The "Cool-Girl" Of the 2026 Olympics: Alysa Liu
As a non-active sports watcher, there's something strangely addicting about The Olympics that even I can’t deny. I’ll honestly forget the institution exists entirely until the two-year mark sneaks up on me. Suddenly, I’m locked into an endless loop of bobsledding videos, passionately rooting for someone I learned about 12 minutes ago.
Source: Unsplash
This year has been no different. But instead of obsessing over medal counts or record-breaking performances, I’ve found myself captivated by something else entirely: the Team USA figure skater Alysa Liu and her essence of unapologetic cool.
Alysa Liu, a 20-year-old figure skater from California, feels like the alternative girl dropped into the most traditional arena in sports. The first thing about her that caught my eye, and is honestly pretty hard to miss, was her halo-striped hair. Even from the furthest seat of the ice arena, anyone can see the brunette and bleached blonde stripes, slicing across the ice as she skates. And her smiley piercing—that is only exposed when her smile is beaming after a win—only sharpens the look. None of it is part of her costume either; it’s just her.
Self-expression isn't new in figure skating, but Liu’s feels different. It’s less polished or manufactured. There’s absolutely no sense that her style was curated to make her relatable; it feels truly lived in and authentic. Showing off her life outside of training and competing.
Now, there’s nothing inherently groundbreaking about a 20-year-old with cool hair and piercings. What is rare is seeing someone who looks like the girl you would nervously admire in class, also stand on Olympic ice. Someone who wears outfits you could find in your closet, or has the piercing your friend has, also simultaneously being an Olympic Gold Medalist.
FloweringDagwood. (2025). Alysa Liu performs during the women’s free skate at the 2025 World Figure Skating Championships.
Source: Wikimedia Commons.
What truly separates Liu isn’t her aesthetic, but her attitude and relationship towards skating itself.
Source: Wikimedia Commons.
Though my knowledge of figure skating is limited, I, like most of us, can recognize how intense and technical the sport is.
Alysa Liu sees skating in a separate light. She stresses less on the end result, the win, and the technicalities, and focuses on the artistry of her sport. Luckily for her, she's proficient enough that she can get on the ice feeling free, perform as an artist, and still win based on her skill. She glides and flips on the ice as if it’s not something practiced, but something programmed into her brain.
Here is where a new aspect of cool comes to play. Imagine being confident enough in your abilities, that the concept of competition matters less than your personal love for sport. To Alysa Liu, figure skating is about the artistry rather than the athleticism, and her nonchalance towards the entire idea makes her skills so much more impressive.
When asked in a recent interview how it felt to be an Olympic gold medalist, the humble Liu expressed that what mattered to her was her own journey and the performances she and her team gave. Her true love is not for winning, but for practicing and showing the world her hard work.
Liu’s journey is unique. She has been skating since she was five. At 12 she became the youngest skater in history to land a triple axel while performing in an international competition. She was the youngest woman to win a US national figure skating championship at age 13. And in 2022, she placed sixth at the Beijing Olympics and landed a bronze medal at the World Championships, both at age 16.
Source: Unsplash
Shortly after this, Liu retired due to burnout. She said that she had been skating and only skating from ages 5-16 and hadn't experienced a normal teenage life. She claimed a lot of it felt out of her control as well, being dressed in things she didn’t want to wear, skating to music she didn’t like, and even at one point living alone just to be able to train. She cared more about human connection and being a normal teen, than pushing herself to new levels of skating and training.
She actually retired via Instagram post with a caption that began with “Heyyyyyy”, which is entirely Gen-Z and unserious. This move completely aligning with the authentic and carefree persona that she holds.
After two years of retirement, she began to miss the adrenaline of performing and competing and decided to jump back in, but this time for herself, under her conditions.
It is easy to see the control is in her hands now.Not just by her performances to Lady Gaga songs, but because of the attitude she holds towards the sport.
I think this is why Liu feels so fresh and different, not because she wins, but because she isn't consumed by winning. The Olympics thrive on structure and tradition, and Liu disrupts that world with her authenticity. Liu displays the real art in performance and the magic that happens when an athlete competes for themselves, and not for validation.
Source: Unsplash
So, the next time you find yourself scrolling through Olympics clips at 2 a.m., look past the medal count and focus on the cool-girl of the 2026 Olympics: Alysa Liu.