Richmond’s Liu adjusts to life as U.S. national champ
Richmond skater, who won U.S. title, determined to add to her repertoire
OAKLAND » Alysa Liu screamed the first time she landed a vaunted triple axel jump.
The Richmond girl created a heck of a lot more commotion last week in Detroit after a historic performance that has turned America on its head.
The newly crowned ice queen continued a whirlwind media tour Thursday at the Oakland Ice Center where she first stepped onto the rink seven years ago. Fresh from appearances on the Today show and goofing with Jimmy Fallon on the Tonight Show, the 13-yearold kid met with Bay Area reporters to recount the phenomenal performance that made her the youngest U.S. champion in history.
Before she became the most talked about young American skater since Michelle Kwan, Alysa sat down with the Bay Area News Group to explain her technically advanced skating skills that include 3½ rotation axel jumps that demand a forward take-off.
“It is really hard to stay on your edge on the takeoff,” the homeschooled ninth-grader said. “You can slip on the takeoff and that messes up the whole jump. You have to have a very precise and perfect takeoff in order to even attempt the jump. The rotation is pretty easy. Landing is a bit hard.” For others. Liu, the oldest of five children conceived with egg donors through two surrogate mothers, completed 11 spectacular jumps in a winning free skate last Friday. The 4-foot-7 girl takes off like a finely-tuned drone and lands like a soft cloud.
What led to trying those heavenly axels?
“You always go for one more jump once you get one,” she said before the championships. “Once I got my triple lutz, I said, OK, ‘I need to improve.’ Now I have the axel so after nationals, I’ll try my quads.”
That’s right. For all the fireworks she lit over her triple axels, Liu and coach Laura Lipetsky aren’t stopping now. Next on the ifthey- can- do-it-so- can-I list are quadruple jumps. Alysa wants to match what Russian and Japanese skaters are achieving.
Lipetsky, a former national- class skater who graduated from UC Berkeley, has challenged her skater this way from the start.
The idea is to keep it fun and fresh. After all, Liu spends eight hours a day at the ice center. She not only does two or three training sessions but finds quiet places to do schoolwork. The day ends with eating in the car on the commute home with her father, an Oakland lawyer.
Once the attention dies, Liu will return to her routine that includes training with best friend Allison Zheng of Fremont, who placed sixth in the novice division at the championships.
Liu cannot compete at the 2019 World Championships in Japan because she is too young to even skate in international junior events.
The United States is left sending 2018 champion Bradie Tennell, who was second in Detroit, and Mariah Bell, who was third. Tennell was sixth at the World Championships last year while Bell finished 12th. Two-time Olympian Mirai Nagasu was 10th. The Americans’ poor performance resulted in losing one berth for the upcoming competition.
It’s why U. S. skating officials and fans are impatient to get Liu on the world stage. But the girls’ first senior international competition won’t be until 2022, the year of the Beijing Games.
Liu doesn’t seem to care about the misfortune of being born five weeks after the July 1 age cutoff. Why? “Because I get more practice before competing against everyone,” she said.
Stay tuned.