Figure Skater Alysa Liu reflects on winning world title and return to the sport

(CNN) — It’s a comeback that had looked so unlikely, even Alysa Liu’s coaches tried to talk the American teenager out of returning.

The 19-year-old is surely glad she didn’t listen though after becoming the first US woman in 19 years to win a world figure skating title, dethroning three-time defending champion Kaori Sakamoto from Japan in the process. It’s an accomplishment Alysa herself describes as “insane.”

“I haven’t even been training for a whole year yet. I never would have expected to do this good. I’m really proud of myself and my team. It was just such a great experience that whole week. It was my first worlds since I retired. It was my last competition, actually. So, coming back, it was really emotional and bittersweet, but I skated two great programs and I just happened to walk away with the gold,” Liu told CNN Sports.

“So, coming back and medaling again was really crazy. It’s such a wild story,” she added.

A story that’s even more remarkable because, in 2019, Liu was a history-making child prodigy who at just 13 years of age became the youngest US champion ever. She would then compete at the 2022 Beijing Olympics. Liu – the oldest of 5 children – even medaled at that year’s World Championships before shocking the skating world by announcing she was retiring from competition at just 16.

“Back then, honestly, I really was just a kid wanting to be with my siblings and make memories with them. I hadn’t gone on vacation ever in my life until after I quit skating. So, it’s just human moments that I really craved. I just felt very isolated back then, traveling everywhere for training purposes. And I mean, I knew it had to be done because the Olympics was right around the corner, but it was really hard for me back then,” said the California native.

“When everyone wants you to win gold and all you want to do is be with your friends and family, it’s really hard because you’re doing something not for yourself. And I never really liked training. I didn’t like doing anything hard. I wasn’t living at home at all, and all the traveling, it got me really sick. I just really wanted to be at home and just enjoy hobbies and find myself. I feel like everyone was telling me who I was, and I never had that moment of clarity to realize anything about myself.”

Liu at one point admits she grew to even hate certain aspects of the sport.

“Yeah, I really did. I went through such highs and such lows. I felt like it was so extreme, and I wanted a break and at that time, I thought it was going to be a permanent break from the sport, but life goes on and I went through the extreme of being in the sport and the extreme of being completely out of it, and now I think I have a really healthy medium,” she said.

In fact, the recently crowned world champion – who’s now a psychology major at UCLA – is in an altogether much better place and totally reinvigorated. Something for which she credits an impromptu skiing trip to Lake Tahoe with friends during her time away from skating – a trip that would change everything.

“I hadn’t skated at all, and I would never step in the ice rink. I would avoid it at all costs. I wouldn’t talk about it. I wouldn’t watch skating. I completely disconnected myself from that world. And when I skied, you know, it’s cold, you have a lot of adrenaline,” Liu recalls.

“It takes a good amount of physical strength to get down those hills. It’s so similar to skating, and that was the first time I had felt that since competition and since quitting. And I really enjoyed it. So, I thought, why not step back out on the ice, since it’s easier to access than the mountains,” she added.

Liu’s momentous victory in Boston follows a devastating last few months for the tight-knit figure skating community. Earlier this year, a plane crash claimed the lives of 67 people, including 11 young skaters, four coaches and 13 family members who’d attended the US Figure Skating Championships in Kansas. Liu poignantly chose to dedicate her historic win to not just her team but also everyone on that plane.

“Everyone just inspires me so much and especially because the worlds were in Boston, I really felt like I was skating with everybody,” she said. “It was really powerful, and I think this is what skating’s all about. When I watch back some of the skaters, their skating is really good, and I even took something. I learned from watching them and the support and just their skating in general, it really makes our community. They had so many friends and skating, they inspired so many people, they had fun with so many people

She added, “I just like to think they’re with all of us every step of the way and in everyone’s skating journey. It’s about never forgetting them and remembering who they were as people and skaters.”

For Liu now, future hopes are firmly focused on next year’s Winter Olympics in Italy.

“I’m really excited. I hope I’m there. My first Olympics was really fun, and I thought, why not do another Olympics? And I’m pretty confident in my team moving forward. I think I’m going to be a whole lot better next season. I’m really excited for my own growth,” the teenager said. “I’m just trying to visualize two awesome programs I can put out. Something I can be proud of that I would love to showcase at the Olympics one day because it’s the biggest stage. It’s the biggest honor.”

With a newfound joy and passion, Liu is once again preparing to scale new heights. Quite appropriate considering that in 2023 she joined a group that embarked upon a grueling journey of over 30 miles to Mount Everest base camp, more than 17,000 feet above sea level.

Liu may have climbed to the top of the world in her sport but as far as one day summitting Everest is concerned, she says that’s simply not an option.

“The hardest part of the trek, like up the actual peak is the beginning with all the glaciers. Although I’m good with ice, I don’t know if I’m good with that type of ice. I’m going to avoid that,” she said. “I think I’ll just stick with hiking!”

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