MILAN — Early in her short program performance, Alysa Liu didn’t quite land her double Axel, and she made a face because she immediately knew it.
“I can’t believe I did that,” Liu said. “Oopsies,” she thought to herself.
A mistake, but hardly enough to rattle the reigning world champion.
“One jump landing won’t mean the next few will be the same,” Liu said.
It proved true, as Liu was poised the rest of the way to deliver a solid performance, capping off the first day of the figure skating team event at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Her emotional routine to Laufey’s ‘Promise’ earned her a score of 74.90, second to Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto with a 78.88 score.
After that double Axel, Liu nailed her back-to-back triple Lutz and triple loop. Fellow American skater Amber Glenn was one of the several teammates near the ice to watch. She threw her head back and put her hand on her chest, seemingly relieved and proud Liu stuck the landings.
When Liu finished her program, the crowd showered her with cheers and her teammates, including Glenn, Ilia Malinin and Andrew Torgashev, waved their American flags and they rooted her on.
“I feel hype. Listen, I feel really good right now,” Liu said about her initial reaction to the performance, although she said she’ll have to watch it to get her true feelings.
It helps when it’s a program to a song that is so personal to Liu. She mentioned it always “does something to me” and helps her dive deep into the emotions she portrays on the ice.
With the team event nearly halfway complete, Team USA sits in first place in the standings with 25 points. Japan is second with 23 points and Italy is in third with 22. Nine of those points came from Liu, with Madison Chock and Evan Bates capturing the full 10 in the ice dance rhythm dance. The pairs team of Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea got six in their short program.
The team event also serves as a great indicator for where skaters line up in their discipline. It’s only the short program, but Liu is skating at a podium-worthy level, and capable of winning gold.
She didn’t realize it initially, but it could be some help for the 20-year-old when it’s time to get back on the ice again.
“Lowkey it did,” Liu said.