NEED TO KNOW
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Figure skater Alysa Liu finished second in the women’s short program during the team event qualifiers at the 2026 Winter Olympics
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The 20-year-old is returning to the Olympics after retiring at age 16, a month after she made her Olympic debut at the 2022 Beijing Games
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Liu’s score put the U.S. back in first place heading into Saturday
Alysa Liu is back on Olympic ice — and looking better than ever.
The 20-year-old figure skater, who briefly retired after the 2022 Beijing Olympics before returning to the sport two years later, dominated Friday, Feb. 6 with a second-place finish in the women’s singles short program qualifier with her score of 74.90.
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Liu’s routine, set to Laufey’s “Promise,” includes seven technical elements: a triple flip, double axel, change foot combo spin, triple lutz and triple loop, flying camel spin, step sequence and layback spin. Only Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto scored higher, with a huge 78.88.
Liu’s teammates Amber Glenn and Ilia Malinin were among the Team USA members supporting Liu as she skated to raucous applause from the American fans in attendance at Milan’s Unipol Forum.
Alysa Liu competes in the women’s single short program during team event qualifiers
Joosep Martinson/Getty
The two-time Olympian built on the high scores from her teammates Madison Chock and Evan Bates, who finished first in the ice dancing rhythm dance qualifier, and pair Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea, who took fifth. Liu’s score put Team USA back in first place heading into Saturday, Feb. 7, when Ilia Malinin will finish out the qualifiers with his short program.
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Team event finals start Saturday, Feb. 7 concluding on Sunday, Feb. 8 with the medal ceremony.
Liu returned to figure skating in 2024 thanks to a renewed joy in the sport, she recently told PEOPLE.
“I was not there for the skating at all in my head,” Liu explained, looking back on four years ago. “I was checked out. I was just there for the Olympic experience.”
In the years after, Liu tried out “every hobby in existence,” and realized “a lot of aspects in figure skating actually follow in line with my interests” — especially the costumes.
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“In figure skating, we have these gorgeous dresses and I love to design them,” Liu said. “I work really closely with my dress designer on them, so that part of figure skating I like.”
And this time around, Liu is “excited for the figure skating part of it all now.”
To learn more about all the Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls, come to people.com to check out ongoing coverage before, during and after the games. Watch the Milan Cortina Olympics and Paralympics, beginning Feb. 6, on NBC and Peacock.
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Read the original article on People
