OAKLAND, Calif. — This is not an ice sports town.
Rather, it hasn’t been one this century. The area used to be a hub for amateurs and gold medal contenders alike.
Alysa Liu, the first American woman to win women’s figure skating gold in 24 years, was not yet 2 when a rink in neighboring city Berkeley, near where she grew up, was shuttered in 2007, even though it had once hosted national championships and trained Kristi Yamaguchi, the 1992 Olympic champion.
So it feels particularly important to those at Liu’s home rink now, the Oakland Ice Center, that she’s representing the city on the sport’s biggest stage.
“It just continues the legacy of the Bay Area,” Candy Goodson, director of skating at the facility, said as fans and supporters gathered at a watch party for Liu’s free skate at the Milan Cortina Olympics on Thursday. “And Alysa is just carrying that torch, hopefully to the top.”
Liu, 20, who had returned to the sport after retiring four years ago, indeed reached the very top. She claimed the gold with a four-minute routine that highlighted her signature loose style and bright energy. And by winning, she became the first American woman to medal in her sport in 20 years, and the first to win gold since Sarah Hughes at the Salt Lake City Games in 2002.
About 100 fans gathered at the rink to support Liu, watching hours of lead-up to her free skate as most of the field preceded her. They erupted in joy at every nailed jump and tried to muffle excitement when her closest competitors faltered.
Oakland resident Doug Sykes, whose two young daughters skate at the Ice Center and try to watch all of Liu’s competitions, said the local representation is “one of the coolest things.”
“It’s just nice to be able to come to an event like this and support one of the local heroes,” he said.
The rink teamed with Oakland business leaders to include various city dignitaries and to provide food and giveaways, including custom mittens.
Organizers gave away custom mittens at Thursday’s Alysa Liu watch party in Oakland. (Torrey Hart / The Athletic)
“We’ve got somebody on a worldwide stage that gets off the ice and shouts out Oakland, California, and shouts out her love for the city,” said Barbara Leslie, the chief executive of the Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce. “We just couldn’t be more proud, and we want to do everything to support her and to support Oakland. … She’s very ingrained in this community.”
Haya Hayes, 8, who also trains with Liu’s coaches Phillip DiGuglielmo and Massimo Scali, said she got to miss some school to come watch. She said she likes Liu’s costumes and that “she lands, like, every jump.”
Hayes is just one of the many skaters Liu is influencing.
“Figure skaters coming up, they have this incredible role model here to look up to,” Goodson said. She added, “The other day when they were interviewing her, she was not talking about herself. She was talking about things like, ‘I read every letter.’ All of those things are so important to her, which makes it more impactful for all these little skaters coming up.”
Haya Hayes, a young figure skater who shares coaches with Alysa Liu, got to miss some school for Thursday’s watch party. (Torrey Hart / The Athletic)
Liu’s celebrity has made for busy times at the ice center, where Liu skates about four days a week. “Just chaos,” Oakland Ice Center general manager Glenn Martin said. “You just see it in the enthusiasm on the ice, with everybody here watching at the party today. It’s just been crazy.”
“We see that every Olympic season, but of course it’s heightened with having our own skater at the Olympics,” Goodson added.
In addition to the screens showing the competition in Milan, skaters in Oakland got to take the ice for free during the watch party. There were curling lessons, too.
Carrie Maultsby-Lute, a former pro figure skater in attendance, said it’s Liu’s “unbridled joy and enthusiasm” that set her apart. That’s been a common sentiment, including from Yamaguchi this week.
Alysa Liu trains at the Oakland Ice Center about four days per week, the facility’s GM said. (Toni L. Sandys / The Washington Post via Getty Images)
“She actually represents Oakland on the ice. She’s a rebel. She just doesn’t fit into a box, and I love that about her. She’s so freeing,” said Maultsby-Lute. “I feel like she could only have come out of Oakland — to have just such unapologetic power and joy. And even stepping back for a few years and then coming back also speaks to the resilience and grit.”
Maultsby-Lute said Liu’s success proves Oakland can produce Olympians and that “we need to invest even more in that pipeline.”
“It’s so inspiring. Even if she doesn’t medal, she’s just, like, our hometown hero.”
But, again, this town isn’t exactly known for ice sports, and lately it has become more known for its lack of sports altogether.
Martin and his son Brad Martin, a hockey manager at the rink, say they’ve infused an East Coast ice sports mentality into their business to help make the programs competitive. “It’s the culture,” Brad Martin said. We have an ‘us against the world’ mentality here. Everyone just works hard and has fun.”
“We just can’t stop winning everything right now,” he added.