Her bleached halos and gleaming piercings have taken the internet by storm. After winning gold at this year’s Winter Olympics, Alysa Liu has become a magnet for women of all ages to the world of female athletes and competitive ice skating. However, this isn’t Liu’s first time in the public eye.
In 2020, Liu won a World Junior bronze medal and a Junior Grand Prix Final silver medal, all at the age of 14. Just a year earlier, in 2019, she became the youngest-ever U.S. women’s national champion and the youngest skater ever to win two senior national titles.
These awards came with multiple magazine shoots, news interviews, and America’s attention. Yet, in 2022, she announced her retirement, stating that she had completed her goals and wanted to move on from the skating world. Her return in 2024 to the CS Budapest Trophy once again thrust her into the spotlight, but this time she’d be skating on her own terms.
How Her Comeback is Changing the Sport
The pressure to do better, be perfect, and never falter has sadly been ingrained in the minds of almost every athlete. In recent years, figure skating in particular has seen an onslaught of sexual assault and drug scandals, as well as a rise in eating disorders and mental health declines among its athletes.
When Liu returned to the sport after two years away, she laid out the rules she’d follow if she were going to compete again. She’d pick her own costumes, her own programs, and decide how much she skated.
In an interview with 60 Minutes, Liu stated, “No one’s going to starve me, or tell me what I can and cannot eat.”
Her own father, Arthur Liu, has come forward to announce his step back as her manager, apologetic for the intensity of his training and control over Alysa over the years.
As a former athlete myself, seeing Liu take control of her own body and routines means so much to me, especially for all the women I’ve seen suffer under intense, unrealistic expectations. Liu is empowering past, present, and future generations of athletes who simply want to enjoy their sport without feeling the pressure of the entire world on their backs.
Other athletes, such as Olympic figure skaters Amber Glenn and Ilia Malinin, have also been outspoken about the immense effects that pressure has on their physical and mental health.
This newer generation of athletes is taking the pressure off their shoulders and reclaiming their love for their sports, inspiring older athletes to stand up for themselves and hold themselves, their audiences, and their trainers accountable.
Where to Catch Her Next
Liu’s return and new Olympic gold medal have the world asking what her goals are now that she’s made a new name for herself. She’s released her official schedule, listing her next event as the 2026 ISU World Figure Skating Championships in March of this year, and continuing through 2029.
Liu has also been announced as one of the U.S. figure skaters to appear in a tour through Japan and the United States titled “Stars on Ice” this April, along with Malinin and Glenn.
Liu’s artistry, passion, and relentless spirit make her the perfect young role model to change the way female athletes are perceived and treated by both the media and trainers. She’s unapologetically herself and refuses to have her love for her sport diminished by others who try to control her body, her routines, and her self-image.
I can’t wait to see where Liu takes her newfound win and independence, and how she changes the love of sports for so many young women.
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