The 2026 Winter Olympics helped reestablish Eileen Gu and Alysa Liu in the spotlight. The two athletes needed no introduction, given their careers, but their performances earned them plaudits. Liu, for her success and attitude, and Gu, for the way she won three medals effortlessly and combined it with her confidence, won hearts. However, the two athletes have been a part of a political discourse since then because of their heritage. And Liu remains steadfast beside Gu.

In a New York Times interview, Alysa opened up about her longtime friendship with Eileen, forged around age 13 in the Bay Area. The American-Chinese Olympians, Liu in figure skating and Gu in freestyle skiing, both faced Chinese recruitment before Beijing 2022. But in June 2019, Gu switched allegiance, while Liu stayed with Team USA. Now, Liu addressed the skier’s mounting criticism head-on.

“I think people are hypocritical for shaming her for representing China,” Liu told the New York Times. “In my head it’s a bit hypocritical, because her mom is an immigrant. Y’all would have told her to go back to China. Now that they’re back in China, you’re mad. [Laughs] And it’s sport, it doesn’t matter what country we represent.”

“Sport is sport, and she has a love for competition, she has love for the game. I think that’s all that matters. There’s no shame in going to where opportunity is.”

Like Alysa Liu, Eileen Gu was born in the United States (San Francisco) and even competed for Team US at the 2018/19 Freestyle Ski World Cup. However, she accepted an invitation from China and switched national affiliation in 2019. Since then, Gu has faced significant scrutiny, which only amped up after her performance at the Milano Cortina games.

However, she wasn’t the only one who received an invite, as Chinese officials also recruited Alysa Liu. Liu, whose father is of Chinese origin, received an invitation to join the Chinese team before the 2022 Beijing Olympics. It was a part of China’s naturalization project where they recruited overseas athletes to compete under the Chinese flag. 

But Liu’s father declined the invitation and even revealed that they were targeted, in 2021, by Chinese spies. So much so that Alysa Liu needed protection from the US State Department while she competed at the 2022 Beijing Olympics.

Alysa Liu withdraws from 2026 World Championships

Liu would eventually retire from the sport after the 2022 Beijing Olympics, then return two years later for a sensational comeback. Since then, she has stormed to multiple titles, including becoming the first American since 2006 to win the world title. However, Alysa Liu won’t be there to defend her title as the 20-year-old has officially withdrawn from the 2026 ISU World Figure Skating Championships.

She was to be replaced by alternate by Bradie Tennell, but she turned down the spot. Instead, Sarah Everhardt will replace Liu and will make her first appearance at the worlds later this month. Tennell released a statement over the same after speculation about her potentially retiring. The 28-year-old refuted those rumors and asserted that the decision to give up the spot was her own.

Alysa Liu, however, isn’t the first person to withdraw from the 2026 ISU World Figure Skating Championships. Instead, the double Olympic champion joins Japan’s Miura Riku and Kihara Ryuichi, who have also opted not to compete, and Sara Conti and Niccolo Macii as well. Not only that, but Belgium’s Loena Hendrickx will also not be competing after an injury-riddled season.

For now, Liu is currently enjoying her Olympic success. But as promised to her fans, she plans to return next figure skating season refreshed and prepared to compete.