Alysa Liu ( ə-LISS-ə LEE-oo; born August 8, 2005) is an American figure skater. She is the 2026 Olympic champion in both the women's singles and team events, the 2025 World champion, the 2022 World bronze medalist, the 2025–26 Grand Prix Final champion, a two-time Grand Prix medalist, a four-time Challenger Series champion, and a two-time U.S. national champion.
At the junior level, Liu was the 2020 World Junior bronze medalist, the 2019–20 Junior Grand Prix Final silver medalist, a two-time Junior Grand Prix champion, and the 2018 U.S. junior national champion. In 2019, Liu, then 13, became the youngest-ever U.S. women's national champion. The following year, she became the youngest skater to win two senior national titles, the first woman to win consecutive U.S. titles since Ashley Wagner in 2012 and 2013 and the first woman to win the junior and senior titles back-to-back since Mirai Nagasu in 2008.
Following a period of retirement, she won a world title at the 2025 World Championships, becoming the first U.S. woman to do so since Kimmie Meissner in 2006. At the 2026 Winter Olympics, she became the first American woman to win an individual medal since Sasha Cohen in 2006, as well as the first American gold medalist since Sarah Hughes in 2002.
An accomplished jumper, Liu was the first woman to complete a quadruple jump and a triple Axel in the same program, and the first to land a triple Axel-triple toe loop combination in the short program. She was the first American woman to land a quadruple jump and the first American junior woman to complete a triple Axel in international competition.
Contents
Early life and education
Liu was born on August 8, 2005, in Clovis, California, a suburb of Fresno in the Central Valley. She was raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, predominantly in Oakland. Liu began skating at the age of five and, by the age of seven, she was already competing at the national level. Her father, Arthur Liu, is a Chinese dissident who went into exile in the U.S. through Operation Yellowbird in 1989 due to the crackdown on participants in the Tiananmen Square Protests; he was a graduate student in Guangzhou, China. At age 25, Arthur arrived in Oakland and initially worked as a busboy at a Chinese restaurant in Berkeley. After earning an M.B.A. from California State University, East Bay, and a J.D. from the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco, he became an attorney.
Liu is the oldest of five children, with siblings Selina and triplets Julia, Justin, and Jaylin, all of whom were born via surrogacies through two anonymous egg donors, with Liu sharing the same birth mother as the triplets. Her father also stated that Liu met her birth mother later in life as a teenager. Arthur's mother came from China to help him raise his children when they were little. Arthur's then wife who became their mother, Yan Qingxin "Mary", continued to serve as their legal guardian after she and Arthur divorced.
Liu attended Chinese school for three years before transferring to the Oakland School for the Arts which, at the time, offered a figure skating program. When Liu started missing too many classes for travel related to competitions, she enrolled in California Connections Academy and began homeschooling at her father's law office in between practices. Liu graduated from high school in June 2021 at age 15. In fall 2023, she enrolled at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where she currently studies psychology.
Career
Early juvenile career
Liu began skating at age five when her father, a fan of Michelle Kwan, brought her to the Oakland Ice Center in Oakland, California. She began taking group lessons with her first and childhood coach, Laura Lipetsky, a former figure skater who had trained under Frank Carroll, and quickly moved to individual sessions. Lipetsky began teaching Liu at the age of 5½ years old. As a juvenile in 2015, Liu came in seventh place at the Central Pacific Regionals. At the 2016 U.S. Championships, at 10 years old, she became the youngest female skater to earn the intermediate gold medal, winning by less than a point. She was first after the short program; her free skate included two triple Salchows, the first completed in combination with a double toe loop and earning her a "program-high 7.00 points".
Competing in the novice category, Liu placed fourth at the 2017 U.S. Championships. She was in first place after her short program with a 1.22 point lead. Her short program included a split jump into a triple Lutz-triple toe loop combination, which was ruled under-rotated, and a triple flip. Liu fell to fourth place after the long program in which she landed two triple-triple combinations but did not earn sufficient program component scores to retain her narrow lead.
Junior career
Liu opened her season with a silver medal at the 2017 Asian Open Trophy in which she finished second to Japan's Mana Kawabe. She was the youngest skater to compete in the junior division at the 2018 U.S. Championships in San Jose, California. She won the competition despite suffering from a cold and sore throat. She scored a season's best in the short program with an almost seven-point lead going into the free skate. Her short program included three level-4 spins, a triple flip-triple toe loop combination, and a triple Lutz, earning her 63.83 points. She earned 120.33 points during her long program after landing two double Axels and seven triple jumps, which were all backloaded in the second half of the program. Liu was given extra points on all her jumps except for the triple flip-single loop-triple Salchow combination. She earned an overall score of 184.16 points and the second highest-ever score on the junior level. Liu was ineligible to compete at the 2018 World Junior Championships because she was not old enough. She was sent to the 2018 International Challenge Cup instead, where she won the advanced novice silver medal behind Hana Yoshida of Japan.
In August 2018, Liu competed as a novice at the 2018 Asian Open Trophy in Bangkok, Thailand. She won the gold, outscoring the silver medalist, Japan's Sara Honda, by over ten points. She landed a ratified triple Axel in the free skate, becoming the youngest skater in history to perform a clean triple Axel in competition and the fourth American female skater to do so following Tonya Harding, Kimmie Meissner, and Mirai Nagasu.
Liu's first competition for the 2019–2020 season was at the inaugural Aurora Games, an international all-female competition held in August 2019. She earned perfect scores, led the U.S. team to first place overall, and was the first American female skater to successfully complete a quadruple Lutz in competition, although not at an ISU-recognized event. Liu made her international competition debut at the ISU Junior Grand Prix in Lake Placid in August 2019. Skating to "Don't Rain on My Parade" by Barbra Streisand in her short program, she scored 69.30 points, breaking her own personal best short program record by almost 20 points. She completed all her jumps, including three triples, completed three level-4 spins, and earned positive grades of execution for all seven elements.
During her long program, Liu became the first American female skater to complete a quadruple Lutz in a competition. She also became the first female skater to complete a quadruple jump and a triple Axel in the same program in a competition. Skating to pianist Jennifer Thomas' version of "New World Symphony," which was choreographed by Lori Nichol, Liu started her long program with a triple Axel-double toe loop combination, followed by her quadruple Lutz, for which she earned 13.80 points. She fell on her second triple Axel but successfully executed her following six triple jumps. She also earned level-4 scores for her three spins and top marks for her step sequence, earning a 59.66 program component score. She won the event by 21.52 points over the silver medalist, South Korean Park Yeon-jeong. It was the first in 20 Junior Grand Prix events that a non-Russian skater won and the first time an American won a Junior Grand Prix event since Polina Edmunds in 2013.
Senior career
Although Liu was too young to compete internationally at the senior or junior level, she qualified to compete in the senior ranks at the 2019 U.S. Championships in Detroit, Michigan. On January 25, 2019, she broke Tara Lipinski's previous record and became the youngest skater to win the U.S. senior women's title after placing second in the short to defending U.S. champion Bradie Tennell with a record score (which was broken minutes later by Tennell) and first in the free skate. She became the youngest female skater to land a triple Axel at the U.S. Nationals, as well as the third female skater to do so (after Harding and Meissner), and the first female skater to do so during a short program at Nationals. She was also the first female skater to complete three triple Axels in U.S. competition. Liu scored 73.89 points in her short program, 2.71 points behind Tennell, the leader after the short program. In the long program, Tennell and Mariah Bell, who took third place in the short program, both made errors, "opening the door for Liu". Her program component score "fell well short of Tennell's and Bell's", but her technical scores made up the difference, and she posted an overall score of 217.51. She completed two consecutive triple Axels, including the first one in combination, during her long program and, out of the other six triples she completed (one of which was also in combination), only the flip was downgraded.
Since Liu was too young to compete at both the junior and senior level World Championships, her season ended in January, after U.S. Nationals, which gave her time to work on her skating skills and choreography with Italian skater Carolina Kostner in Rome, an arrangement made by her coach, Laura Lipetsky. She also began working with Italian choreographer and Olympic ice dancing competitor Massimo Scali, who is now based in Oakland, on her skating skills and choreography at the end of 2019.
Liu entered the 2020 U.S. Championships as the favorite to defend her title. She placed second in the short program after turning out of her triple Axel attempt but successfully landed a triple flip and a triple Lutz-triple toe combination, as well as executing level-4 spins and footwork. She earned 75.40 points, a little over 3.50 points behind Bradie Tennell; she also had a technical base value advantage of more than 16 points over both Tennell and Bell. Skating last and immediately after Mariah Bell's "elegant, near flawless performance" to k.d. lang's version of the Leonard Cohen song "Hallelujah", Liu won the free skate by over eight points, with a score of 160.12, which was her career-best, and 235.52 points overall. Her final score was over 10 points higher than Bell's, who came in second place, and just under 15 points over Tennell's, who came in third. Although she failed to be the first woman at U.S. Nationals to successfully complete a quadruple Lutz, which was called under-rotated and received negative grade of execution scores, her "triple Axels were solid, and her final two spins were of surpassing quality". She landed two triple Axels in the first 65 seconds of her program and then completed six more triple jumps. Liu told reporters afterward, "This year I'm thinking, it's a new decade, like, wow, what a good start!" At the age of 14, Liu's win made her the youngest two-time women's U.S. champion and the first woman in seven years to win back-to-back U.S. championships, since Ashley Wagner in 2012 and 2013 and since Michelle Kwan won 8 consecutive titles. Bell and Tennell assisted Liu to the top tier of the podium during the awards ceremony, recreating what they had done the previous year.
In media and popular culture
Show skating
Liu performed in the Sun Valley on Ice summer shows in 2019 and 2021. After her initial retirement announcement, she toured the U.S. with Stars on Ice in the spring of 2022. Liu rejoined Stars on Ice for its May 2025 U.S. leg. She rejoined Stars on Ice for its 2026 season, performing in both the U.S. and Japan legs.
Sponsorships, endorsements and partnerships
In early December 2020, Team Toyota announced Liu as one of the new additions to its roster of sponsored athletes. In the lead up to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, Liu signed a deal with toy manufacturer American Girl, and when fashion designer Ralph Lauren unveiled the opening ceremony uniforms for Team USA, he chose Liu as one of the athletes to model his collection. Heading into the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina, Liu partnered with Nike and Samsung Galaxy. She also appeared in a commercial for Gillette Venus. Liu is represented by Yuki Saegusa at IMG.
Following Olympic success, Liu collaborated with her favorite cereal brand Lucky Charms to release a limited edition cereal box featuring her likeness. Shortly after, Liu partnered with Nike to release a two-piece hoodie and T-shirt collection bearing a "monochromatic graphic that captures Liu mid-motion on the ice" on April 30. She then signed a year-long partnership with beauty retailer Sephora. She also received her own Fortnite emote from Epic Games.
In April 2026, Liu featured in the music video of Laufey's new song "Madwoman". In May, shortly after becoming a House Ambassador for Louis Vuitton, she appeared at the 2026 Met Gala.
Magazines
Liu was selected to be on the cover of the December 2019 edition of International Figure Skating Magazine. She was also featured in several news and fashion magazines, such as Teen Vogue, Time, Sports Illustrated, and Elle.
Television
Following her win at the 2019 U.S. Championships, Liu made appearances on Today, The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, and the 2019 Kids' Choice Sports, where she received an opportunity to present an award to alpine ski racer Lindsey Vonn. Liu returned to The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon before the 2026 Winter Olympics and was featured on 60 Minutes. At the 2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards, Liu presented the Artist of the Year award to singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. She also presented at the 2026 American Music Awards, presenting the Best Rock/Alternative Artist award to Twenty One Pilots.
Personal life and views
Liu has a strong bond with her younger brother and sisters. In a 2025 interview, she said, "I love them to death." Liu has expressed support for immigrant rights in the United States. She is also an avid fan of manga and anime.
Style
Liu's halo hairstyle has been referenced in the press. According to Liu, she applies a band each year she skates, creating an appearance akin to "tree rings". She also has a lip frenulum piercing (smiley) that she pierced herself.
Health and social media
In 2020, she temporarily limited her social media use because she found it "not worth it" and "exhausting" amidst the already overwhelming attention that comes with a gold medal. Liu has publicly discussed being diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. In interviews, she has described experiencing difficulty maintaining focus on a single topic and has characterized her communication style as shifting between subjects.
Awards and recognition
In 2019, Liu was named to the inaugural Time 100 Next list that shines a light on the next generation of rising leaders. Michelle Kwan authored the recognition article. In May 2020, Liu became a Gold House A100 Honoree. The A100 List is released annually by Gold House and honors the 100 most impactful Asian Pacific leaders across a variety of industries such as business, technology, fashion and beauty, entertainment, music and sports.
In March 2026, following her Olympic gold medal wins, Liu was awarded the key to the city of Oakland. In April, she was also named to the Time 100 Most Influential list in 2026, and later in June for the inaugural Time 100 Sports of 2026. In May, Liu became a Gold House A100 Honoree again. At the 2026 ESPY Awards, she won the Best Breakthrough Athlete Award.