In the 2022 winter Olympics held in Beijing, Alysa Liu made her first appearance at the Olympics at just sixteen years old. In this year’s Olympics held in Milan, Liu won the gold medal in women’s singles for figure skating and also competed in her team event that won gold. In 2022, Liu only placed 6th in singles before briefly retiring from skating. Since her gold medal win Liu has made herself stand out through her athleticism, talent, and fashion in the first three months of 2026.
Liu was born in 2005 to a single father, Arthur Liu, who had her via surrogate. She was raised in Richmond, California with her four younger siblings. Liu was introduced to figure skating at the early age of five when her father realized she had a natural talent for it. She described her early life as being “abnormal” and she spent everyday skating and it felt more like a job than a passion of hers.
Liu spent what felt like all of her life skating until COVID-19 shut down everything including ice rinks. This was the first time Liu felt like she had a break, a world without skating felt great to her, which began her thoughts of retirement. Liu didn’t officially decide to retire until after the 2022 Olympics, stating “I feel so satisfied with how my skating career has gone.” Liu obviously did make the decision to return to skating but she decided that she makes her rules this time, turning her time skating into something that now feels like a passion.
In the 2026 Olympics Liu helped lead team USA to victory in their team wide figure skating event and then followed that up with winning gold for free skate. This victory broke the 24 year losing streak, and created an abundance of joy in Team USA and all throughout the country.
Since her Olympic wins Alysa Liu has become a huge American topic. Liu recently became a Nike Athlete, meaning she is now sponsored and represents the company as a whole. Lui also has a collection with Nike that includes T-shirts and hoodies printed with highlights from her skating career. Liu has also recently gone viral for her “Halo hairstyle” and has now surpassed over eight million followers on Instagram.
Alysa Liu’s Halo Hair has caused a lot of talk but most people don’t understand its meaning. The rings in her hair are symbolic to tree rings. Liu adds a new one annually to represent growth and personal evolution. The style is surprisingly low maintenance yet still provides a “rockstar” feel.
Liu has been breaking records since she was thirteen and that is surely not going to stop anytime soon. Liu has stated she has “no plans to leave” so fans all over the world will expect to see her at the 2030 Winter Olympics!
