Gold medalist Alysa Liu of Team United States celebrates on the podium during the medal ceremony at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics at Milano Ice Skating Arena on February 19, 2026 in Milan, Italy.
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Olympic gold medalist Alysa Liu will be among many top figure skaters to take the ice at MVP Arena for Stars on Ice on Sunday, April 26, 2026.
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Alysa Liu, of Team Americans, skates at the Aurora Games on Saturday, Aug. 24, 2019, at the then-Times Union Center in Albany.
James Franco
Alysa Liu, of Team Americans, skates at the Aurora Games on Saturday, Aug. 24, 2019, at the then-Times Union Center in Albany.
James Franco
Alysa Liu, of Team Americans, skates at the Aurora Games on Saturday, Aug. 24, 2019, at the then-Times Union Center in Albany.
James Franco
Gold medalist Alysa Liu of the United States celebrates after competing in the women’s free skate program in figure skating at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026.
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Alysa Liu poses in the press room during the 2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards at Dolby Theatre on March 26, 2026 in Hollywood, California.
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Gold medallist USA’s Alysa Liu poses with her medal following the victory ceremony of the figure skating women’s single free skating final during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at Milano Ice Skating Arena in Milan on February 19, 2026.
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Alysa Liu (USA) competes during the Women Single Skating Figure Skating, at Day 13 of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Ice Skating Arena on February 19, 2026 in Milan, Italy.
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Alysa Liu (USA) competes during the Women Single Skating Figure Skating, at Day 13 of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Ice Skating Arena on February 19, 2026 in Milan, Italy.
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To be fair to Alysa Liu, quite a lot has happened since the last time she skated at Albany’s MVP Arena.
Since she took the ice in Albany at the Aurora Games as a 14-year-old in 2019, Liu won a pair of U.S. national titles, a world championship bronze medal and skated in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, retired from figure skating at 16, came out of retirement two years later, won a stunning world championship and backed that up earlier this winter in Milan by becoming the first American figure skater since 2002 to win Olympic gold in women’s singles.
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So, even though her previous trip to Albany was historic, as she became the first American woman to land a quadruple lutz jump in competition, it’s probably not surprising that it’s a blur in Liu’s memory.
“I’m going to be so honest. I don’t really remember that night at all, so I can’t say much about that,” Liu said. “But I know it was a big deal.”
Maybe her return to the MVP Arena ice this weekend will jog Liu’s memory a bit.
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Liu, and a cast containing many of Team USA’s figure skating stars from the Milan-Cortina Winter Games, will be at MVP Arena on Sunday at 4 p.m., as the Stars on Ice tour stops in Albany.
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The 20-year-old, who earned double gold in Milan as she was also part of the United States’ victorious squad in the team event, led Team Americas to a win over Team World at the 2019 Aurora Games when she landed her history-making quad lutz.
“I’m happy with how I did,” Liu said after competing in Albany back in 2019. “I did all my elements, and I’m happy I pulled in and jumped them. I’m glad I didn’t plop or anything or fall. I’m just happy that I did pretty good for me. It was just so cool being out there. I wasn’t that nervous. It was more fun than nervous.”
She walked away from the sport following the 2022 Winter Olympics, but returned in 2024. Less than a year later, she won gold at the 2025 World Figure Skating Championships in Boston.
At the Winter Olympics this past February, Liu sat third behind Japan’s Ami Nakai after the short program, but overtook both with an effervescent free skate that vaulted her to the gold medal, becoming the first American woman to top the podium in the event since Sarah Hughes in 2002.
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In the team event in Milan, Liu skated the women’s short program and helped earn the United States a gold medal alongside Amber Glenn, men’s world champion “Quad God” Ilia Malinin, the pairs team of Ellie Kam and Daniel O’Shea, and the ice dancing duo of Madison Chock and Evan Bates.
All of those gold medal-winning skaters, along with 2026 Olympians Isabeau Levito, Andrew Torgashev, the pairs team of Emilea Zingeas and Vadym Kolesnik and ice dancers Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko are set to take the ice on Sunday, as is two-time U.S. Olympian Jason Brown.
Since the Olympics, Liu skipped the 2026 World Championships in Prague, but has crossed over into mainstream celebrity. She’s been a mainstay at events and awards shows, and presented Taylor Swift with the Artist of the Year Award at the 2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards in March. Now, she’s excited to be back on the ice while on tour.
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“I’m excited to be part of this tour,” Liu said, “and I’m excited to see the people, and hopefully give them a good performance and put on a great show.”