Olympian Alysa Liu Announces Figure Skating Break to ‘Fine-Tune Things,’ Vows ‘I’ll Be Back’

Olympic gold medalist Alysa Liu is taking a break from the ice.

Liu, 21, revealed her plans to sit out the 2026-27 figure skating season in an Instagram post shared Tuesday, Aug. 25.

“To my supporters, while people are announcing programs, imma take this time to announce that I will not be competing this season,” wrote Liu.

“I always want to challenge myself in new ways, so my artistry & skating can evolve,” she continued. “It’s important to me that my sport reflects my personal growth. I’m gonna take the time to recalibrate, fine-tune things & whatnot.”

She also promised to return, telling her followers, “So fear not, I’ll be back, & in the meantime I’ll be rooting for my teammates near & far.” Liu concluded her post, “See yall soon!!”

Liu made her Olympic debut at the 2022 Beijing Winter Games, before announcing her retirement later that year. She, however, returned to compete at the 2026 Milan Winter Games this past February, taking home the gold in both the women’s singles and team events.

Speaking with NBC Sports more about her decision to step back from skating this year, Liu said, “I really want to improve my skating, and I wanted to take the time to do that for myself and just to evolve.”

“Logically and emotionally and physically, this just makes the most sense,” she added. “I will miss seeing the international competitors at all the international (competitions), but there will be more, so it’s fine.”

She explained that her coaches, Phillip DiGuglielmo and Massimo Scali, “totally understood where I was coming from” with her decision. “I did have to explain a little bit, but they didn’t think I needed to justify my reason for it or anything,” she added, “so it was really chill.”

As for what she plans to work on in her time off, she told NBC, “overall artistry, spins, jumps, everything.”

Liu has been busy since winning the gold, appearing in a Loufey music video for “Madwoman,” attending the Met Gala, becoming a House Ambassador for Louis Vuitton, presenting Artist of the Year to Taylor Swift at the 2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards, and, in July, winning the ESPY for Best Breakthrough Athlete.

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