Figure Skater Alysa Liu Finds Joy, Places 3rd at Olympics

Alysa Liu skated straight to her family's hearts Tuesday night in Milan, landing in third place at the Olympics while performing specifically for the four younger siblings who had never watched her compete.

The 20-year-old looked directly at them during her jumps and footwork. She wasn't worried about losing focus because this version of herself, the one she calls "Alysa 2.0," does things her own way.

Liu's performance earned her highest score of the season, 76.59, placing her behind two Japanese skaters and giving Team USA its best shot at a medal in women's figure skating in 20 years. But the numbers almost seem beside the point for someone who now skates for the audience instead of the judges.

Her short program tells her own story through music. The song "Promise" is about trying and failing to leave an old relationship behind, just like Liu tried to leave skating. She cries every time it ends because it touches something real inside her.

The journey to this moment has been anything but traditional. Liu became the youngest U.S. women's champion ever at 13, won again at 14, then battled injuries and burnout. She realized she'd been following her father's plan instead of her own, even though his intentions were good.

After placing sixth at the 2022 Olympics and winning bronze at Worlds, she retired at 16. She went to UCLA, hiked to Mount Everest base camp, and lived like a regular teenager. Then a ski trip reminded her that sports could actually be fun.

She returned to skating in 2024 and somehow won the 2025 world title. Since her comeback, she's completed 210 jumps over 143 passes without a single fall, a streak of consistency that amazes even her coaches.

Why This Inspires

Liu doesn't feel pressure anymore because she's invited everything in. "No matter what happens, it's a story," she says with the raccoon-striped hair and frenulum piercing that signal she's doing this her way.

Her coach Phillip DiGuglielmo says she has an incredible ability to feel every aspect of a jump as it happens and make adjustments without judgment. But the real adjustment was internal, trading the weight of expectation for the lightness of joy.

Thursday's free skate final will determine if she medals, but Liu seems genuinely unbothered by the outcome. She's already won something bigger: the freedom to be herself while doing what she loves.

The teenager who walked away because skating had become a burden is now the young woman skating toward whatever comes next with a smile on her face.