Alyssa Liu opens up about leaving competitive skating and chasing a completely different dream afterward (Imagn Images)
Alyssa Liu didn’t just win the Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina. It changed the feel of American snowboarding again. Her free skating carried sharp jumps, steady nerves and something hard to define.
It felt personal. It felt real. When her result came out as a personal best and she took home the Olympic gold medal, the reaction went beyond just cheers. It was relief and pride, and maybe even a little disbelief.The numbers tell one story. She said another moment. Liu became the first American woman to win an individual Olympic medal since Sasha Cohen in 2006, and the first woman to win gold since Sarah Hughes in 2002. She also helped secure a team gold medal. Suddenly, a 20-year-old who had previously harbored expectations of a miracle achieved a feat on the biggest stage possible.
Alyssa Liu begins to shape what comes after her Olympic breakthrough
Alysa Liu’s signature free skate came with control and character. While skating to MacArthur Park, I completed a nearly clean program. Only two of the triple flips had fuzzy edges, a minor blemish in an otherwise great performance. That was enough to secure her first individual Olympic gold and confirm her arrival as the face of a new era.However, even as the spotlight was following her, Liu’s mind had already begun to wander beyond the competition.
“I have a job I want to direct,” she told E! Al Khabar in an exclusive interview. “I have creative ideas. I’m really interested in fashion and I love expressing myself in any way and sharing my story and life experiences. I love telling stories and I love hearing other stories from other people too.”This openness has become part of its appeal. Her 2000-inspired wardrobe choices during the games sparked debate online. Fans saw more than just an athlete.
They saw someone who was comfortable showing who she was. Even small personal details, like her lip-piercing smiley cut, added to the sense that Liu was writing her own script.Attention followed her home. When she landed at San Francisco International Airport, crowds greeted her like a hometown hero. It was loud. It was emotional. She emphasized how important her win was beyond the medals.What comes next remains open, but Leo does not seem in a hurry. Her Olympic success gave her freedom. Freedom to skate. Freedom of creativity. The freedom to explore the parts that sometimes the competition doesn’t leave much room for.For someone who is still only 20 years old, this freedom may be the most important win of all.
