16-Year-Old US Skater Alysa Liu Stuns; Takes World Championship Medal Despite a Tough Journey
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Alysa Liu, figure skater
At the mere age of just 16, skater Alysa Liu is already on her way to make history, after taking the bronze medal in the World Figure Skating Championships 2022. Liu has won a medal for the US after 5 long years, when Ashley Wagner took silver at the 2016 Championships. Yet, Liu’s journey to greatness has not been an easy one, with particular challenges showing up over the last four years.
Looking back at the tender age of 13, Liu had already made history by becoming the youngest ever champion of the US Women’s Figure Skating Championships. She was already destined to be great, and was expected to definitely compete when she reached eligibility for senior level in the sport.
Liu went on to win a second US title in 2020, and even take victories on the junior Grand Prix circuit. However, soon things took a turn for the worse.
“I lost my motivation,” Alysa Liu On Facing Challenges in her career
When the Pandemic hit, it saw Liu’s life change drastically. Not only did she have 2 coaching changes, but she also went through physical growth and her fair share of injuries. Suddenly for her skating became a burden. According to olympics.nbcsports she said, “I lost my motivation. I was barely going to the rink, not doing off ice (training).”
Soon, opportunity presented itself as the 2022 Beijing Olympics came up. But instead things got a little more complicated. As a coaching change took place, she was pulled out of her home and comfort of San Francisco and had to move to Colorado Springs for training. Disaster continued as she was forced to withdraw from the 2022 US Championships after a positive Covid test.
She however, did make her way to the Beijing Olympics, where she and her father were allegedly targeted by spies of the Chinese operatives. Yet, Alysa Liu was the most successful American to finish the figure skating program, placing seventh. Just recently she managed to win at the World Figure Skating Championships 2022 held in France.
“I came into this competition not thinking about medals, just wanting to do good programs for myself,” Liu said. “When I saw I had medaled, I didn’t believe it. I don’t know how I got motivation back. I have no idea how I got to this point,” she added.
Also read: 2020 Olympic Champion Suni Lee Shines Once Again; Earns SEC Freshman of the Year Award
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Saivee Phatak
(1164 Articles Published)