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Like all Olympic figure skaters, Alysa Liu has worked incredibly hard to get to where she is today — but she did it on her own terms. The Oakland, California, resident jumped, slid and spun her way to a gold medal at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, and she’s made it clear how grateful she was to just have the chance to compete, let alone win a medal. With such maturity and grace, many are wondering how old Alysa is and how many years of experience she has on the ice.
Here, learn more about Alysa, including how old she was when she retired and her age today.
How Old Was Alysa Liu When She Started Skating?
Alysa was 5 years old when she first hit the ice. Her father, Arthur Liu, brought her to the Oakland Ice Center in Oakland, California, and she quickly began taking individual skating lessons after moving past group lessons.
By age 10, Alysa became the youngest female figure skater to win a gold medal at the 2016 U.S. Championships.
How Old Is Alysa Liu Now?
Alysa is just 20 years old as of February 2026. She was born on August 8, 2005.
How Many Olympic Games Has Alysa Liu Competed in?
Alysa has competed in two Olympic Games: the 2022 Beijing Olympics and the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics. At the 2022 event, she was 16 years old and did not medal. However, the Bay Area skater said she was simply happy to perform on Olympic ice for the first time.
“I am really happy,” she said at the time in a post-competition interview, per Golden Skate. “I just can’t believe I actually did a clean short program today, because I’ve trained so much. I’m just really glad that all my training paid off, because I’m here competing. And the goal of my whole life and my skating career was to compete at the Olympics, so now I can officially say I’m an ‘Olympian.’”
Four years later, Alysa was selected to represent Team USA again at the 2026 Milano Cortina Games. It was there that she and her teammates won gold in the team event, and she won gold in the women’s individual skating competition. But the medal wasn’t her entire motivation. Once again, Alysa repeated in several interviews that she was elated to have the opportunity to return to the Olympics, let alone get first place.
“Being able to do it my way on the big stage like this has been my dream,” she told NBC News. “And I got to do it in my tour. I got to do it in the team event, and I got to do it tonight for the free skate, and I’m going to do it again for the Olympic Gala. I’m just, like, over the moon. I’m the luckiest girl ever. And I’m really grateful.”
How Old Was Alysa Liu When She Quit — Then Came Back to — Skating?
Alysa was 16 when she announced her retirement from competitive figure skating, shortly after the 2022 Olympics. She expressed a desire to explore life off the ice, especially as a teenager, and focus on spending time with friends and family.
When Alysa was 18, she decided to return to figure skating in 2024 and rehired her coaches, Phillip DiGuglielmo and Massimo Scali, who helped her skate all the way to the podium at the 2026 Olympics.
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