'That's what I'm fucking talking about'
The comeback is complete and Alysa Liu has ended the droughts for the U.S. women
Coming into Milan, two things were true:
No woman from the United States had been on the podium in the individual event at the Olympics since Sasha Cohen in 2006.
No woman from the United States had been atop the podium in the individual event at the Olympics since not-podcaster Sarah Hughes in 2002.
Both of those statements are false now, thanks to Alysa Liu, who completed one of the most unlikely comebacks in figure skating (sports?!) history by winning the individual gold medal in Milan.
She also might’ve incurred an FCC fine for NBC thanks to this incredible moment coming off the ice (thus the title of this post).
For those that aren’t familiar with Alysa’s story, here’s the Cliff’s Notes version: becomes youngest woman ever to win U.S. championship, skates for U.S. at Olympics in 2022 and finishes sixth. Gets burnt out and retires from sport at 16 saying of skating, “There were many, many times when I didn't enjoy it.” Goes on a ski trip, feels an adrenaline rush and says “hey, maybe I should try skating again.” Comes back for the 2024-25 season and shocks the world by winning the World Championships in Boston to end the season. Has an even stronger overall season in 2025-26, winning the Grand Prix Final. Then goes to the Olympics, wins gold in the Team Event and wins gold in the individual event.
Bigger picture among all of that: she did it her way. Liu has drawn a lot of attention, some good and some bad, for her seemingly laid back approach to her comeback, her nonchalant reactions in the Kiss & Cry (her “what the hell” moment at Worlds last year went viral), getting her hair touched up between events at nationals and at worlds, her decision to not add her triple Axel back to her programs this year, the back-and-forth between her free skates (she debuted with a Lady Gaga program this season, then went back to MacArthur Park, then did a modified Gaga program at nationals, then did MacArthur Park again in Milan).
But through it all, she’s maintained a level head. I think it’s dismissive to say she “doesn’t care” about winning. You don’t get good enough to win an Olympic medal, much less two Olympic gold medals, without caring. I think a better way of putting it is that Alysa Liu has decided that her results on the ice don’t define her. Yes, for the rest of her life, she will always be “Olympic Gold Medal Winner Alysa Liu” to the world, but to her, she’s just “Alysa.” And in an era where athletes are more scrutinized than ever, that’s incredibly refreshing.
I had the pleasure of talking with India Roby of Fader about Alysa for a story that ran last week, and Roby wrote something in that piece that I think perfectly sums up who Alysa Liu is now as a skater:
Liu represents a generation of skaters who are navigating their career on their own terms: who wear what they want, skate to what they like, and have a life outside of their rigorous training. Rather than this newfound balance hindering her performance, it has only strengthened it. Her championship win and medals are proof — and poised to shape an entirely new generation of young athletes.
Where does Liu’s career go from here? That’s entirely up to her. She’s slated to skate at Worlds, but it’d be totally understandable if she withdrew, wanting to end her season on this high note. Or she could go and skate her revamped Lady Gaga program on an international stage because she feels like it. She could retire, or she could skate another four years and try to defend her title at the 2030 Olympics, by which time she’ll still be just 24 years old.
What I do know is that as of now, Liu is still slated to skate next week (YES LITERALLY EIGHT DAYS FROM NOW) at the Skating Club of Boston’s annual Ice Chips show, and tickets are still available! So if you want to see an Olympic gold medalist up close, you can!
I’ll be at the matinee show on Feb. 28 with freshly-dyed halos in my hair, and I’ll be sure to have a full report after the event.
Some assorted notes from the rest of the women’s free skate:
What a comeback performance from Amber Glenn. I refuse to call it a “redemption” skate, because she didn’t need to redeem herself after her short program, in which she finished 13th, but she posted the third-best score of the day and ended up in fifth place overall. Most importantly, she seemed thrilled with her performance coming off the ice, and I was so happy for her I was crying (which was awkward since I was at work and had a meeting to get to 13 minutes later).
As happy as I was for Alysa Liu, I was heartbroken for Kaori Sakamoto, who was so close to a gold-medal skate but made one costly mistake and had to settle for silver in what she has said will be her final season. She is also slated to skate at Worlds and I hope she stays in.
Seventeen-year-old Ami Nakai had a tough free skate, finishing with the ninth-best score of the day, but held on to a podium spot, taking bronze. There are a ton of young skaters coming up who are going to make this next Olympic quad difficult for anyone sticking around, but I hope she does, because she has an incredible triple Axel and will be only 21 for the next Olympics.
Back to Amber Glenn for a second, since I mentioned Ami Nakai’s triple Axel: the triple Axel that Glenn landed during her free skate was the best I’ve ever seen from her and might be one of the best ones ever landed at the Olympics. In my novel (which is currently in the hands of my agent — still an incredibly weird sentence for me to say), my main character has a triple Axel. What Glenn landed today was basically exactly what I was picturing Chloé landing when I was writing her. The power, the height, the crisp rotations, all of it.
Not from the free skate, but I’m still a little heartbroken that Canada’s Madeline Schizas just missed the cutoff to qualify for Thursday’s skate after a disappointing short program on Tuesday. She skated so well in the Team Event and deserved to get two Olympic skates in the individual event too, but it wasn’t meant to be.
Okay, one last note that has very little to do with Thursday’s free skate and is entirely self-serving. When I met Amber Glenn and Olympic Gold Medal Winner Alysa Liu at Stars On Ice last year, I excitedly told them about the book I’d written, which I hadn’t even started querying yet (and was a solid four revisions away from being the book it is now). I also introduced them to “Chloé,” at least in miniature form. They both said the book sounded like something they’d want to read (Amber excitedly pointed out the parallels between Chloé’s career and Alysa’s) and they were kind enough to pose for a picture with mini-Chloé. Rest assured I will be blasting this photo all over every social media platform if and when my book gets a publish date.
Alysa's coach said she plans to go to Worlds! I hope she randomly pulls out a triple Axel or Lady Gaga just to keep the hoes on their toes.
"not-podcaster Sarah Hughes" 🤣🤣🤣