While the USA had a hugely successful Winter Olympics, one gold medallist was the breakout star – Alysa Liu. But how much do you know about her?
The Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina, Italy, concluded in a spectacular closing ceremony last night (February 22), bringing the curtain down on 17 days of thrilling competition across a range of winter sports.
Team USA had a successful games, coming second in the medal table with a record haul at the Winter Games, winning a hatful of gold medals. But among those who were triumphant, one really stood out and connected with the wider public – figure skater Alysa Liu.
Alysa, who captured hearts and imagination with her daring and difficult routines, as well as her hairstyle and personality on and off the ice, has seen her following on Instagram boosted by four million in the past week.
So in honour of that, here are some facts about Alysa Liu.
She was the youngest US figure skating champion
Alysa may be only 21, but she has been known in the figure staking world for many years already. Alysa started skating aged 5, and quickly started having group and idividial lessons when her talent started to become evident.
In 2018, Alysa became US junior national champion, then the following year, aged just 13, she became the youngest skater to win two senior national titles.
Alysa has already retired once
After the Winter Olympics in Beijing, where Alysa placed seventh, and the 2022 World Championships, where she won a bronze medal – the first US woman to take a medal since 2016 – Alysa announced on April 9 on Instagram that she was retiring from figure skating. At the time, she said she had completed her goals in the sport and felt satisfied with her career and was moving on with her life.
Alysa later explained that skating had taken up most of her life, so much so that she didn’t do much else and, at times, she wasn’t enjoying it.
However, Alysa’s retirement lasted less than two years. On March 1, 2024, she posted a video on Instagram saying she was ‘back on the ice’. Alysa later explained that when she stepped onto the ice in nearly two years it felt right. In addition, she was returning to the sport on her own terms.
Her hair is iconic
Alysa is also well known for her hairstyle – the dyed halo look. The inspiration behind it, she says, is the rings of a tree – every year she adds a new halo to her hair. Currently, she has three halo stripes cascading down her hair – one for each year she has had the style.
She’s currently studying at university
Away from skating, Alysa is currently studying for a degree in psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles. She has been there since fall 2023 – starting when she was retired from figure skating.
She was the first to land a quadruple jump
As well as her rise to prominence at a young age, Alysa has accomplished several firsts in women’s figure skating. For instance, she was the first woman to complete a quadruple jump and triple Axel in the same program. She was also the first to land a triple Axel toe loop combination in a short program.
Alysa was the first US woman to win an individual gold in figure skating in 20 years
Prior to Alysa’s rise, US figure skating had been in the doldrums for some years, with no winners at World Championships or Winter Olympics for 20 years.
But in 2025, Alysa won the world title, the first US woman to take the title since Kimmie Meissner in 2006.
By taking gold at the 2026 Winter Olympics, she was the first US gold medallist since Sarah Hughes in 2002, and first winner of an individual medal of any colour since Sasha Cohen in 2006.
