By: Amara Duchaine

In the world of figure skating, the athletes often face pressure, long training hours and have high expectations set for them.
With this after shocking figure skating fans around the world by retiring at just 16 years old the child phenomenon Alysa Liu later returned to the ice and won gold.

Alysa Liu gained attraction as one of the most talented young skaters in the United States. She made headlines in 2019 when she became the youngest champion in the history of the U.S. Figure Skating Championships at 13 years old.

Her performances were known for their difficulty and the confidence she had on the ice, including many jumps that some skaters twice her age struggled to land.

Because of her success at a young age, Liu quickly became one of the most talked about athletes in the sport.
In 2022, not long after competing in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, she announced her retirement from figure skating.

Many fans were shocked because she was only 16 years old and still had a life full of success ahead of her. She explained that she felt like she wasn’t really doing the sport for herself anymore and just wasn’t enjoying the sport anymore.

Liu also said that she wanted to experience life outside of Figure Skating and wanting a break from the pressure that came with competition and over she just wanted to do things someone her age already got to experience growing up.

During her time away from skating, Liu focused on enjoying normal teenage experiences and rediscovering what made her happy.

For a while, it seemed like her figure skating career had ended.
But during a vacation Liu went skiing for the very first time and she had stated it had given her an adrenaline rush and she thought if she could get this feeling from figure skating and enjoy it without the pressure she would come back.

So eventually, she decided to step back onto the ice, not just for fun but to compete again and gain the adrenaline rush she talked about.

Instead of skating only for winning and getting medals Liu focused on enjoying the sport she loved as a growing up.
When she called and told her former coach she was willing to skate again.

The figure skating world was shock at the return and many had stated that they would never have expected Liu’s return to the ice.
After competing Liu made it to the Olympics once again.Liu’s first performance at the 2026 Winter Olympics brought many emotions as she skated.

When it came to scoring Liu moved to third and made it to finals, many loved watching her skate as she looked so calm on the ice and as many figure skaters tend to tense up when performing Liu skates very loose and free.

With performing her short program, she got first and won gold, this gold was the first gold the USA got in 24 years.
After winning gold Liu had said she was just out there to have fun and show people her skill.

Then came the free skate and before she performed, she had said that she’s not skating to win and she doesn’t care if she won again, she just wants to have fun doing the sport she grew up loving.

Liu performed her free skate beautifully and moved to first with 2 more performing after her.

After scores came in Liu was shocked she had won gold again.