American Figure Skater Preps for Milan After Historic 2025 Championship Run
Alysa Liu has positioned herself as a medal contender for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan after claiming the world championship last year—a triumph that cemented her place among figure skating’s elite. The 20-year-old American won the 2025 World Championship in Boston, becoming the first U.S. woman to claim the title since Kimmie Meissner in 2006.[3][4]
Liu’s path to the Olympic stage has been anything but conventional. At just 13 years old, she became the youngest-ever U.S. women’s national champion in 2019, breaking Tara Lipinski’s long-standing record.[4] The Richmond, California native made her mark as a jumping phenom, becoming the first American female skater to land a quadruple lutz in competition and the first woman ever to successfully complete a quad lutz and triple axel in the same program.[2]
After winning back-to-back U.S. national titles in 2019 and 2020 with a national scoring record of 235.52, Liu unexpectedly retired from competitive skating in April 2022 at age 16.[2][3] The decision came after she reached the podium at the 2022 World Championships with a bronze medal—making her the first U.S. woman to achieve that feat since 2016.[2]
A Triumphant Return
Liu’s comeback announcement in March 2024 surprised the figure skating world. She carefully crafted her return, selecting her own costumes, music, and program aesthetic while competing at a lower level to rebuild her competitive foundation.[3] The strategy paid off: she finished second at the U.S. Championships in her first season back before capturing the world title weeks later.[3]
Her resurgence comes as the U.S. women’s figure skating team gears up for Milan, where athletes will face stiff international competition. The landscape includes formidable competitors like Kaori Sakamoto of Japan, who has established herself as a consistent medal threat on the world stage.[1]
Olympic Preparation
At 20 years old, Liu enters the 2026 Milan Olympics as one of Team USA’s strongest medal hopefuls in women’s singles skating.[6] Her technical abilities, demonstrated through years of championship-level jumping, combined with her recent world championship victory, make her a legitimate threat for podium placement.[4]
Beyond her athletic accomplishments, Liu has cultivated diverse interests outside the rink. During her two-year retirement from competitive skating, she climbed to Mount Everest base camp and developed a passion for photography.[3] These experiences have shaped her maturity and perspective as she pursues Olympic glory.
The American figure skater’s journey—from prodigy to retiree to world champion—represents one of sports’ most compelling comeback stories as she chases Olympic hardware on the international stage.
