13-is-using-the-present-to-avoid-future-shock/. Retrieved December 30, 2018. 
  6. ↑ Wilson, Angelica. Alysa Liu Has Already Graduated High School (in en-GB). PopSugar (October 29, 2021). Retrieved March 2, 2024.
  7. ↑ United States to Send Liu, Zhou to Nebelhorn Trophy (in en). U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone (August 30, 2021). Retrieved September 2, 2021.
  8. ↑ Flade, Tatjana (September 25, 2021). "Liu pockets Nebelhorn gold; seals third spot for U.S. women". Golden Skate. https://www.goldenskate.com/2021/09/2021-nebelhorn-trophy-women/. Retrieved September 26, 2021. 
  9. ↑ Slater, Paula (January 8, 2022). "Mariah Bell takes first National title". Golden Skate. https://www.goldenskate.com/2022/01/mariah-bell-takes-first-national-title/. Retrieved February 1, 2022. 
  10. ↑ Levinsohn, Dan (January 12, 2022). "Meet the 2022 U.S. Figure Skating Olympic Team". NBC Sports. https://www.nbcolympics.com/news/meet-2022-us-figure-skating-olympic-team. Retrieved February 1, 2022. 
  11. ↑ Slater, Paula (February 15, 2022). "Kamila Valieva skates to lead in Beijing". Golden Skate. https://www.goldenskate.com/2022/02/kamila-valieva-skates-to-lead-in-beijing/. Retrieved February 16, 2022. 
  12. ↑ Slater, Paula (February 17, 2022). "Shcherbakova takes Olympic gold; Valieva falters". Golden Skate. https://www.goldenskate.com/2022/02/shcherbakova-takes-olympic-gold-valieva-falters/. Retrieved February 18, 2022. 
  13. ↑ Alysa Liu Retires from Figure Skating at Age 16 (in en-US). OlympicTalk | NBC Sports (April 9, 2022). Retrieved April 9, 2022.
  14. ↑ U.S. Figure Skating Nominates 16 Athletes to 2026 U.S. Olympic Team. U.S. Figure Skating. Retrieved January 12, 2026.
  15. ↑ 2026 U.S. Nationals – Womens Final Results. U.S. Figure Skating. Retrieved January 12, 2026.
  16. ↑ Bregman, Scott. Alysa Liu says Lady Gaga free skate unlikely for Milano Cortina 2026. Olympics.com. Retrieved January 12, 2026.
  17. ↑ Bowers, Rachel G.. Team USA wins gold in figure skating at Olympics: Reactions, highlights. USA TodayUSA Today. Retrieved February 9, 2026.
  18. ↑ Treisman, Rachel (February 17, 2026). The U.S. falters again in figure skating, but the women still have time to make it up. NPR. https://www.npr.org/2026/02/17/nx-s1-5717497/olympics-womens-figure-skating-amber-glenn-alysa-liu. Retrieved February 19, 2026. 
  19. ↑ 2026 Olympic Winter Games – Womens Short Program. Skating Scores. Retrieved 19 February 2026.
  20. ↑ Slater, Paula (February 17, 2026). "Japan's Ami Nakai grabs early Olympic lead". Golden Skate. https://www.goldenskate.com/japans-ami-nakai-grabs-early-olympic-lead/. 
  21. ↑ Winter Olympics 2026 live updates: Team USA's Alysa Liu wins figure skating gold on Day 13. The Athletic. February 19, 2026. https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/live-blogs/winter-olympics-2026-milano-cortina-live-updates-day-13-schedule-events-scores-results/nQ05UotN9y5O/. Retrieved February 19, 2026. 
  22. ↑ 2026 Olympic Winter Games – Womens Final Results. Skating Scores. Retrieved 19 February 2026.
  23. ↑ Slater, Paula (February 19, 2026). "USA's Alysa Liu captures Olympic gold". Golden Skate. https://www.goldenskate.com/usas-alysa-liu-captures-olympic-gold/. 
  24. ↑ Killion, Ann (February 15, 2026). "Bay Area Olympian Alysa Liu finds happiness leaving, then returning to figure skating". San Francisco Chronicle. https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/annkillion/article/alysa-liu-finds-happiness-leaving-returning-21355460.php. Retrieved February 25, 2026. 
  25. ↑ Alysa Liu opens up about her break from skating, her father’s activism, and Team USA journey (in en). youtube.com (Oct 23, 2025)KING-TV.

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