The Winter Olympics, in Milano Cortina, have just come to a close, with team USA finishing second in the overall medal count, behind only Norway. However, an interesting story of resilience and self-expression has sat itself at the forefront of Olympic storylines from this past iteration. This of course, would be the story of the 20-year-old figure skater and Oakland native Alysa Liu, who became the first female figure skater to win gold for team USA in women’s singles since Sarah Hughes in 2002.

Alysa Liu, born in Clovis, California, started skating at 5 years old when she was growing up in Oakland. At just 13 years old, she became the youngest national champion ever in the United States. She is also the first American female to land a quadruple jump. When Liu was 16, after her participation in the Beijing Winter Olympics, she retired from figure skating due to a loss of passion and increasing burn out. 

However, Liu came out of retirement following a ski trip that inspired her to continue skating. Except this time, she would skate on her own terms. Now she is under control of how she skates, serving as the head of her nutrition, training and choreography, ultimately leading to her gold medals this year, along with several other championship titles.

“[Liu’s] story of coming back to figure skating after being burnt out is really inspiring, and I think it will inspire people around the world to attack their dreams no matter what happens to them,” freshman Jackson O’Neil said.

Emotions play an important role in figure skating. Each program expresses and carries much emotional weight, and learning and performing these sequences can take great tolls on figure skaters. This is where Liu separates herself from the rest of the competition. On the ice, Liu skates with visible joy, passion and confidence, whereas many elite skaters take more solemn approaches to their performances.

Liu’s entire approach and outlook towards skating greatly challenges and opposes the old model of an elite skater, and shows that being yourself and having fun can be the true keys to victory on the ice. Liu’s apparent success could permanently redefine expectations and what it means to be a professional figure skater moving forward.

“I think this gold medal will bring life to figure skating around the world and really bring this sport to the glory that it deserves,” O’Neill said.