Happy Women’s History Month from us at Philly PR Girl! This week, we are featuring our #WCW of the week. You may have recognized her halo-style striped hair skating on your screen this winter during the 2026 Winter Olympics, Alysa Liu, the twenty-year-old figure skater who just made history for the Women’s Singles Skate.
For the first time in 24 years, Alysa Liu has bridged the gap for an American woman to earn an individual figure skating gold medal at the Olympics with a final score of 226.79.
Liu was born in Clovis, California, and raised in Richmond with her four siblings. When she is not on the ice, she is studying Psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles. At five years old, she began skating, and by age seven, she was competing in nationals. By the time she was ten years old, she became the youngest female skater to earn an intermediate gold medal at the 2016 U.S. Championships.
During the 2018 Asian Open Trophy in Bangkok, Thailand, Liu won gold after landing a ratified triple Axel in the free skate. She is the youngest skater in history and the fourth American female skater to successfully perform a triple Axel in competition.
Throughout her career, Liu earned seven gold, three silver, and two bronze medals from competitions over the course of her career.
Liu surprised fans when she decided to return to competitive ice skating after retiring at 16.
She said she was satisfied with her competitive skating career and had achieved her goals, but missed the adrenaline of competition. Liu has since returned to the competition on her own terms by building her own team and greater say in her music and costume choices.
Her alternative style and nonchalant attitude are taking over TikTok, and her fans have grown to love her. She is the embodiment of Gen Z and is pushing boundaries for what expectations can be put on female athletes.
In an interview with CBS before the games began, Alysa said, “I get to pick my own program music. I get to help with the creative process of the program. If I feel like I’m skating too much, I’ll back down. If I feel like I’m not skating enough, I’ll ramp it up. No one’s gonna starve me or tell me what I can and can’t eat.”
Alysa is one of many young athletes creating a new standard for what can be expected of female athletes.
Photo Credits: Photos 1–2 by Jamie Squire/Getty Images; Photo 3 by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images.
