Alysa Liu won the first individual gold medal for the United States in figure skating at the Olympics in more than two decades with her incredible performance in Italy. She did it without the influence of her dad.
He was not involved!
The 20-year-old does not think her father truly deserved to be happy when she announced her return to figure skating after a nearly two-year hiatus. That also applies, to a lesser degree, to when she won.
Arthur Liu was the architect of his daughter.
Alysa Liu was raised in Richmond, California by a single father who deliberately built his family through surrogacy. Arthur Liu introduced his daughter to figure skating at five years old and immediately committed her to the craft full-time.
It became something of a passion project, if you will.
He arranged all of her ice time, travel and coaching. And as she became a prodigy in the sport, he handled all of her sponsorships, media requests, and anything that didn’t have to do with her on-ice performance. She only had to focus on her craft. She never had to think about the business.
Although Alysa’s relationship with her father always remained respectful and led to a lot of success, it later became contentious among the figure skating community. Arthur was intense!
The Liu family patriarch would often make high-profile coaching changes right in the middle of an Olympic cycle. He constantly moved his daughter between multiple training bases. She did not get the consistency she needed to succeed. Figure skating became more of something she had to do than something she wanted to do.
It reached a point that Alysa Liu had to fire her father as her manager. She eventually took a hiatus from the sport because she was no longer enjoyed to skate. Burnout was real. The joy wasn’t there.
Of course, she has since returned to the ice and won a gold medal without her dad.
Arthur defends his relationship with his daughter as a parent simply doing whatever he can to help his child succeed on the highest level. Others might see it differently.
Alysa Liu does not care what he thinks!
Although Alysa Liu does not hold any ill will toward her dad, she does not think he deserved to be happy when she returned to figure skating. It was not his decision! It had nothing to do with his influence!
She spoke about the unlikely path of her figure skating career during an interview with Rolling Stone.
As the oldest of five kids, Alysa was the first to connect the dots between her biological mother and the woman she grew up calling her “mom.” The unusual structure of the Liu family does not affect them.
The Rolling Stone Interview: Alysa Liu
— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) March 7, 2026
Alysa Liu talks to Rolling Stone about being the oldest of five children, all born from IVF.
"I was kinda like, 'Oh, I don't look full Chinese. Like, there's something up.'" pic.twitter.com/E1OGiyJjQ5
Alysa does not resent her father. Nor does she think of him as a bad guy. They have a mutual love and respect for each other. He was in Italy when she won a historic gold medal at the Olympics.
However, Alysa Liu is not so sure Arthur Liu deserves to be happy about her win. In fact, she was “almost mad that he was happy” when she decided to get back on the ice after her time away from the sport.
He was so mad when she quit, he doesn’t get to be happy when she returned!
The Rolling Stone Interview: Alysa Liu ⛸️
— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) March 8, 2026
Alysa Liu talks to Rolling Stone about her dad's response to her return to skating.
"I mean, he was happy. But that didn't matter to me. I didn't care that he was happy. I was almost mad that he was happy." pic.twitter.com/BDTboZ4uOU
These comments are going to create a divide amongst Liu’s fans. Some people believe she should be more grateful for his support as a child, which led to her success as an adult. Others agree that he does not deserve credit for her recent achievements because he was not involved with the comeback. Alysa would not be where she is today if he was as involved with her career as he was when she was young.