Alysa Liu's success at the Winter Olympics is getting noticed. And that's clear from her social media followers list.

Entering the games with just 210K Instagram followers, the number hit 3.7M by the time Liu returned, surpassing even the most followed figure skater, Russia’s Alexandra Sasha Vyacheslavovna. And all of that is thanks to her gold medal on the ice.

On February 19, Liu proved why she was termed a prodigy. Her near-perfect performance to Donna Summer's "MacArthur Park" secured an Olympic gold medal in the free skate event.

And a few days before her individual gold, Liu helped Team USA win gold in a group event, with her Blade Angels teammate Amber Glenn. But what really makes her a fan-favourite has less to do with what she does than how she does it.

"I don’t know if I really want to be a role model, I would say. But I guess I am. So if anything, I just urge people to spend time with themselves, try new things, different things, just to gain experience, and then decide for themselves what they want to do... Taking breaks is OK, and yeah, sometimes taking a step back is what’s needed to see the full picture."

What Comes Next For Alysa Liu?

Talking about her next plan, the 20-year-old confirmed a return. “I have no plans to leave yet. I can’t imagine not skating the next year, so…”, she said. And this decision came after a major step back.

The Youngest U.S. women’s national champion in history at 13 and a back-to-back U.S. national titles owner, Liu, turned away from the ice rink at 16. Suffocated with the pressure and expectations of the sport, she had to reclaim her identity beyond figure skating.

“I really despised skating”, Liu said. “Through time, I realised it doesn’t have to be like that. Whether I beat them or not is not my goal. My goal is just to do my programs and share my story.”

And so, she returned, despite announcing retirement after the 2022 Beijing games, where she finished 6^th. In Milan, Liu's comeback happened on her own terms, which she took more like an enjoyment than a job. And the result is right in front of us.

Are you excited for Liu’s next Olympic run? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

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Written by

Deblina Roy

Edited by

Siddharth Shirwadkar