Alysa Liu, who quit skating at 16, didn’t “need” a gold medal, she told reporters in Milan—she had already found joy.
The now-20-year-old from California, who won the first individual Olympic gold in women’s figure skating for the U.S. after 24 years, didn’t need to be the champion. She says she was just thrilled to perform.
“I don’t need this [medal],” Liu said right after winning, full of joy, while cheering on her competitors. “But what I needed was the stage and I got that, so I was all good. No matter what happened.”
Liu isn’t feigning enthusiasm for the cameras. You can feel it radiating from her body when watching her skate—which she did, flawlessly, when performing to Donna Summer’s “MacArthur Park” this week in the long program routine that ultimately won her first place.
“That’s what I’m f—ing talking about!” she could be heard saying as she skated off the ice, knowing she’d just done something magical. Later, standing on the podium, she adorably jumped for joy, squealed, and hugged her competitors. It felt like she was sharing her bright light with them, and everyone watching in the audience, and at home.
The moment was truly special. Mainly, because one thing was made crystal clear: Liu came to the Olympics for the love of the sport—not for a piece of bronze, silver, or gold hardware.
It goes without saying that most athletes love their sport. But they also want to win. However, Liu’s journey has been different from that of most young athletes, in more ways than one.
Just four years ago, the skater quit, citing burnout after a sixth-place finish at the Beijing Winter Games. Burnout easily comes with the territory when you’re a professional athlete. However, Liu focused on herself—on being a teenager—and finding joy outside the rink.
“I was going to concerts, which I never could have done before,” she told NBC Sports. “I also got my driver’s license. I did a whole year at college. I went on vacation for the first time. I went skiing. I went snowboarding. I got to do so many different things that I never would have done had I stayed in the sport.”
The step back was crucial for saving the Olympian’s mental health. But it’s also likely what saved her from quitting skating forever, because she was able to invest in herself in other ways—and simply be a kid for a while.
At the end of the day, Liu returned to competing because she loves skating too much to stay away. One of her coaches, Phillip DiGuglielmo, even tried to talk her out of it, but her spirit was unstoppable. “Alysa is different. We know she wasn’t here to win a medal. She was here to skate and to enjoy it,” said DiGuglielmo, who coaches Liu alongside Massimo Scali, per NBC.
“These titles are huge, but I don’t want them to overshadow who I am and what I do and what I am all about,” Liu said. “Winning isn’t all that, and neither is losing.”