Alysa Liu makes history by becoming the first American woman in 19 years to have a figure skating world title.
The 19-year-old athlete retired from the sport three years ago. She only made a comeback to training the past year and returned to international competition six months ago. With her surprising win, she expressed: “I never have expectations coming into competitions anymore. It’s more [about] what I can put out performance-wise, and I really met my expectations on that part today.”
She added: “It means so much to me… Everything that I’ve been through, my last skating experience, my time away, and this time around I’m so happy, I’m mostly glad I could put out two of my best performances.”
On social media, the athlete shared her achievement and netizens expressed their support.
One netizen commented, “You’ll grow up and grow so confident and write your story and become world champion too!”
“Queen Alysa! We are your loyal subjects. Wishing you everlasting happiness and a lifelong love for skating,” another big fan remarked.
One more netizen shared, “Casually retiring and coming back to win worlds. A literal icon”
View this post on Instagram
Liu’s historic performance
Liu delivered a flawless, smooth, free skate as she glided to Donna Summer’s “MacArthur Park Suite.” The crowd was completely amazed by her performance, clapping and cheering after every jump she landed successfully.
She then accumulated a total of 222.97 points across the short program and free skate, securing her victory, which is almost five points clear of Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto, who finished second.
In 2019, Liu became the youngest ever to win an individual title at the US Figure Skating Championships at the age of 13. She then claimed the title again the following year.
Many believed she was on track to become one of the sport’s biggest stars. However, after competing at the 2022 Beijing Olympics and earning a medal at the world championships the same year, she announced her retirement at 16. She claimed that she was satisfied with her career and was ready to move forward.