Can We Survive an Alysa Liu-less Year?

The Olympic gold-medal figure skater and queen of protecting her peace has an announcement: She is taking a break from competition…for now. Specifically, she is sitting out the upcoming ISU Figure Skating Grand Prix season. And listen, however much time off Alysa Liu needs, Alysa Liu gets. No questions asked. (But we will miss her).

Liu is the reigning Grand Prix champion, and in February she won two gold medals at the Milan Cortina Olympics, helping Team USA’s women’s figure skating team bring home its first gold medal in 24 years. After a performance like that, she deserves R+R, but as she announced on Instagram on Tuesday, she will use the time to continue developing her artistry:

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by 刘美贤 (@alysaxliu)

“While people are announcing programs, imma take this time to announce that I will not be competing this season,” she wrote. “I always want to challenge myself in new ways, so my artistry & skating can evolve. It’s important to me that my sport reflects my personal growth. I’m gonna take the time to recalibrate, fine-tune things & whatnot. So fear not, I’ll be back, & in the meantime I’ll be rooting for my teammates near & far. See y’all soon!!”

Before making the announcement, she was set to compete in the first leg of Skate America’s Grand Prix this November, but now she plans to continue training on her own schedule, she said in an interview with NBC Sports: “I really want to improve my skating, and I wanted to take the time to do that for myself and just to evolve,” she said, “and then I’ll be back after that is done. But I’ll still be cheering on all my competitors and my teammates, and I’m really excited.”

“Logically and emotionally and physically, this just makes the most sense. I will miss seeing the international competitors at all the international [competitions], but there will be more, so it’s fine.” Look at the emotional regulation on this one.

In 2019, Liu became the youngest-ever U.S. national champion at 13. Three years later, she announced her retirement from figure skating after the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, citing burnout and a desire for a normal life.

“I had no art to show before. People were making me skate to this [music], putting me in that dress, I had no control,” Liu told ESPN last year. “I didn’t even know who was making the decisions, and I didn’t want to be there anyway.” So it’s no secret that when she returned to the sport and to the Olympic Games on her own terms, her personality and confidence reflected in her skating. So let her cook, dammit! And then—when she’s good and ready—she will make her return and skate flawlessly to PinkPantheress once again.

Anyways, do you have a spare 8 minutes and 3 seconds? If so, let’s just hit play.

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