Nakai, 17, won bronze while Liu, 20, took the gold in the women's skating final
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NEED TO KNOW
- Alysa Liu says she wanted to “celebrate” with Japanese figure skater Ami Nakai during their viral moment at the 2026 Winter Olympics
- Liu tells PEOPLE she and Nakai, 17, have competed against one another before
- “She’s just so cute. She’s so happy on the ice,” Liu says of Nakai
Alysa Liu wanted to celebrate her fellow figure skater, Ami Nakai, during the viral moment after their final competition at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
After the results were announced in the final at Milano Ice Skating Arena on Feb. 19, confirming that Nakai, 17, had won bronze and Liu, 20, won gold, the American star rushed over to Nakai to celebrate.
Liu tells PEOPLE she's competed with Nakai a handful of times and is a fan of the Japanese Olympian. "She's just so cute," she says. "She's so happy on the ice."
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The gold medalist says she "could tell" that Nakai loves to skate and that she was "really happy with her scores," which led to the viral moment.
"I was like, 'I gotta celebrate like she did,'" says Liu, who will take the ice alongside her fellow Team USA gold medalists Ilia Malinin, Amber Glenn, Madison Chock and Evan Bates on Saturday, Feb. 21 at the Olympics figure skating exhibition gala.
Liu says she's "so excited" for the gala, but after nonstop media sessions to talk about her gold in the individual final, the athlete says she's "going to need some sleep so I can do the exhibition in like, my full capacity."
Fans fell in love with Liu, who announced in 2019 that she'd be retiring after the Beijing Games, not just for her athletic talent but because of the transparency she brings to the sport. Luckily for them, Liu fell back in love with figure skating in 2024.
While she says she's still not sure if she "really wants to be a role model," the star admits, "but I guess I am." Still, she's hesitant to share advice to aspiring skaters about how to find their own joy in sport.
"I wouldn't tell anyone to force their joy in something they don't actually like. I actually really enjoy the sport, and I don't know, it just comes naturally and it's really fun, spinning and stuff, gliding on the ice," she says.
Liu will urge fans, however, "to spend time with themselves, try new things, different things, and to just gain experience."
"Taking breaks is okay," adds Liu. "Sometimes, taking a step back is what's needed to see the full picture."
To learn more about all the Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls, come to people.com to check out ongoing coverage before, during and after the games. Watch the Milan Cortina Olympics and Paralympics, beginning Feb. 6, on NBC and Peacock.
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