Skating Into A New Era
ALYSA LIU
Her catchphrase could be “I did it all.” Though Alysa Liu never won any major titles, she crammed a lot into the two seasons she competed on the international stages.
Liu first came to the world’s attention as a 13-year-old when she won the 2019 U.S. national title, making history in that nation as the first female to land three triple Axels at one competition and the youngest American ladies’ champion.
Liu made her international debut in the junior ranks in the 2019-2020 season. At her first competition in the summer of 2019 — a Junior Grand Prix event in Lake Placid, New York — she again made history as the first female skater to land a quad jump (Lutz) and a triple Axel in the same program. Liu won the competition and, with a second victory at her next assignment in Poland, qualified for the Junior Grand Prix Final, where she finished in second place.
Liu won a second U.S. title in January 2020, and two months later finished third at the World Junior Championships. That would be her last international competition for 17 months.
In June of that year, she left her long-time coach and moved to train with former Italian ice dance champion Massimo Scali. In the short time that he worked with Liu, Scali transformed her from a junior jumping bean into a mature, artistic skater.
A growth spurt, the onset of puberty and a right hip injury limited her ability to land quads or triple Axels in the 2020-2021 season, and without that technical prowess she struggled in the senior ranks domestically, finishing fourth at the 2021 U.S. Championships.
The 2021-2022 season marked her first full campaign at the senior level, with Liu making her international debut in August 2021. She won the first three competitions she entered, including Nebelhorn Trophy, which secured a third berth for the U.S. women at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games.
After finishing fifth at Skate Canada International and fourth at NHK Trophy, Liu’s father made another coaching change, this time moving her to Colorado Springs to train with Viktor Pfeifer and Drew Meekins.
Liu was forced to withdraw from the 2022 U.S. Championships
