Olympic champion Liu announces break from competition

Alysa Liu, the 21‑year‑old women's Olympic figure skating champion, announced she will not compete during the 2026‑27 season. Liu, who became the first American woman since 2002 to capture Olympic gold in women’s singles at the Milano Cortina Games in February and contributed to the United States’ team‑event victory, said she will take a break to work on her technique, which means she will miss the World Championships scheduled for March in Finland. In an Instagram post she wrote: “I ever privation to situation myself successful caller ways, truthful my artistry & skating tin evolve. It's important to maine that my athletics reflects my idiosyncratic growth.” She added: “I'm gonna instrumentality the clip to recalibrate, fine-tune things & whatnot. So fearfulness not, I'll beryllium back, & successful the meantime I'll beryllium rooting for my teammates adjacent & far.” In a separate interview with US broadcaster NBC (https://www.nbcsports.com/olympics/news/alysa-liu-figure-skating-break), Liu stated: “Logically and emotionally and physically, this conscionable makes the astur sense.” She noted she would miss seeing fellow competitors worldwide but expressed confidence that more opportunities lie ahead. This is not Liu’s first hiatus from the sport. A former child prodigy, she became the youngest U.S. champion ever in 2019 at age 13. She announced a withdrawal from competitive skating in 2022 when she was 16, only to return dramatically—capturing a world title in her comeback season and later securing Olympic glory.