The Olympics are the ultimate pressure cooker for any top athlete. Every jump, every spin is watched and judged. But not everyone handles it the same way. Take Alysa Liu, for example. She retired from skating at 16 to enjoy a normal life free from pressure. Yet in 2024, she returned, drawn back by the joy of the sport, and won two gold medals in the Winter Olympics. That mindset is now changing the way a 22-year-old Japanese silver medalist experiences the Games.

“I’ve experienced a lot over these four years in terms of how to approach competitions. I believe the Olympics are truly won by those who enjoy them the most,” shared Yuma Kagiyama. It’s a philosophy Alysa Liu has been living for years, but it took him time to understand it completely.

Born in Yokohama, Japan, Yuma started skating at five. Skating was in his blood; his father, Masakazu Kagiyama, a two-time Olympian, coached him from the beginning. Growing up, the Olympics meant medals, titles, and winning, and he chased them with intensity. As he says, ” I always admired winning an Olympic medal.”

As a junior, he quickly made his mark: gold at the Youth Olympics, junior national titles, a World Junior silver, and new records along the way. But it was always about results. Even at 18, Yuma made his Olympic debut at Beijing 2022 and won silver in both the individual and team events. It was a good start, but it also showed him that loving the sport means just winning.

After Beijing, the pressure intensified. Winning his first All-Japan Championship title in late 2024 was a breakthrough and not just for the medal. “I felt anxious because of societal pressure. That was the hardest part,” he admitted. That was when his attitude began to shift about the game.

He understood how to be in the present, how to remain down to earth, how to forget about the past.“Whether I’ve felt regret or joy, I’ve learned to process those emotions and focus entirely on the present. The moment you’re in right now is always the most important,” he explains.

And because of this philosophy, in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Yuma earned two silver medals – one in Men’s Singles Figure Skating and another in the Team Event. “Since arriving in Milan, I’ve really felt things are going smoothly. Maybe I have good chemistry with the Olympics,” he said.

For Yuma, the Games are no longer just about medals! And much of this shift seems inspired by Alysa Liu’s journey.

Alysa Liu rediscovered joy in skating that inspired the many

Alysa Liu was one of the youngest stars in figure skating who was competing at a world-class level from a very young age. By the time she became a teenager, the sport became serious. She would work hard, as much as 11-12 hours a day, and would be pressured on every aspect, even on diet and body image.

But then, after competing at the 2022 Winter Olympics and winning bronze at the World Championships that same year, Alysa stepped away from competitive skating at 16. She had already achieved what little Alysa once dreamed of and wanted to experience life beyond medals and expectations. “When I quit, a lot of the toxicity I had attached to skating just, boom, disappeared.”

During her break, Alysa Liu explored life outside the training. She studied psychology at UCLA, experienced dorm life, got her driver’s license, traveled, took ski trips, danced at concerts, and spent time simply being a teenager.

But then, during a ski outing in early 2024, she felt that spark again- the wind, the movement, the thrill, and realized how much she missed the feeling of motion and competition. Soon after, she tried her first ski run and enjoyed it so much that it reminded her why she fell in love with skating in the first place

And then, Alysa returned to the ice but on her own terms. “If I feel like I’m skating too much I’ll back down. If I feel like I’m not skating enough, I’ll ramp it up.”

Alysa Liu realised that the happiest moments aren’t about winning: “It wasn’t the winning part that made me feel good. It was actually the skate program I did. It was my favorite run-through I’ve ever done.” And this helped her to love the sports and give her best, which was visible at the 2026 Winter Olympics. There, Alysa Liu won gold in women’s figure skating – the first U.S. woman to do so in 24 years. And she did it with freedom and joy in every move.

Alysa did not hurry to get back to strict training even following her Olympic victory. She also had time to relax, reunite with friends, and enjoy life outside of skating.  “I would have been fine either way. I would have been loving life outside of skating just as much.”

So, Alysa Liu’s journey is inspiring because it shows how greatness can go hand in hand with freedom, fun, and self-love. That same attitude towards happiness and love of motion is now shaping a young Japanese silver medalist.