After retiring from the sport at age 16, American figure skater Ms. Alysa Liu returned to the ice for the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games. Ms. Liu, now 20, has been skating since age five. Her decision to return to the sport surprised many, and her coaches tried to talk her out of it because they believed she would not achieve the same level of success she had reached before. Mr. Phillip DiGuglielmo, Ms. Liu’s coach, also expressed concern that her age would make high-level training more difficult because of reduced flexibility and slower muscle recovery, but Ms. Liu remained persistent, according to time.com.
From ages 5 through 16, Ms. Liu focused intensely on training. Her parents homeschooled her so she could spend more time on the ice, according to nbcnews.com. At 13, she became the youngest skater to win the United States (US) Figure Skating National Championship, according to teamusa.com. Three years later, Ms. Liu qualified for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games. Leading up to Beijing, Ms. Liu won bronze at her first world championship, according to usfigureskating.org. Despite her previous success, she placed sixth and did not earn a medal in Beijing, according to olympics.com.
Throughout the years leading up to her Olympic debut, Ms. Liu’s demanding training schedule caused her to experience burnout as a teenage athlete, according to people.com. Her father, Mr. Arthur Liu, and her coaches, Mr. Lee Barkell, Ms. Lori Nichol, Mr. DiGuglielmo, and Mr. Massimo Scali, selected her programs and costumes for her, according to olympics.com. As a result, she often performed programs and wore costumes that lowered her confidence, according to nbcnews.com. By the time the 2022 Olympics arrived, this lifestyle had exhausted her, and she wanted to live a normal teenage life, according to people.com. This mental exhaustion ultimately led Ms. Liu to retire from figure skating after Beijing 2022, according to people.com. Sophomore Sam Ramos, a former figure skater, discussed her perspective on Ms. Liu’s decision to retire.
“I understand [Ms. Liu’s] decision because I know that ice skating puts so much pressure on the athlete,” Sam said. “It requires extremely hard work for hours and hours every single day, so it’s hard to find the balance between training and being able to do everyday activities, especially at such a high level.”
After her retirement, Ms. Liu shifted her focus away from skating. She started attending the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where she currently studies psychology, according to people.com. In 2023, she hiked to Everest Base Camp in Nepal, according to olympics.com. During a 2024 family ski trip to Lake Tahoe, she felt drawn back to figure skating and announced her return to the sport, according to people.com. She restarted formal training again in June 2024, according to cbsnews.com.
Although transitioning back into training was difficult, Ms. Liu felt stronger motivation because she had control over her skating career, according to olympics.com. When discussing the terms of her return with coaches Mr. DiGuglielmo and Mr. Scali, she stated that she would make decisions about her programs and training. She emphasized that she is skating again because she wants to, not because others pressured her to return, according to time.com. This time around, she chose her own programs, costumes and music and determined her own training schedule. Her coaches noticed greater confidence and maturity in her skating, according to cbsnews.com. Just eight months after she began training again, Ms. Liu won gold at the 2025 World Figure Skating Championships, according to nbcnews.com. Ms. Liu reflected on how she feels about her independence over her skating.
“That [2025 World Figure Skating Championships] was the most hype I’ve ever felt in my entire life,” Ms. Liu said, according to cbsnews.com. “It’s a crazy sensation. I get to pick my own program music. I get to help with the creative process of the program. If I feel like I’m skating too much, I’ll back down. If I feel like I’m not skating enough, I’ll ramp it up. No one’s [going to] starve me or tell me what I can and can’t eat.”
Ms. Liu qualified for the Milano Cortina 2026 figure skating team after her performance in the 2025 World Figure Skating Championships and the 2026 US Figure Skating Championships, according to nbcolympics.com. Team USA won their second consecutive gold medal in the figure skating team event February 8, according to nbcolympics.com. Ms. Liu earned a score of 74.90 and placed second, just behind Japan’s Ms. Kaori Sakamoto, according to nbcolympics.com.
The women’s short program took place February 17. Ms. Liu was the first American to compete, and she performed well enough to earn her highest score of the season, 76.59. This score put her in third place behind Japan’s Ms. Ami Nakai and Ms. Sakamoto. With her teammates currently standing in eighth and thirteenth, Ms. Liu is team USA’s best shot at medaling, with the final free skate taking place February 19, according to usatoday.com. Sam shared why she thinks Ms. Liu’s return to figure skating is inspirational.
“It’s hard to return to the sport because ice skating requires not only constant training for skills but also for conditioning, and it’s very difficult,” Sam said. “To stay on track and improve, you need to work hours at it every day, so coming back to it sets you back, forcing you to relearn all of the skills that you have not been practicing. Alysa Liu’s perseverance and dedication are truly incredible. She decided to follow her passion even though she knew it was going to take an endless amount of hard work and difficulty to return to the level she was at.”
Featured Image by Eleanor Kelleher ’28
