Alysa Liu is an American figure skater who won two gold medals at the 2026 Winter Olympics, taking first place in both the individual women’s figure skating event and the team event.
She is a Bay Area native who grew up with her single father and four younger siblings. Liu started figure skating at the age of five and began competing towards national titles when she was 13. She then made history by being the youngest skater to land a triple Axel at the 2018 Asian Open and by becoming the youngest U.S women’s figure skating champion at age 13. She even went on to compete at the 2022 Winter Olympics at 16, but her life took a quick turn when she decided to retire that same year. In 2024, she decided to return to figure skating, which led to her competing at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
After her gold medal win on February 19, her Instagram following doubled within days, and as of March 2026, data from Social Blade shows it has grown to over 7 million. Her Olympic fame has sparked social media trends, such as TikTok/YouTube creators discussing how to adopt the Alyssa Liu mindset that focuses on prioritizing mental health and treating passions as joyful expressions rather than rigid pursuits for validation. Following her exhibition gala, a TikTok trend emerged where users showcased their skills, mirroring the beginning of her gala routine to the song “Stateside + Zara Larsson” by PinkPanthersss. Upon her return, she was greeted as a local hero, being granted the key to the city of Oakland to being honored with murals. The most notable ones being by Gustavo Zermeño in Gardena and another by The Illuminaries in her hometown, Oakland, California.
Although Liu’s unique style and cheerful personality led to her rise to fame among Gen Z viewers, she had already made an impact on many young girls worldwide when she was 13.
After becoming the youngest U.S figure skating champion, she appeared on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” where her personality shined bright, discussing her noteworthy mindset and teaching Fallon her skating rituals. Even then, she was self-aware of a healthy mindset: focus on the immediate task, think positively, and just keep moving forward. In October of 2019, she was alongside competitive figure skater, Tara Lipinski, to present an award during the last stop of Barbie’s 60th Birthday “Be Anything” tour put together in collaboration with Mattel and Walmart, to inspire the next generation to pursue their dreams. Although being a child prodigy had its drawbacks. Liu stated in a U.S Figure Skating Article, that her demanding training and travel schedule prevented her from attending traditional school and enjoying everyday activities like sleepovers and junk food.
Despite these drawbacks, Liu came back to the figure skating scene and cemented her place as a cultural icon.
She secured a place in history by winning gold, ending the 24-year drought for American women’s figure skating, the last gold win being in 2002 with Sarah Hughes. Liu entered the final segment with a 2-pont gap from gold. Her strategy? She saved the most difficult jump combinations for the second half of her routine to earn the 10% bonus for jumping when your legs are most tired. Liu capitalized on this by landing a Triple Loop-Double Axel-Double Axel sequence in the final minutes, a three-jump combo that earned her 13 points in one go. That, in combination with all her spins and step sequences scoring at a level 4 (the highest difficulty level), came out with a total score of 226.79. A personal best for Liu and placing her in gold medal territory. Liu’s achievements didn’t stop at her scores. Her societal impact revolutionized what competitive figure skating can look like. Working with coach Massimo Scali, they created a program that prioritized creative freedom over structure, skating to modern tracks like Laufey’s “Promise”. For her solo acts she performs her routine to the song “MacArthur Park Suite” by Donna Summer.
In an interview, Liu explains how she didn’t care to win the gold but said “I’m really grateful that I got the chance to showcase my art and my ideas, these titles are huge, but I don’t want them to overshadow who I am and what I do and what I am all about, winning isn’t all that, and neither is losing.”
Alysa Liu became an inspiration to the world with her hard work and dedication, and her free spirit; she shows perseverance and grit. Liu became a role model for young women everywhere, but also showed younger generations that it’s okay to take a step back from their hobbies and to take time to reflect before coming back to them.