7 Fun Facts About Figure-Skating Olympic Hopeful Alysa Liu

Alysa Liu Has Been Skating For 11 Years

During the summit, Liu mentioned that her father brought her and her sister to the rink when she was 5 years old. She said she enjoyed it so much that she ended up taking lessons and has been skating ever since.

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In 2019, Alysa Liu Became the Youngest US Figure Skating Champion

Image Source: Getty / Matthew Stockman

In 2019, when Liu was 13 years old, she became the youngest US Figure Skating Champion. The previous youngest US Figure Skating Champion was Tara Lipinski. Lipinski was 14 years old when she claimed the title back in 1997.

Best of all, Lipinski, who's now a commentator for NBC, was at the championship in 2019, so she got to watch Liu break her record in real time.

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Alysa Liu Has Figured Out Why She Skates — Her Education

Image Source: Getty / Joosep Martinson - International

At the summit, Liu explained that she used to skate "because it was fun and I was with my friends all the time." Now, she skates because she wants to "get into a good college for [my] education, but I'm also [skating] for myself."

Liu mentioned that she's been able to learn a lot about herself over the past year and that the process of self-discovery has been a positive one.

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Figure Skater Nathan Chen Is One of Alysa Liu's Inspirations

Image Source: Getty / Tim Nwachukwu

While they don't train together, during the summit, Liu said that she does look to "the best skater in the US" Nathan Chen as a source of inspiration who "motivates [her] to do better in practice and makes [her] want to get on ice and skate."

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Alysa Liu's Precompetition Ritual Has Evolved Over the Years

Image Source: Getty / Joosep Martinson - International

In an interview on the Today show, a 13-year-old Liu said she would jump eight times in front of her coach before she got on the ice to compete. During the summit, Liu explained that she no longer does her precompetition jumps. Nowadays, she "drown[s]" herself in music.

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Even With a Packed Training Schedule, Alysa Liu Still Finds Time to Chill With Friends

Image Source: Getty / Matthew Stockman

Even though Liu only has one-and-a-half days off a week (half of Saturday and all of Sunday), she said she's still able to hang out with friends. "It's pretty easygoing with balancing my train[ing] life and then my social life, because I skate with my friends and then I hang out with them on the weekends."

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Alysa Liu Has Already Graduated High School

Image Source: Getty / Matthew Stockman

Yes, you read that correctly. In June, 16-year-old Liu finished her high school career. At the summit, Liu explained that since her training schedule and traditional school hours often butted heads, she ended up taking online courses to get her degree.

Looking to the Winter Games, Liu said, "now that [school's] over with, I'm a lot less stressed out. So it's a lot easier to focus on training."

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