“At the Olympics, you saw a different side of some of the skaters,” said Glenn Martin, the general manager of Oakland Ice Center. “You wouldn’t normally see them smiling and relaxing … Alysa just brings that out of everyone.”
Her first-place free skate program to an extended version of Donna Summer’s disco cover of MacArthur Park didn’t feature any triple axels, but it got crowds in Milan on their feet, and ended with a triumphant celebration: “That’s what I’m f–king talking about,” Liu shouted to the cameras as she glided off the ice, beaming.
Liu also gave a shoutout to Oakland, and the Bay Area celebrated her success. Oakland ice cream shop Fentons Creamery started scooping “Alysa’s Gold.” BART gave the “rider and local legend” a shoutout on social media and Lee praised her as a “hometown hero.”
Three weeks later, that joy is still palpable.
“We watched [Alysa’s performance] probably three times in a row,” Cynthia’s daughter, Jennifer, said from Thursday’s rally. She told KQED she and her 5- and 8-year-old daughters teared up during the program. “My family, my girls, all of us have been really, really inspired and encouraged by what Alysa has done and her story. And so we just want to come out and support her and celebrate her.”
Memorabilia celebrating Olympic champion Alysa Liu hangs inside the Oakland Ice Center on March 10, 2026, in Oakland. (Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)
Also among the crowd was Sam Collister, who brought his two daughters to the event.
“I think it’s really important for young girls to be able to see a positive role model,” he told KQED. Collister said he hopes his daughters’ takeaway will be that you “can be a positive influencer in your community.
“Oakland is a city of artists, a city of creators,” he continued.
KQED’s Juan Carlos Lara contributed to this report.