U.S.Women [#9]: Now That's What I'm F*@&%!$ Talking About!

[ChillSkate]

That's the first I've seen of Alysa directly saying she may not go to Worlds. If she chooses not to go, I hope she decides soon so the first alternate (which I think is Bradie) has plenty of time to prepare.

 

[SkateSand]

FWIW, Alysa left wiggle room about competing (or not) at Worlds -- in the NYSE interview recorded on Tue Mar 3 (2:30 video published on Mar 4):

https://youtu.be/8OOc4hC-dok?si=Ao19cash6dvYLUll&t=90​

Starting at approx. 1:30, Alysa says, "... I have maybe World Championships coming up. I have yet to fully decide if I'm going to do it, but I really want to. That's end of March ..."

I have not kept up with all of Alysa's recent appearances. Not sure if she already had said something of a similar (less than definitive) nature?

Hmmm. I was expecting that of course she would go, but with all the whirlwind of events she's been doing since the Olys, I wondered if she was going to get the ice time she would need to be ready. Maybe she's wondering that, too.

 

[Simone411]

She was home last week and has only spent 2 days in NYC this week so far.

Also, we know she's not really driven by medals & placements, so I expect she'll still show up in Prague, even if she's not as dialed in as she was during the Olympics.

You're probably right, at least about competing. When Kelly and Mark asked Alysa would she still be competing in the future, she said "Yes".

 

[Vagabond]

You're probably right, at least about competing. When Kelly and Mark asked Alysa would she still be competing in the future, she said "Yes".

Alysa Liu said in her interview before the medal ceremony at the Grand Prix Final that she would continue to compete after this season. It seems to me that her desire to do so has, if anything, increased since then.

 

[Sylvia]

Thanks @ice coverage for the “Alysa Liu Welcome Home Celebration” info posted in her fan thread - confirmed date is Thursday, March 12 at noon - it’s free but ticket registration online is required (limit is 2 tickets per person):

Alysa Liu Oakland Homecoming Celebration | March 12, 2026

Join Oakland in celebrating Olympic Gold Medalist Alysa Liu at Oakland City Hall on March 12 at 12 PM. Registration required due to limited capacity.

www.visitoakland.com

ETA:

Registration link (with FAQ): https://www.visitoakland.com/alysa-liu/
" Alysa will be there in person."
" Alysa Liu will address the crowd as part of the official program."
" Doors open at 9:00 AM — we recommend arriving early to secure a good viewing spot, as this is expected to be a well-attended community event."
" All attendees will be subject to security screening upon entry. Please allow extra time for arrival."
" At Alysa’s request, she chose not to have a parade. Instead, she asked for a celebration that shines a light on Oakland’s vibrant community and talented local artists."

ETA 7.5 hours later:

SOLD OUT

"More tickets for Alysa Liu's Welcome Home Celebration Rally will be available soon.
Follow Visit Oakland, Mayor Barbara Lee and City of Oakland, on Instagram for updates."

 

[myhoneyhoney]

I would love to go to this but nope, not going to Oakland. Last time I went there (Oakland Ice Center), my car’s window was smashed in the parking lot across the street.

 

[Vagabond]

Alysa Liu on Dancing Her Way to Olympic Gold: ‘The Music Carries My Body’

The free-spirited figure skater spoke to our dance critic about her approach to performing, the role of music and more.

www.nytimes.com

An amazing interview.

 

[Taso]

Alysa Liu on Dancing Her Way to Olympic Gold: ‘The Music Carries My Body’

The free-spirited figure skater spoke to our dance critic about her approach to performing, the role of music and more.

www.nytimes.com

An amazing interview.

Thank you for gifting it

 

[Coco]

She is so amazing. Thanks for gifting that article. A phenomenal interview.

 

[Vagabond]

I would like to see some of Alysa Liu's photography.

 

[Maximillian]

So Alysa's Olympic win brought the Queen of Disco back to the top of the charts!

Alysa Liu’s Olympic Performance Helps Donna Summer’s ‘MacArthur Park’ Top Billboard Dance Chart

Donna Summer's "MacArthur" park is No. 1 on Billboard's Dance Digital Song Sales chart after Alysa Liu's Olympic performance.

www.billboard.com

 

[Karen-W]

Worlds entries have been updated and Alysa is out with Sarah replacing her.

ISU Figure Skating World Championships 2026, Prague

Find event information, detailed results, schedule, players, start list and more for ISU Figure Skating World Championships 2026 to be held in Prague.

isu-skating.com

 

[Wyliefan]

Sarah? No Bradie?

 

[Karen-W]

Sarah? No Bradie?

That's the part that shocked me. I suppose that means Bradie has decided to hang up her competitive skates.

 

[Coco]

Very happy for Sarah. Hope Bradie is at peace with her decision and not injured again.

 

[honey]

I am not surprised by this after hearing how wishy washy Alysa was the other day when asked about it.

I wouldn’t go either if I were her. She already has a world title. She is no doubt exhausted. There are opportunities right now that could solidify her financial future. There is nothing to be gained by going, really. I’d say, kick back and relax and enjoy life for the next little bit.

The tour is going to be a really exciting moment for all of them with good ticket sales and I hope they all soak that in. It’s been a long time since that’s been that way and I hope this momentum can continue in the future.

 

[skatfan]

That's the part that shocked me. I suppose that means Bradie has decided to hang up her competitive skates.

I wonder if Bradie saw her 4CCs competition as her last and decided to give next generation some experience.

 

[Karen-W]

Bradie posted an IG story to shed some light & clarity on the Worlds non-assignment.

Instagram

Create an account or log in to Instagram - Share what you're into with the people who get you.

www.instagram.com

Quoting before it disappears in 24 hours or so -

"Hi everyone,
I just wanted to jump on here to address a couple of things I see circulating since the Worlds announcement. The decision to give up my spot was my own, and it wasn't one I made lightly. There was much thought and many reasons - I wasn't passed over, and I'm (thankfully) not injured. Please don't mistake this for a retirement announcement because that's not what this means. They are two entirely different decisions. Thank you all for the concern and support, I'm doing well and very excited to cheer on the team from afar."

 

[Jammers]

Well damn i wanted to see if Alysa could pull off the rare Olympic and World championship double which hasn't been done i think since Kristi Yamaguchi did it in 1992. Even Yuna the overwhelming favorite couldn't do it in 2010 when she had a weird skate in the SP where she made mistakes that she normally never made. I imagine Yuna was just exhausted and probably wasn't training as much as she should have been and being the Olympic champion was probably taking most of her time and it caught up with her so maybe Alysa backing out is a good thing. But if anyone could handle all of that noise it would be Alysa.

 

[peibeck]

I'm glad she's not injured, but if not retiring it seems unusual (to me) to not go and get World Standing points. It's a super opportunity for Sarah though. Hopefully she's ready.

 

[sk9tingfan]

Cross-posting from the Alysa Liu thread rom Rolling Stone. She is officially amazing! Get ready since this is 40 minutes long and very different from other interviews!

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

www.youtube.com

 

[victorskid]

Bradie posted an IG story to shed some light & clarity on the Worlds non-assignment.

Instagram

Create an account or log in to Instagram - Share what you're into with the people who get you.

www.instagram.com

Quoting before it disappears in 24 hours or so -

"Hi everyone,
I just wanted to jump on here to address a couple of things I see circulating since the Worlds announcement. The decision to give up my spot was my own, and it wasn't one I made lightly. There was much thought and many reasons - I wasn't passed over, and I'm (thankfully) not injured. Please don't mistake this for a retirement announcement because that's not what this means. They are two entirely different decisions. Thank you all for the concern and support, I'm doing well and very excited to cheer on the team from afar."

Here's the actual post

 

[Belsornia]

I'm glad she's not injured, but if not retiring it seems unusual (to me) to not go and get World Standing points. It's a super opportunity for Sarah though. Hopefully she's ready.

I didn't read Bradie's post as an announcement that she's continuing but only that she's decided not to compete at Worlds and that retirement (or not) is a separate decision which she isn't ready to make/announce at the moment.

 

[kwanfan1818]

Tennell already has 612 WS points in her 2025-6 championships slot from 4C’s. She could have earned only incremental points at Worlds for 7th (ex: 24 incremental points) or higher, and given the field, it’s unlikely she would have earned many, although she would have been in the last SP group, with Liu not skating. Levito moves into that group now.

 

[Sylvia]

Associated Press article "Olympic champion Alysa Liu withdraws from world figure skating championships" (March 7):

Olympic champion Alysa Liu withdraws from world figure skating championships

Olympic champion Alysa Liu has withdrawn from the world figure skating championships, and the U.S. team is replacing her with Sarah Everhardt for the competition beginning March 24 in Prague.

apnews.com

Liu would have performed alongside Olympic teammates Amber Glenn and Isabeau Levito when worlds begin March 24 at O2 Arena in Prague. Bradie Tennell was the first alternate but declined, so Sarah Everhardt will take Liu’s place on the U.S. team.

ETA:

Cross-posting from the Alysa Liu thread rom Rolling Stone. She is officially amazing! Get ready since this is 40 minutes long and very different from other interviews!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESUV-vTEzVc

Link to read Alysa's Rolling Stone interview in article format:

Alysa Liu: 'If I Didn't Hit Rock Bottom, I Could Not Have Gone Up'

Gold medal figure skater Alysia Liu talks about her intense early training, quitting the sport for two years, and what she learned along the way.

www.rollingstone.com

Remember that right before Alysa was sent to Colorado Springs in 2021, her father had been contacted by the FBI (excerpt from the March 17, 2022 Associated Press article that was published before Worlds):

Arthur Liu told The Associated Press he had been contacted by the FBI last October, and warned about the scheme just as his 16-year-old daughter was preparing for the Winter Olympics that took place in Beijing in February. The father said he did not tell his daughter about the issue so as not to scare her or distract her from the competition.
“We believed Alysa had a very good chance of making the Olympic team and truly were very scared,” Arthur Liu said late Wednesday.

ETA 2:

https://twitter.com/x/status/2030349330096308285

 

[ChillSkate]

I'm so happy for Alysa and it's wonderful to see how much mainstream media coverage there has been of her, her story, and figure skating in general.

I have a question and I wonder if this will come up in any of her interviews or if any of you may have insights on this based on your own experiences with elite level skating.

How was Alysa able to support her comeback financially? I have seen reports that her Dad spent ~$1M on her figure skating career before she retired. However, she also said in the Rolling Stone article that she didn't know how her Dad felt about her comeback - and, when pressed, said she was actually displeased that he seemed happy about it.

I wonder how she funded her comeback if she did not seek her father's support? From what I understand, elite level coaching, ice time, off-ice training, costumes, music rights, etc are incredibly expensive. As far as I remember, Alysa didn't have any major endorsements prior to her retirement and she didn't participate in the post-Olympics Stars on Ice Show. Maybe she just hasn't discussed it publicly, but I haven't seen anything that suggests that she did extensive coaching or other paid work during her time off (I remember Ashley Wagner talking about working at the Gap to fund her skating career independently of her family, Camden worked at Capital One, Max and many others have done coaching, etc).

On the one hand, it is none of our business. On the other, I have seen a lot of comments here and elsewhere saying Alysa's independent, I'll do whatever I want approach to skating should serve as a role model for other up and coming skaters. I wonder how these other skaters would be able to have such a carefree attitude from a financial perspective?

I have heard of some countries where coaches essentially train their skaters "on commission" such that they provide free or heavily discounted coaching in exchange for a cut of the skater's future earnings. I haven't heard of a model like that existing in the US, but maybe it does?

Again, I'm absolutely thrilled for Alysa's success! I just wonder how feasible it is for other up and coming US skaters to role model her attitude of not caring about placements, judges' / federations' opinions, family expectations, etc if they are relying on competitive placements, invitations to shows, federation contributions, and family support to fund their skating? I wonder if Alysa had to worry about any of these financial concerns as she pursued her comeback? I hope we may learn more about this as she continues her media tour, as I think this would be valuable context for others who want to follow in her footsteps.

 

[Vagabond]

I think that her supposed "do whatever I want approach to skating" is the product of people's misinterpreting or ignoring what she and her coaches say and do.

 

[jägerbomb]

Bradie is pure class, all the time.

 

[ice coverage]

... As far as I remember, Alysa didn't have any major endorsements prior to her retirement and she didn't participate in the post-Olympics Stars on Ice Show. ...

At the very least:
Toyota started sponsoring Alysa in late 2020. (I don't recall whether or not she had other sponsors, but Toyota was a biggie.)
Alysa was in the 2022 Stars on Ice cast, both in the U.S. and in Japan. (I don't recall whether or not she performed in other shows in Japan or Europe.)
Alysa won ISU prize money for 2022 Worlds bronze, plus I believe USOPC also gives a bonus for world championship medals in all sports.
Before then she earned ISU prize money for GPs, Junior Worlds, JGPF, JGPs; also USFS envelope funding. All of which would have added up to something (although I am not assuming that it would have been enough to cover training expenses in entirety).

Please don't get me wrong -- I do take the point of your questions.

 

[natsulian]

I am excited to see how Sarah fares on the biggest stage of her career thus far. She seemed really excited about this opportunity and her last event, Four Continents, was not her best during the free skate. I also think Isabeau will be coming in with a desire to end the season on her terms, especially after her Olympic free skate.