American figure skater Alysa Liu made history at the Winter Olympics with her gold medal win, yet she did not act like someone chasing it. She smiled, she played, and she looked entirely unburdened by the pressures of the competition.
At 20, Alysa Liu became the first American woman to win Olympic gold since Sarah Hughes in 2002. However, Liu framed the moment differently long before she skated. In an interview leading up to the competition, she said, "I don't need a medal. I just need to be here and show people what I can do."
Alysa Liu framed success as freedom, not pressure
She skated loose, playful, and visibly happy. Commentators and fans alike described what they were seeing on the ice as, quite simply, joy. She flipped her ponytail at the end of the program and was caught on camera, visibly smiling throughout her routine. Then, during the medal ceremony, she jumped with unbridled delight to the podium.
Her outlook also reflected a long road back to skating.
After the Beijing Games, which she referred to as a "job," Liu retired at 16. She enrolled in university and explored hobbies outside of figure skating, including hiking to the Mount Everest base camp and taking up photography. She then came back to the sport she loved on her own terms.
In an interview with NBC Sports, Alysa explained, "Taking a step away from the sport allowed me to understand myself, because I never had the time before or the space to figure out who I was. So taking a step away allowed me to see the full picture."
The internet latched onto Liu’s words and ran with them
As clips of her routines and interviews circulated, fans pulled quotes that felt grounded beyond her 20 years. In one, Liu said, "I connect with everything, but I'm not attached to anything. So it's really easy."
In another interview, she reflected, "Winning isn't all that, and neither is losing. It's just something that happens. It's the outcome. But what matters is the input and the journey. And I would say take a break. I take breaks even now, and I think that's the way to do it."
One soundbite went further. "I don't think anything is gonna be hard. You know, it's like, what is there to lose? So every second you're there, you're gaining something. [...] I can't think of anything that I would find stressful or anything that would, could bring me down."
When asked what she would tell her younger self, Liu surprised the reporter. "I actually wouldn't tell my younger self a thing," she said. Then she explained, "Cause she's gonna figure out herself. I don't want to change anything."
Over on X, @zoomyzoomm shared her saying, "My main goal for this competition was to mog."
In addition, Alysa's words on struggling in a 60 Minutes interview have inspired many online.
In response, @MadK089 wrote, "We need to bottle up whatever Alysa Liu is on. So carefree with no visible nerves present. She's skating for the enjoyment of it."
"My algorithms are all just Alysa Liu," @ericarhodes tweeted. "I told club owners: 'I’m gonna eat whatever I want and wear whatever I want from now on.' They said there’s no gold medal in comedy, but they’ll give me extra curly fries."
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