Alysa Liu’s path to women’s figure skating gold at Milano Cortina 2026 is one of the most inspiring stories of these Games. The 20-year-old Californian stepped away from the sport at just 16, overwhelmed by endless training, pressure, and the loss of a normal teenage life. She had already become the youngest U.S. national champion at 13 in 2019, defended the title in 2020, finished sixth at Beijing 2022, and won bronze at worlds shortly after. Yet the toll was too much. Liu chose to retire, got her driver’s license, went to concerts, traveled, enrolled at UCLA, and simply lived as a teenager for the first time. That break—especially during the pandemic—gave her space to grow, study psychology, and rediscover who she was outside of skating.

When she returned in 2024–2025, everything felt different. Liu won the world championship in her first season back, shocking three-time reigning champion Kaori Sakamoto. At these Olympics, she helped the U.S. defend their team title before delivering a stunning free skate to Donna Summer’s “MacArthur Park Suite.” Her total of 226.79 secured gold—the first for an American woman in the event since Sarah Hughes in 2002. Liu later told reporters the medal was secondary: “What I needed was the stage and I got that, so I was all good. No matter what happened.”

Her story carries a powerful message about mental health and balance. “Honestly, I didn’t have many people to look up to,” she said. “I only really had myself, and I think that’s all I needed.” Liu hopes her experience inspires others: “I think my story is very cool. Hopefully, I can inspire some people… All I want in my life is human connection and, damn, now I am connected with a hell of a ton of people.”