Olympic figure skater Alysa Liu is the epitome of joy and self-love on and off the ice and has become an inspiration for many in advocating for themselves in their work and personal lives.
The 20-year-old, who retired from the sport in 2022 before returning two years later and winning two gold medals at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics in February, got candid about how her priorities have shifted from skating to spending more time with her friends.
“I pick hanging out with my friends over a session, and if that makes me a worse skater, so be it,” she told Teen Vogue. “I don’t care. I will jeopardize whatever.” She added that while it was nice to win gold on the world stage, it didn’t define her happiness.
“I would’ve been fine either way,” she shared. “I would’ve been loving life outside of skating just as much [as winning gold medals]. But yeah, I’m really happy with how my life is right now.”
The California native added that she was finally getting the chance to rest after a whirlwind of media appearances and events following her victory. “After I won, [there] was no sleep…I went home, and I literally did whatever I wanted for five days,” Alysa recalled. “I didn’t have any media, and I had no commitments, so it was really great.”
“I got to see a lot of my friends again, and just relax and catch up on sleep. I skated twice just because I wanted to.” Alysa was a skating prodigy as a child, yet she suddenly quit at 16 years old due to burnout.
© Getty Images“I would live at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado, in a dorm by myself. I would eat their food. I went to the rink, skated, ate lunch there, skated some more. Went back to the dorm,” she told AP. “I didn’t go anywhere. I didn’t see anything. I was just there. And so all that, I was like, ‘Skating is not worth it.’ Like, this is not worth it.”
Learn more about Alysa’s journey below…
During her retirement, she spent time getting to know herself, hanging out with friends and playing sport purely for fun. It wasn’t until an 18-year-old Alysa was skiing with her friends that she realized she missed being on the ice.
Upon her return to skating, she told her coaches that she would commit to a comeback if they agreed to her demands.
© VCG via Getty Images“I made a deal with my coaches: No one tells me what I’m gonna wear. No one tells me how my hair is gonna be. No one’s gonna try to change me. I’m going to pick my own programs and skate the sessions I want to skate,” she told Cosmopolitan.
© Getty Images“Y’all are my coaches. You guys are going to help me and lead me in training, but I’m structuring it the way I want to.”
As for her bold, bleached halo hairstyle and visible piercings, Alysa would not capitulate, as she told the publication. “They mentioned some judges and higher-ups might be concerned. I said if they tell me to dye my hair back, I will quit. If they don’t like it and they want to give me less scores or treat me differently, that’s on them. If I change my hair, it’s gonna be because I wanted to.”
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