Alysa Liu quit figure skating after years of chasing success. The freedom she found brought her back to the Olympics
Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy
—
As they hiked the Himalayas in 2023, Alysa Liu and her best friend – Shay Newton – found themselves in a deep, existential argument.
Given the option and only this option, they debated, would you rather come back as a chicken or a cow?
It was an absurd conversation, Liu admits now, but after seven hours of trekking uphill and “squatting and pissing behind rocks,’’ the pair had crossed over the threshold. The absurd became essential. By this point in their trip to Nepal, the pair was deep in reflective mode, learning and sharing all sorts of things about and with each other. The cow or chicken choice seemed rather crucial at the time.
🇮🇹 GET THE MILANO MEMO
Liu felt strongly that being a cow was not only the right answer; it was the only answer. Bovines, she argued, just moseyed around and ate grass at their leisure, the world serving as their personal feedbag.
“The chickens that I’ve seen are hidden behind cages,’’ Liu explained recently. “Yeah, no thank you. I feel like my chances of being reborn as a cow on the hill maybe are a lot higher. There’s a lot of chickens out there, you know what I’m saying?”
Liu, in fact, used to be one of them. For the better part of her childhood, Liu lived inside the gilded cage of figure skating.
At 10, she was competing in the Central Pacific Regionals and at 13, won the US Nationals, the youngest champion in the competition’s history. She defended her title a year later, and at 16 represented the United States at the Olympics. She finished seventh in Beijing but months later earned a bronze at the World Championships, only the second American woman to hit the world championships podium since 2006.
And then Liu broke out of her cage. Two weeks after she stepped off the ice at Worlds, Liu announced her retirement. She went out and lived the life she’d missed. There were the extraordinary opportunities, such as the Himalayan hike, but it was the ordinary stuff she loved.
Cat food runs that turned into trips to a gaming cafe an hour from home, bad karaoke, art classes and college psychology courses, a driver’s license and seashell hunting and zip lining and dorm living and oversleeping and hair dying and piercings – a full immersion into discovering the person hidden behind the constraints of her sport.
Liu made bad decisions and good decisions, but all of them were her own.
“I thought the only way for me to try other things was to leave this because I really felt trapped and stuck, and the only way in my brain to break out was to leave the sport,’’ Liu said.
“And it worked.’’
Liu this month will be part of a three-woman American figure skating team that offers the US its best Olympic hopes in decades.
Except this time when Liu steps on the Milano Ice Skating Arena for her short program, it won’t be from inside the confines of a cage.
Alysa Liu will skate free.
He won gold in the event, which was delayed due to the weather.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2997″ width=”4496″ loading=’lazy’/>
He won gold in the event, which was delayed due to the weather.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2997″ width=”4496″ loading=’lazy’/>
win gold, his second of these Games.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2092″ width=”3138″ loading=’lazy’/>
They won gold, Japan’s first medal in Olympic pair skating.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1067″ width=”1600″ loading=’lazy’/>
Canada won 2-1 to clinch their spot in the gold medal game against the US.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”4667″ width=”7000″ loading=’lazy’/>
women’s freestyle skiing big air finals on February 16.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2686″ width=”4028″ loading=’lazy’/>
her first gold medal, tying speed skating legend Bonnie Blair as the most decorated female US Winter Olympian ever. Meyers Taylor won three silvers and two bronzes in her four previous Olympics.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1995″ width=”2887″ loading=’lazy’/>
Austria won gold after the final round was canceled because of heavy snowfall.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”4529″ width=”6791″ loading=’lazy’/>
The United States won 5-0.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”3787″ width=”5680″ loading=’lazy’/>
her second gold of the Games.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”4266″ width=”6399″ loading=’lazy’/>
She later won silver in the event.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”3183″ width=”4774″ loading=’lazy’/>
most decorated Winter Olympian ever.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”3621″ width=”5431″ loading=’lazy’/>
despite Olympic tradition to avoid brawls.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”3410″ width=”5115″ loading=’lazy’/>
He made history by securing the first ever medal at a Winter Games for Brazil — and South America.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1332″ width=”2000″ loading=’lazy’/>
A shocking performance that included two falls and some technical gaffes saw him fall all the way to eighth place.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2035″ width=”3000″ loading=’lazy’/>
He won gold after setting the bar incredibly high at 95.00 in his second run.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”3383″ width=”5074″ loading=’lazy’/>
throw them on the rink as a sign of appreciation.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”3841″ width=”5762″ loading=’lazy’/>
his third gold medal of these Games.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2534″ width=”3801″ loading=’lazy’/>
He would go on to win the gold.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”3333″ width=”5000″ loading=’lazy’/>
gold-medal win in snowboard cross on February 13.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2170″ width=”3259″ loading=’lazy’/>
finished second this time behind South Korea’s Choi Ga-on.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2074″ width=”3222″ loading=’lazy’/>
Heraskevych was disqualified for “refusing to adhere” to the International Olympic Committee’s athlete expression guidelines since his helmet is adorned with images of Ukrainian athletes killed in Russian attacks. Kirsty Coventry, the president of the International Olympic Committee, met with Heraskevych to try to convince him to adhere to the guidelines, but the Ukrainian stood his ground, resulting in the disqualification.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”5504″ width=”8256″ loading=’lazy’/>
the oldest American to compete in the Winter Games.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”4000″ width=”6000″ loading=’lazy’/>
Hämmerle narrowly won, sliding over the finish line just ahead of Grondin.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1705″ width=”2556″ loading=’lazy’/>
Lollobrigida won the 5,000 meters and collected her second gold of these Olympics. Conijn won silver and Wiklund took the bronze.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2431″ width=”3524″ loading=’lazy’/>
he proposed at the finish line area of the super-G race on February 12.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2748″ width=”4122″ loading=’lazy’/>
winning her second cross-country gold of these Games.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”3760″ width=”5653″ loading=’lazy’/>
setting an Olympic record in the 1,000 meters on Wednesday, February 11. He finished with a time of 1:06.28 and took the gold.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”3293″ width=”4600″ loading=’lazy’/>
took silver with France winning.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2596″ width=”3894″ loading=’lazy’/>
their 4-1 victory over Finland on February 11. It was the opening game of the men’s hockey tournament.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”4269″ width=”6404″ loading=’lazy’/>
She won the event to claim her second gold of these Games.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1124″ width=”1580″ loading=’lazy’/>
competes in halfpipe qualifying on February 11. Kim won halfpipe gold in the last two Olympics.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1263″ width=”1894″ loading=’lazy’/>
Von Allmen won his third gold of these Olympics. He also won gold in the downhill and the team combined event.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”4747″ width=”7120″ loading=’lazy’/>
The Americans finished 1-2 in the moguls, with Lemley winning gold.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”3859″ width=”5682″ loading=’lazy’/>
placed fourth.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1333″ width=”2000″ loading=’lazy’/>
the United States’ largest victory in the longstanding Olympic rivalry with Canada.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1600″ width=”2400″ loading=’lazy’/>
a jaw-dropping performance that included his trademark backflip.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1628″ width=”2400″ loading=’lazy’/>
made history as the first American woman to earn an Olympic medal in curling.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1576″ width=”2400″ loading=’lazy’/>
cross-country sprint classic on February 10.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1334″ width=”2000″ loading=’lazy’/>
were killed in a midair plane crash last winter.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2271″ width=”2956″ loading=’lazy’/>
Swedish sweep of medals in the event.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2679″ width=”3975″ loading=’lazy’/>
winning gold in the big air final on Monday, February 9.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2850″ width=”4276″ loading=’lazy’/>
winning the 1,000 meters with an Olympic record time on February 9. She finished in 1:12.31, breaking the record that her Dutch teammate Femke Kok set just minutes earlier.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2577″ width=”3865″ loading=’lazy’/>
the mixed doubles semifinals.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”3194″ width=”4792″ loading=’lazy’/>
his helmet adorned with images of Ukrainian athletes killed in Russian attacks. He was disqualified days later.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2596″ width=”3895″ loading=’lazy’/>
together they won the gold.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1321″ width=”2000″ loading=’lazy’/>
She won gold in the event for the second straight Olympics.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”3729″ width=”5414″ loading=’lazy’/>
He went on win the event.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2316″ width=”3474″ loading=’lazy’/>
Vonn fractured her left leg in the crash, which came just a little more than a week after she tore the ACL in that same leg.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”990″ width=”1485″ loading=’lazy’/>
winning gold in the women’s downhill on February 8.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”3656″ width=”5484″ loading=’lazy’/>
winning gold together on February 8. From left are Evan Bates, Madison Chock, Danny O’Shea, Ellie Kam, Alysa Liu, Amber Glenn and Ilia Malinin.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1600″ width=”2400″ loading=’lazy’/>
Malinin’s high score at the end of the event secured the gold for Team USA.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”3647″ width=”5131″ loading=’lazy’/>
celebrates with his shirt off after winning the parallel giant slalom on February 8. He said it was a tribute to his hero, skiing legend Hermann Maier. Maier would often celebrate his victories by ripping off his top.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”4316″ width=”6603″ loading=’lazy’/>
France went on to win the gold in the event.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1681″ width=”2522″ loading=’lazy’/>
the demonstration turned violent as some protesters targeted police and their vans, and officials responded with tear gas and water cannons.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2016″ width=”3000″ loading=’lazy’/>
Lollobrigida finished with an Olympic record time of 3:54.28.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2000″ width=”3000″ loading=’lazy’/>
the 10km + 10km skiathlon on February 7.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2114″ width=”3000″ loading=’lazy’/>
See more photos from the opening ceremony.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”3601″ width=”5401″ loading=’lazy’/>
Her medley, in both Italian and English, included the Italian song “Valore” and her song “Nothing Is Impossible.”” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”5099″ width=”7649″ loading=’lazy’/>
The best photos of the 2026 Winter Olympics
It is hard to imagine that anyone or anything could ever contain the 20-year-old Liu. She is so delightfully herself.
At the Olympic media summit in October, a collection of athletes from across the sports spectrum took turns sitting at small daises to field questions from reporters on hand. Liu had flown into New York from China, where she’d just won silver at the Cup of China, and the time change messed up her sleep rhythms. Around 1 AM, while struggling to sleep in her hotel room, Liu tried on the blue T-shirt she was meant to wear to the media session.
“The color is kind of basic and the shape is basic,’’ she thought to herself.
So Liu dug out the haircutting scissors she packed with her and scissorhanded herself a design.
The next day at the summit, while everyone else sported their Team USA gear properly tucked and pressed, Liu showed up in something straight out of Jennifer Beal’s wardrobe in Flashdance. The now-boatnecked tee, worn over top a white tank, slipped off Liu’s shoulder and included a thin stretch of fabric fashioned to look like a collar around her neck.
“I was like, I can’t change the color but I can change the shape,’’ Liu said by way of explanation. “So I was like, change it up.’’
Change it up. What a great word choice that is for Liu, an off-speed pitch in a sport of fastballs down the middle; a freeformed, jagged rip among precise, sharply-honed edges. She speaks with the insouciance gifted especially to 20-year-olds, about goofy misadventures like the time she went to buy cat food and wound up singing Katseye’s “Gnarly” at a karaoke bar with her brother, sister and cousin in the wee hours of the morning. Or the time she woke up and decided she needed to swim at Lake Tahoe, so she drove three hours from her Oakland home for the splash.
But buried not too deeply beneath the surface of her silly stories are the very hard lessons learned. Hers has been a two-decade search for identity, to find out who she is, as opposed to what she was.
That is, a figure skater.
1-on-1 with Flavor Flav: USA bobsled & skeleton’s hype man
1-on-1 with Flavor Flav: USA bobsled & skeleton’s hype man
3:24
Liu first laced up her skates at five, encouraged by her father, Arthur. A political activist and student leader who helped lead the protests in Tiananmen Square, Arthur fled China and settled in the Bay Area in the 1990s. He built a law practice and a family. Alysa is the oldest of his five children.
Arthur had no background in skating but Liu was born in 2005, just two years after Michelle Kwan, another Californian, won the last of her five world titles. Arthur signed Liu up for lessons and when she showed natural talent, he switched her to private coaching.
For the next decade, Arthur and Alysa cycled through coaches and competitions, all in pursuit of excellence. She achieved it at 13, the 4-foot-7 pipsqueak winning nationals after landing two triple axels. For a country starved for another ice princess – the US hadn’t won gold in nearly 20 years – Liu was the answer.
“She’s the hope,’’ Tara Lipinski told the Associated Press that year.
Except “the hope” never felt very in control of her own dream. She skated to the programs her coaches sketched, to music they chose, in outfits they designed. She showed up at the rink every day and practiced, exchanging middle school misery for homeschooling. It was, she thinks back now, pretty lonely and entirely in conflict with a young woman who says she “can’t live without fun,” and really likes human connection.
She is careful to talk about her father’s role in her career, not wanting to portray him as overbearing or forcing her into something she didn’t want. She did want figure skating, but who really knows what they want at 5 or 10 or even 13? Especially when a tickling need for some sort of normalcy runs straight into the abnormalcy of success. Who wouldn’t exchange a day at middle school for Liu’s glamorous existence?
Liu skated on, mastering her jumps and repeating as national champion in 2020, though age restrictions prevented her from entering international competitions.
And then the pandemic hit. Liu wasn’t quite 15 when the world shut down but, unlike so many who longed for what they missed, Liu found she didn’t mind so much that her rink was closed. It was, in fact, kinda nice to not be on a schedule. When the world reopened, Liu stepped back into the limelight after a growth spurt that made what once seemed effortless a little trickier. The jump that separated her became harder to land.
At the 2021 nationals, she finished fourth.
In October of that year, as she was prepping for the 2022 nationals that would determine the Olympic team, the FBI came knocking at her family’s door. Her father’s activism and Liu’s success had, they said, made the family a target of Chinese spies.
According to the FBI’s claim, unsealed months later, a man had surveilled the Liu family and posed as a US Olympic committee member, asking for Liu’s passport information. The goal was to intimidate the family into not competing in the Beijing Games.
Liu knew some of her father’s activism; he shared bits and pieces and relatives filled in the rest.
“It’s a little bit freaky and exciting,’’ she said recently. “Like, it’s so movie unbelievable.”
Arthur kept the information from his daughter. Liu, who missed nationals with Covid but made the team via a petition, wound up finishing seventh at the Olympics. A month after Beijing, Liu traveled to Montpelier, France, for the World Championships. In her worlds’ debut, Liu took home the bronze, the first American woman to medal since 2016.
The hope that Lipinski identified earlier finally seemed ready to be realized.
Instead, Alysa Liu quit.
Perhaps the only thing more astounding than a 16-year-old quitting at the prime of her career is a woman who took three years off returning as if no time had passed. Yet in some ways, Liu’s triumphant return makes perfect sense.
She is here on her own terms and as her full self.
When Liu opted to return – cautiously, carefully – she made sure she was in charge. She partnered with her old coaches, Phillip DiGuglielmo and Massimo Scali, making it clear that theirs would be a collaborative process. Liu trains when she wants, and readily admits she’s overslept every now and again. She chooses her music, contributes to her choreography and has a say in what she wears.
Freed from the albatross of expectation, Liu has now leaned into expression. She is not just an autotron who can land axels; she is an artist feeling her way across the ice.
“This is definitely an art form,’’ she said. “It satisfies me on the technical side, like spins and jumps and running the programs itself. Those are really hard and I like being an athlete. But then this sport, it’s also artistic.”
When she skates, she hopes the audience “feels something, any emotion.’’
It is that combination of artist and athlete, folded into a far more authentic version of herself, that has elevated Liu’s skating to new heights. In a magical full circle moment, Liu returned to the World Championships in March 2025. The last to take the ice, she skated to Donna Summer’s “MacArthur Park” and made it look effortless. By the time her music faded, the crowd was on its feet, and Liu had cemented the first gold for the US at Worlds in nearly two decades.
She, along with teammates Amber Glenn and Isabeau Levito will be looking to end a similar drought in Milan. An American woman hasn’t won individual Olympic gold since Sarah Hughes in 2002.
Glenn, who became the first woman since Kwan to win three consecutive national titles, will come in as the heavy favorite but Liu, the only member of the team with Olympic experience, and the 18-year-old Levito, a silver medalist at worlds, could deliver just as easily.
Liu, of course, is aiming for gold but asked what she’s most looking forward to in Milan, Liu practically gushed.
“I want to do the gala so badly,’’ she said. “I don’t even have to compete. Just put me in the gala, please.’’
The gala is an Olympic tradition where the medalists are invited to perform a program of their own design. No restrictions on music or costumes, and best of all, no judging.
They are, you might say, freed from their gilded cages.
