Olympian Alysa Liu Has One Secret to Performing Under Pressure

BY AVA LEVINSON, NEWS WRITER

(Photo by Jamie Squire via Getty Images)

Alysa Liu, the 20-year-old figure skater who won gold at the Olympics last month, stunned the world with her calm, joyful disposition. The mindset she’s cultivated is a lesson in performing under pressure. 

When she appeared on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen, the host asked Liu what we were all thinking: “How were you so zen-ed out? And also, you looked like you were having so much fun!”

“I love making mistakes, I love falling,” Liu said. “I also love landing and doing really well, so I feel like no matter what the outcome was I was going to be cool with it.”

But Liu hasn’t always been so carefree. In fact, after competing at the 2022 Beijing Olympics at age 16, she retired her skates because of burnout. Now that she’s back on the ice, she’s wholly focused on enjoying the moment.

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Liu told The Today Show that she doesn’t need a pep talk before getting on the ice. 

“I tell myself to breathe, because breathing is so important throughout the program because we’re so stamina-based,” she said. “I’m feeling the energy of the audience, so I don’t really need to tell myself much more.”

She told Cohen that she wasn’t focused on whether her performance would win her gold.

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