U.S. figure skater Alysa Liu retired after 2022 Beijing Olympics citing trauma, later returned to competition
Authored by sportsite777.com, Mar 14, 2026
Alysa Liu, a 19-year-old American figure skater born in Richmond, California, announced her retirement from eligible competition on April 7, 2022, at age 16, shortly after being named to the U.S. team for the Beijing Winter Olympics.[1][2] Liu, the 2019 World Junior ladies' champion and youngest winner of the senior U.S. Figure Skating Championships title that year at age 13, did not compete at the Olympics after testing positive for COVID-19 upon arrival in Beijing.[2][3]
Her father, Arthur Liu, attributed the retirement to mental health struggles. "She became really unhappy," he told USA Today. "She avoided the ice rink at all costs. She's traumatized. She was just traumatized. She was suffering from PTSD, and she wouldn't go near the ice rink."[1] The family had faced prior scrutiny, including U.S. allegations of a Chinese intelligence operation targeting Arthur Liu, a pro-democracy activist, ahead of the Beijing Games.[4]
Liu described the spying allegations as "a little bit freaky and exciting" in an October 2023 interview. "Imagine finding that out at such a young age... like, am I in some prank show?" she said.[4]
Liu returned to eligible competition ahead of the 2023-24 season, posting a fifth-place finish at the 2024 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Columbus, Ohio, with a total score of 203.37 points.[5] She earned spots on the Grand Prix circuit, placing sixth at 2024 Skate Canada International and fourth at 2024 NHK Trophy.[5]
The next U.S. Figure Skating Championships are scheduled for January 19-26, 2025, in Greensboro, North Carolina, serving as the selection event for the 2025 World Championships in Boston, Massachusetts (March 24-30).[6] The 2026 World Championships will take place March 23-29 in Prague, Czech Republic, ahead of the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics (February 6-22, 2026).[7]
Sources
- USA Today
Article title: "Olympic figure skater Alysa Liu, 16, retires, citing mental health issues"
Publication date: April 7, 2022
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/figure-skating/2022/04/07/alysa-liu-retires-figure-skating-olympics/7299831001/ - U.S. Figure Skating
Article title: "Alysa Liu - Athlete Profile"
Accessed: October 2024
https://www.usfigureskating.org/athletes/32789/alysa-liu - Olympics.com
Article title: "US figure skater Alysa Liu withdraws from Beijing 2022 after positive COVID-19 test"
Publication date: February 6, 2022
https://olympics.com/en/news/beijing-2022-alysa-liu-covid-positive - Fox News
Article title: "Olympic figure skater Alysa Liu details alleged Chinese spy plot against dissident father: 'Freaky'"
Publication date: October 25, 2023
https://www.foxnews.com/sports/olympic-figure-skater-alysa-liu-details-chinese-spy-plot-against-dissident-father-freaky - International Skating Union (ISU)
Page title: "Results - 2024 U.S. Figure Skating Championships"
Publication date: January 2024
https://results.isu.org/results/season2425/gpusa2024/