{"id":160631,"date":"2026-02-02T19:11:28","date_gmt":"2026-02-02T19:11:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/160631\/"},"modified":"2026-02-02T19:11:28","modified_gmt":"2026-02-02T19:11:28","slug":"how-olympic-figure-skater-alysa-liu-fell-back-in-love-with-the-sport","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/160631\/","title":{"rendered":"How Olympic figure skater Alysa Liu fell back in love with the sport"},"content":{"rendered":"

A version of this story originally appeared on The Oaklandside on May 15.<\/p>\n

Ice skating world champion Alysa Liu glides effortlessly across the ice in all-black attire accented with a turquoise waistband. With every pirouette she lands, her bangs and ponytail bounce along. Liu, who was raised in the East Bay, is at the Oakland Ice Center<\/a>, her home base practice facility.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s May 2025, and the skater is fresh off winning gold<\/a> at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships held in Boston in March. She is the first woman skater from the United States to win a world figure skating title since 2006<\/a> \u2014 the year Liu was born \u2014 dethroning defending champion Kaori Sakamoto of Japan in the process.<\/p>\n

At the time, the Winter Olympics are still nine months away \u2014 they kick off this week, on February 6 \u2014 and Liu is easing back into skating one day at a time. The world champ is focused on performing in the Stars on Ice tour<\/a>, which made a stop at San Jose\u2019s SAP Center in May.<\/p>\n

Soon, Liu is widely expected to battle for Olympic gold. But on the day The Oaklandside visited the Oakland Ice Center, Liu had just flown back home the night before, returning from a whirlwind tour following her victory, including media engagements and throwing out the first pitch (with a double axel, of course<\/a>) at a St. Louis Cardinals game.<\/p>\n

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Today at practice, Liu picks the songs she wants to skate to. Like the young Gen-Z she is, current music superstars feature heavily on her playlist.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Liu, who is expected to compete for an Olympic gold medal, cleans her skates after her morning practice at Oakland Ice Center. Credit: Estefany Gonzalez for The Oaklandside<\/p>\n

\"Liu\u2019s skate covers match her hairstyle. Credit: Estefany Gonzalez for the Oaklandside<\/p>\n

This morning, the song Blame It on Your Love by Charli XCX blasts from the speakers. At first, Liu is the only one skating, with a handful of other skaters casually checking out her practice as they walk by. At one point, someone stops by to tell Liu what a great skater she is. \u201cThank you so much,\u201d Liu shyly responds.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In addition to Charli XCX, Liu enjoys skating to the sounds of artists such as Pink Panthers, the Marias, Mitski, Billie Eilish, SZA, Kali Uchis, and Tyler the Creator.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe music I skate to is based on how I\u2019m feeling,\u201d Liu says. \u201cThis sport is very artistic and you move better when you have music.\u201d<\/p>\n

Liu, after a two-year hiatus, is returning to skating on her own terms. Her practice routine is pretty laid-back compared to the grueling sessions she endured when she was younger<\/a>. These days, she skates for about an hour in the morning and then runs errands or hangs out with friends. She comes back to the rink in the afternoon to skate for another hour or so and then goes to the gym. \u201cThen, the rest of the day is free real estate for me,\u201d she says. \u201cI do whatever I want.\u201d<\/p>\n

She checked out the highly praised movie<\/a> Sinners during one of her recent outings.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was so good! It\u2019s one of my favorite movies right now,\u201d she says.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Liu is surprised to learn that the film\u2019s director, Ryan Coogler, was born and raised in Oakland.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cNo way! That\u2019s awesome!,\u201d she says. \u201cI love the concept of the movie and how it played out. I love to dance, so the dancing scene was my favorite.\u201d<\/p>\n

A 13-year-old champion<\/p>\n

In 2019, at age 13, Liu became the youngest figure skating champion in American history and was a rising star. She won the U.S. championship again in 2020. At age 16, after placing sixth at the 2022 Winter Olympics, she decided to retire from skating<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cTake a break so it helps you figure out what you want,\u201d Liu says about what appeared like an abrupt decision. \u201cWhen you\u2019re in your bubble, you can\u2019t see it, so you have to take a step back to really figure out what you want to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

She wasn\u2019t finding joy in the sport anymore. After a break of more than two years, Liu\u2019s gold medal in March came as a shock even to the figure skater herself.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Liu during a morning practice at the Oakland Ice Center. Credit: Estefany Gonzalez for the Oaklandside<\/p>\n

Aside from the burnout of being an athlete, constantly practicing and traveling, Liu was missing out on time at home with her siblings. Liu is the oldest of five in a family of two sisters and two brothers, including a set of triplets.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of chaos, but it\u2019s also really fun to have siblings,\u201d Liu says.<\/p>\n

Liu was born in Clovis, California, and raised in Richmond, but she calls Oakland home. While on her skating hiatus, she moved to Los Angeles to attend UCLA, where she is currently on deferred status.<\/p>\n

She attended Oakland School for the Arts for one semester in middle school but switched to online schooling for the rest of her education due to her hectic training schedule.<\/p>\n

\u201cLooking back, I wish I didn\u2019t have to do that,\u201d Liu says. \u201cBut that was the decision that was made.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite missing out on a traditional school setting, Liu formed close friendships that carry on today. Her best friend, Liu says, lives near the Oakland Ice Center.<\/p>\n

\u201cI go to her house all the time. Also, a lot of my friends go to Berkeley, so I hang out with them there,\u201d Liu says. \u201cWe love to go hiking, Lake Temescal, the Berkeley Marina, or Baker Beach in the city.\u201d<\/p>\n

While she enjoyed her time as a typical teenager and a college student, a ski trip in January 2024 reminded her of her love for ice skating.<\/p>\n

\u201cI went skiing, and your legs are tired, you\u2019re out of breath, you\u2019re cold, and the cold wind keeps hitting you, and you\u2019re gliding down the mountain, and that\u2019s a lot like skating,\u201d Liu says.<\/p>\n

When she quit skating, she found skiing to be the perfect sport for her. But, she says, skiing is expensive, and it is difficult to get to the mountains.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIf anyone loves skiing, come to the ice rink, you\u2019ll love it,\u201d she says. \u201cSo, I ended up just coming back to the rink.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Liu says she calls Oakland home. Credit: Estefany Gonzalez for the Oaklandside<\/p>\n

While she is now a world champion, returning to the ice wasn\u2019t easy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt took about half a year to get used to the skates,\u201d Liu says. \u201cMy feet were killing me after every practice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Liu says that although she wasn\u2019t great the first few times she got on the ice, it was fun for her to skate again.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt didn\u2019t matter that I wasn\u2019t good because I had that feeling of freedom,\u201d she says.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Now that she is back on the ice on her terms, she wants parents of young athletes to listen to their children when they are ready to take a break.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, my balance is my social life, skating and school. I think it\u2019s crucial because we are humans before being athletes,\u201d Liu says. \u201cI\u2019m taking it day by day because it\u2019s a conscious decision for me to come to the rink and skate. I have no attachments to anything, so I just kind of live and go with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

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