Alysa Liu transformed from a former prodigy to an Olympic gold medalist in figure skating in Milan. In a span of three weeks, the 20-year-old won not only the team title representing the United States but also became the first American woman to win the individual gold in 24 years. However, following the Winter Games, it looks like the Olympian has achieved another accolade.

Sportico reported on the Instagram gold rush in Milan, mentioning that Liu gained 5.68 million followers, which placed her far ahead of other prominent athletes like Jutta Leerdam. The Dutch speed skater and fiancée of boxer Jake Paul gained 1.5 million new followers, coming second in this list, ahead of American Ilia Malinin, who gained 1.18 million followers.

Liu’s surge to popularity wasn’t solely due to her results on ice but also the connection she made with the audience on a global scale. When Liu retired at 16 after the Beijing Games, she was burnt out from the sport, despite having earned the U.S. title at just 13. And her Olympic performance in Milan said it all.

In her short program, she scored 76.59 points, putting herself in third place. However, Alysa Liu surged to the first place with her free skating program to Donna Summer’s disco classic “MacArthur Park.” That 150.20 contributed to a total score of 226.79, putting her ahead of Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto and Ami Nakai, who came second and third, respectively.

Liu’s statements that followed the event also caught attention. Talking to an NBC reporter, she opened up about her figure skating future, stating, “Yeah, I mean, I have no plans to leave yet. I can’t imagine not skating the next year, so…”

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Furthermore, the 20-year-old added, “Hmm… Definitely not a job. I don’t know, I just feel so lucky that I get to do this. And I love being an athlete. It’s the coolest thing in the world.”

Similarly, Leerdam, who was only able to grab a single medal in Beijing, was in tears following her gold medal in Milan. “For me, this picture captured everything my Olympics stood for. This moment proves you don’t have to become less of yourself to achieve something great. That your looks don’t define you as a person or as an athlete. That if you work hard and stay determined, it will all come together,” Paul’s fiancée said in a lengthy Instagram post.

She added, “I never felt the need to prove anything. I did this for me, my younger self, my family, and for all women who don’t want to be put in a box and just want to be their authentic selves. A reminder that you can be soft and strong, disciplined and feminine, all at once. Never let anyone dim your light. ✨ Love love love 🤍.”

Coming back to Liu, her comeback to the sport would not have been possible because of a certain trip.

Alysa Liu’s career-changing moment

In early 2024, Alysa Liu was already two years into her retirement, enjoying a life by going on adventures and attending psychology classes at UCLA. However, her friend Tseh Newton recently recalled a trip that reignited Liu’s competitive fire.

“I remember it was like our first time skiing and we were driving and she was like, I’m going to do black diamond today. And like some people say that as a joke, she was dead serious. I was like, we need to take it slow. We’re not, we’re not going on a black diamond or double black diamond anywhere in this morning,” she said.

“But at the same time, it’s like, I knew that she would pick it up. And she did by the, by the end of the day, she probably could have done that diamonds. I mean, she’s just so athletically gifted in a lot of ways, like doing a sport like that again, that’s so fun. I wasn’t surprised that it reminded her of what she found in skating that she liked on the ride home from that trip.”

The skiing trip acted as an unexpected catalyst for Liu’s comeback. And just two years later, she already has two Olympic gold medals to her name, and the American figure skater has no plans for going away from the professional scene any time soon.