Alysa Liu Shares Her Next Move and Explains Why One Thing Won’t Define Her Happiness

Alysa Liu is wasting little time before resuming competition following her triumphant run at the 2026 Milano-Cortina Olympics.

Earlier this month, Liu emerged as one of the brightest stars in this year’s Winter Olympics after becoming the first American since 2002 to take home the women’s singles title in figure skating. The 20-year-old additionally helped propel Team USA to gold in the figure skating team event, earning nine points during the women’s singles portion of the qualification round.

During the short program of the singles event, Liu — who recently received a pearl of wisdom from fellow American figure skater Amber Glenn — completed three triple jumps and one double to amass 76.59 points.

In need of a flawless performance to etch her name in the history books, Liu delivered a mistake-free free skate to Donna Summer’s “MacArthur Park” featuring seven triples and four doubles. She earned a 150.20 – the highest score of the evening — en route to claiming gold.

Much to the delight of her supporters, Liu will soon return to the ice after being named on the start list of the 2026 ISU World Figure Skating Championships — which are slated to take place at Prague’s O2 Arena from March 24 to 29.

The premier annual event is expected to attract no shortage of starpower, with Americans Ilia Malinin, Madison Chock, Evan Bates and Glenn set to accompany Liu to the Czech capital.

Japanese Olympic medalists Kaori Sakamoto, Yuma Kagiyama, Ami Nakai, Shun Sato, Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara will also be competing, as well as French gold medalists Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron.

“I am very happy that basically the entire world’s top athletes decided to come to the World Championships after the Olympics,” said Evzen Milcinsky, who serves as chairman of the organizing committee of the ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2026.

“In my opinion, this proves that Prague and the Czech Republic are attractive not only for fans, but also for the athletes themselves.”

Despite reaching the pinnacle of her sport, Liu asserted that she doesn’t need to stack up accolades in order to be happy.
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“I don’t need this,” Liu told reporters in Milan while looking down at her Olympic gold medal. “What I needed was the stage, and I got that, so I was all good no matter what happened.

“If I fell on every jump, I would still be wearing this dress.”

Thanks to Liu’s down-to-earth personality and amazing skillset, the the Clovis, California native has amassed a whopping 6.3 million followers on Instagram as of writing.

But if Liu could have her way, the newfound fame she’s amassed won’t change her day-to-day life. “It feels like I’m really just doing what I want to do, and I’m more confident in myself,” she said. “It’s still me. I really don’t want my life to change that much.

“I really like my life and I’m trying to keep as chill and normal as possible. I just want to go back home, unpack, unwind and get back to the rink.”