If you spent at least an hour on TikTok last week, you probably saw a girl with halo hair and a “smiley” piercing, which has caught many people’s eyes. Her name is Alysa Liu. She is an American ice skater of Chinese descent, and she won an American Gold medal in the Individual women’s figure skating at the Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina for the first time in 24 years. So who exactly is she, and why is she so relevant right now?
Alysa Liu is an American figure skater of Chinese descent. She was born in Clovis, California, and attended the University of California, Los Angeles, where she studied psychology. She is 20 years old. She began skating at the young age of 5, and by 7, she was already competing at the national level. She has always been a “prodigy” on the ice. Her passion and hard work made her the youngest US women’s national champion at 13. At age 16, Liu took a break from competitive skating after the 2022 Beijing Olympics due to severe burnout, which eventually led to a loss of passion for the sport.
The media took her break as a retirement announcement, and many never expected to see her again, but she proved them wrong and, after 4 years, returned to compete. She won gold for the United States for the first time in 24 years.
Her fashion, her charm, and the passion and skill she has in her sport have caught people’s eyes on social media. Her unique, non-traditional style inspired a new fashion trend at the Olympics. She took another approach: actually enjoying what you do and having passion for it, rather than just competing to win and being pressured to win, as many athletes do in elite sports.
She is an inspiration to the public to not only do the best you can, but also to enjoy what you do while overcoming your fears and accomplishing your goals. Taking a break does not mean weakness, but the desire for a new approach.
In her own words, “Every person, take a break from that life that you are so stuck in, because stepping back will give you such a new perspective and you learn so much,” Liu said in the English Olympics Podcast “Reflecting on the meaning of gold with Olympics champions Mikaela Shiffrin and Alysa Liu,” on Spotify.
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