The 2026 Winter Olympics were all but ordinary. Entrancing millions from around the world, the spectacle produced dozens of iconic moments. Perhaps most iconic of all was the gold-medal win for 20-year-old U.S. figure skater Alysa Liu—the first female skater to win gold for the U.S. in 24 years. Whether it be her immense talent, contagious spirit, unique hair, or a combination of the three, Liu has captured the hearts of people around the globe. Liu’s journey encourages the prioritization of balance that often gets lost when a person pours all of themselves into a certain niche—whether it be figure skating or a certain path in school. This young athlete’s push for redefining victory and demonstration of what it means to prioritize physical and mental well-being has helped encourage conversation about regaining agency in competitive atmospheres.
After medaling in the 2022 World Figure Skating Championships and competing in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics at just 16, Liu retired from the sport. The immense pressure and around her skating had fed an unhealthy lifestyle where she said she felt a lack of control. But in 2026, Liu chose to return to competitive figure skating in the Olympics, this time on her own terms—fighting against the rigorous mold professional athletes are often forced into.
Studies have shown that immense pressure upon athletes leads to not only an increased risk of making mistakes when performing, but also psychological disorders like depression and anxiety. More athletes are conditioned to prioritize performance over physical and mental health. Liu said prior to her break in 2022, she felt like she had no control over what she was doing, what she was allowed to eat, and who she was allowed to be—but after paying attention to her own health, she came back stronger than ever.
Her story of courage and resilience has been particularly important to me as a teenager who finds comfort in seeing someone so personable succeed and represent my generation. Liu’s journey challenges the expected “work-hard, play-later” mentality and encourages the prioritization of balance and mental health that often gets lost in professional sports. While still pushing for people to work hard, Liu demonstrates the importance of not letting a certain ideal control what sacrifices are made to be perfect. In other words, Liu demonstrates the ability to make the conscious choice of stepping away if the motivation behind a task is not passion but drive for perfection. What I draw from it is the idea that making mistakes is okay.
In an interview following her gold medal victory, she encouraged people to take breaks. Watching it, I felt inspired to allot time to doing things that made me feel good about myself.
On top of this mentality, Liu’s energy and positivity translate to her performance in a way that makes me entranced. In her viral performance at the Olympics Gala to ‘Stateside’ by Pink Pantheress and Zara Larsson, Liu appears like she’s having fun on the ice, not just putting on a front of perfection, something that she said in interviews helps her perform her best. That, to me, is so important and reminds me that we should be doing things because of passion and love for the game, not because it’s what is expected from us. Her personality shines through her routines, which makes her much more human and easy to root for. To me and many others, Liu stands out as a person who is so easy to connect to and admire.
At the end of the day, her impact is truly about breaking the stigma that in order to succeed, you need to pour every ounce of your being into rigorous training or give up control over what you do.
