Daniel Radcliffe Refuses to Wear Alysa Liu’s Gold Medal in Wholesome Interaction on Grounds of “Stolen Valor”

Alysa Liu won two golds at the Winter Olympics 2026 in Milano-Cortina, in individual women’s singles as well as the team event.

Daniel Radcliffe Refuses to Wear Alysa Liu’s Gold Medal in Wholesome Interaction on Grounds of “Stolen Valor”

Daniel Radcliffe, Alysa Liu (Image - Screengrab via The Today Show)

In Short
  • Daniel Radcliffe met Olympic champion Alysa Liu and praised her performance.
  • Radcliffe declined to wear Liu's gold medal, citing "stolen valor."
  • Murals celebrating Liu's achievements have appeared across California.

The Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe, who portrayed the eponymous protagonist, caught the golden snitch seven times, met with the two-time Olympic champion Alysa Liu backstage at the Today Show. The interaction between the pair, as signified by Radcliffe’s refusal to wear the gold medal, has captured hearts online.

The BAFTA-nominated Hollywood icon instantly laid praise on the 20-year-old figure skater, “You being you was the most joyful thing I’ve watched,“ Radcliffe told Liu. Liu quickly asked if Radcliffe wanted to wear the gold medal, which he initially obliged before having a sudden realisation and chose to hold it instead.

Obviously, I wasn’t going to ask, but yeah. You know what, I can’t wear it. I’ll hold it, I’ll hold it. Wearing it feels like stolen valor.

Radcliffe knows a thing or two about valor. Harry Potter, along with his best friends, was sorted into Gryffindor, a house that values chivalry, bravery, and courage. Across the seven books, the trio, especially Potter, faced several challenges ranging from facing a basilisk to defeating the biggest dark wizard of their time, Lord Voldemort.

One of the comments on Tiktok read that, “It’s one of her horcruxes now.” Liu did kill at Milan Cortina 2026. She landed two gold medals, first a gold in the team event and later the women’s singles, where she became the first woman from the USA to win the event in 24 years, Sarah Hughes won in Salt Lake City 2002. Liu’s also the sixth Team USA woman to ever win the discipline.

Alysa Liu murals pop up across California following her Olympic win

Alysa Liu, apart from being a two-time champion, has also become a beacon for the positive, carefree spirit energy she embodied at Milano. The 20-year-old had a significant charm when she took the ice with her halo-dyed hair and self-pierced lip piercing.

Her home state, California, has chosen to celebrate its champion athlete with murals across the state. Gustavo Zermeño Jr., the Mexican-American muralist, took his spray to the walls in nearby Gardena, close to UCLA, where Liu attends.

After the initial mural in Gardena, the Oakland-based urban street art agency, Illuminaries, made their own version in Oakland, Liu’s hometown. On a wall in the Temescal neighborhood, the city became a canvas as they reimagined Liu in their distinctive signature style. One of the artists, Tim Hon quipped:

We just love to inspire youth with our murals and art. Things that make Oakland proud inspire us. A bunch of friends, family, and fans hit us up to ask if we were gonna do a mural. We are out here doing it for the love — we are paying for the paint.

The wall previously featured the face of the Golden State Warriors’ Klay Thompson, done by the Illuminaries themselves. The mural had been fading, and Hon said that it was the perfect time to give the wall a new life.

Milano Cortina 2026 women’s singles medalists to return for World Champs in Prague

Following the Winter Olympics 2026, the attention shifts to the World Championships later this month. The World Championships, returning to Prague after thirty-three years, will feature the biggest names from Milano Cortina in women’s singles.

Alysa Liu
Alysa Liu (Image via NBC Olympics)

Alysa Liu, Kaori Sakamoto, and Ami Nakai, the podium finishers, are set to return to compete. Liu will be defending her title from a year ago in Boston. She had previously won a bronze medal in Montpellier in 2022. Meanwhile, Sakamoto, who’s speculated to hang up her skates at the end of the season, has entered as an entry for the time being.

She’s a four-time Olympic medalist and won three consecutive world titles from 2022 to 2025. Mone Chiba, who finished third in Boston, will also feature in Prague. Apart from Liu, Team USA has two more representations in Amber Glenn and 2023 silver medalist Isabeau Levito. Two-time medalist Loena Hendrickx of Belgium have withdrawn from the competition following an injury.

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