Figure skater Alysa Liu has impacted teenagers in more ways than one since winning gold at the 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics.
After a record-breaking 11-year career, Liu announced her retirement in 2022 to reconnect with family and friends and focus on her academics.
Since her return in 2024, she has placed an emphasis on seeking personal joy in skating, leading to further success.
“It’s really unique that she was able to have a full solo-competing career, and then come back and rewrite everything,” said Anne Nakao, a figure-skating Carlmont sophomore.
In general, figure skating has a toxic environment, promoting problematic body image perception and strict schedules from a young age.
“There’s a lot of pressure, especially from coaches, and it basically just breaks the skaters,” said Carlmont senior Carter Hendrix.
Despite these expectations, Liu has been adamant about skating on her own rules for her own enjoyment.
“She’s doing it for herself, she’s not being forced into it. She is expressing herself, not conforming to the norms, showing that others can do that too,” said Carlmont senior Alyssa Ruma.
Her joyful demeanor is not the only aspect of her character that makes her unique.
Arthur Liu, her father, isn’t originally from the United States; at 25, he moved from China to California.
Despite an offer to skate for China at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, Arthur Liu made it clear that his daughter would not skate for the country because of his disagreements with the government’s lack of freedom.
In contrast, Olympian Eileen Gu, who is also American-born and of partially Chinese ethnicity, agreed to ski for China and was paid $6.6 million to compete for them in 2025, illustrating the athletes’ differing values.
Fans who have similar cultural backgrounds are especially supportive of Alysa Liu’s journey.
“As someone who’s both white and Asian, it’s good to see that Alysa’s in the spotlight and being successful,” Ruma said.
Her proximity to the area and signature style also caught the eye of many Bay Area teenagers, even at Carlmont.
“She’s more alternative than what we usually see in figure skating; her hair, her piercing. She’s making the halo hair more popular, and I feel like she also might’ve played a part in the smiley piercing resurgence,” Ruma said.
Alysa Liu has also boosted the popularity of the song “Stateside,” written by British singer-songwriter PinkPantheress, featuring Swedish pop artist Zara Larsson.
She performed a routine to it at the Olympic figure skating exhibition gala, two days after her Olympic victory. The song’s streams increased by 88% the following day, highlighting the sheer amount of influence Alysa Liu has.
Whether it’s her musical taste, hairstyle, background, or personality, it’s clear that Alysa Liu’s unique character inspires others.
“She’s just authentically herself, which is what we need more of,” Hendrix said.
