Gold-winning ice-skater Alysa Liu speaks with reporters at Oakland City Hall on March 12, 2026.
Gold-winning ice-skater Alysa Liu speaks with reporters at Oakland City Hall on March 12, 2026. Jerome Parmer/STAFF,
Guest column: Bay Area native Craig Lazzeretti has spent decades covering and thinking about the region he calls home. A former editor at the Contra Costa (now East Bay) Times, Lazzeretti is also a history buff and lifelong East Bay resident who writes about the culture, people and moments that define the Bay Area. Here, he reflects on the emotional homecoming celebration for Olympic champion Alysa Liu — and why her triumph meant so much to Oakland at a moment when the city could use a reason to celebrate.
OAKLAND — What an amazing, sun-splashed day of joy it was Thursday as the city and larger East Bay burst with pride in welcoming home its Olympic champion, Alysa Liu. The smile on Liu’s face was as golden as the two medals around her neck. The day was as much a celebration of all that makes the East Bay such a spirited kaleidoscope of diversity, unity and goodwill as it was of the champion who represented it so magically and fearlessly on the world stage last month in Italy.
For a city that has lost so much in recent years, Liu’s triumph was a much-needed shot in the arm and a reminder that amid all the gloom, despair and challenges facing our country and world these days, we can all find sources of joy in life as long as we carry ourselves with the same spirit and attitude that Liu exemplified on the world stage. There’s nothing to lose when we follow our passions, stay true to ourselves, and approach life on our own terms. That’s the type of attitude that also sets apart the East Bay and Oakland.
Gold-winning ice-skater Alysa Liu accepts Oakland’s Key to the City from Mayor Barbara Lee and Kehlani at city hall on March 12, 2026.
Gold-winning ice-skater Alysa Liu accepts Oakland’s Key to the City from Mayor Barbara Lee at city hall on March 12, 2026.
Young fans dance as Kehlani performs during a rally for gold-winning ice-skater Alysa Liu at Oakland City Hall on March 12, 2026.
Gold-winning ice-skater Alysa Liu speaks with reporters at Oakland City Hall on March 12, 2026.
Let’s start with the obvious: the magnitude of Liu’s sports accomplishment. Between losing the Raiders, A’s and even Warriors over the last decade, Oakland has needed a sports triumph in the worst way. And she delivered it with an Olympic performance for the ages that was every bit as clutch as a Steph Curry 30-foot buzzer beater in the NBA Finals. And if there was any doubt that Liu hails from the 510 (including once living in my hometown of Richmond), she dispelled it with the first words out of her mouth as she left the ice following her gold medal free skate: “That’s what I’m fucking talking about!”
Yes, the (East) Bay came to Milan to play! And a city that has lost all its major sports franchises finally had a reason to hold a championship-worthy celebration.
But this triumph far transcended sports. Losing its sports teams has been the least of Oakland’s problems over the past decade. First, there was the horrific Ghost Ship warehouse fire in 2016 that claimed 36 lives and shined a harsh light on the lack of safe, affordable housing for local artists. Then there was the spike in gun violence that gripped the city, like so many others, during the pandemic years, followed by a political corruption scandal that led to the recall of a mayor.
The string of negative headlines not only cast a pall over the city’s image, which has always found itself playing second fiddle to San Francisco, but also eclipsed all that makes it such a flourishing center of talent, resilience and grit — a place that encourages its young people, in particular, to be themselves and to reach for the stars. That’s certainly been the case for Liu, who spent years honing her craft at the Oakland Ice Center only a few blocks from the city center that honored her on Thursday, just as it has been for musicians like Kehlani — who performed at the celebration — actresses like Zendaya and filmmakers like Ryan Coogler.
Whatever the headlines may imply, stars such as these rightfully take pride in their Oakland heritage, and it was no different in Milan for Liu, who after skating her short program, looked into the camera with her signature smile and blurted “Shoutout Oakland” as she left the ice. It was not only a great moment for Oakland sports fans like myself who’ve seen the city become an athletic afterthought in recent years but for Oakland natives who’ve been accustomed to seeing their city become a national punching bag more often than it’s deserved.
But even more telling was the way Liu conducted herself throughout the Olympics amid the suffocating media spotlight and pressure. The 20-year-old, who’d retired from the sport because of burnout following the last Olympics, gave us all a lesson that far transcended sports. The fear of failure and pressure to succeed, which affects all of us in various aspects of our lives, from careers to relationships, are ultimately constructs of our mind that we have the power to control, instead of letting them control us.
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