MILAN, Feb 7 (Reuters) - After quitting figure skating shortly after making her Olympic debut at the 2022 Beijing Games as a 16-year-old, Alysa Liu has returned to winter sports' biggest stage with a message to deliver.
"I know who I am as a person now. I have ideas and concepts that I want to share with the world," Liu said at the Milano Cortina Games after finishing second in the women's singles short programme on Friday.
"I hope that I'm able to inspire you to do what you want to do, be who you want to be, and go for it. Like, don't let anybody stop you, and it's good to be different," she said sporting a blonde fringe on her dark hair.
Liu began bleaching a band of her hair in 2023, adding a stripe in each of the following two years, creating a two‑tone look that some U.S. media have described as resembling a raccoon tail.
The reigning women's world champion said the stripes are inspired by the rings of a tree, symbolising personal growth.
The California-born skater announced she was retiring in April 2022, saying she wanted to move on with her life after achieving her goals in skating.
At the time, Liu had twice won the U.S. Championships, finished sixth overall in Beijing and won bronze at the world championships weeks before the announcement.
Liu said the current Olympic experience was completely different.
"To be on the big stage and in front of so many people you have to be an adult. It's so hard on a kid," she said.
"Last time I was kind of like, let's get this over with. But now I want to be here and I don't want this to end. I will be sad when the Olympics are over."
Following the controversy surrounding 15-year-old Russian Kamila Valieva, whose failed drugs test came to light during the Beijing Games, the International Skating Union (ISU) voted to raise the minimum age for competitors in senior events from 15 to 17 to protect skaters' "physical and mental health, and emotional well-being".
Liu resumed her career in 2024 and won gold at the 2025 World Championships in Boston.
"I don't think (my performance) stands out more than the others. I just think: if I'm someone's cup of tea, they'll drink it. So hopefully I reach those people."
(Reporting by Valentina Za, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
