Richmond’s Liu places fourth in subdued arena
Alysa Liu, the 15yearold figure skating champion from Richmond, found herself in a new domain Friday night — trying to win her third consecutive U.S. championship in a mostly empty arena, performing in front of cardboard cutouts, not even trying her ambitious, signature jumps.
Or put another way: It was nothing like the atmosphere and vibe when she won two years ago at age 13, and again last year at 14.
“I thought it was a little funny,” Liu said of the cardboard “spectators” at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. “But the whole environment was strange. It didn’t feel like nationals.”
Liu ultimately finished fourth, in the wake of a turbulent year marked by injury, coaching changes and pandemic disruption. Bradie Tennell supplanted her as winner of the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, with Amber Glenn finishing second and Fremont native Karen Chen, representing the
Peninsula Skating Club, taking third.
This year’s event, originally scheduled for San Jose, was moved to Las Vegas because of coronavirus concerns in Santa Clara County.
Liu did not exactly bring raging momentum into the twonight competition. She struggled with a hip injury in the fall, hampering her trademark jumps — which already were complicated by a growth spurt of three inches in the past year.
Also, pandemic restrictions at Bay Area ice rinks left Liu bouncing around for most of 2020, searching for a reliable practice venue. No rinks were available last spring, so she bolted to Delaware for a few months, where she skated more often but became homesick.
Liu returned to the Bay Area and split time between rinks in Oakland and San Francisco, preparing for her run at a threepeat.
She also navigated upheaval on the coaching front after parting ways with longtime coach Laura Lipetsky last spring. Liu worked with several people at various times throughout the year, eventually leaning on Italian ice dancer Massimo Scali and fourtime U.S. champion Jeremy Abbott.
All this swirling change helps explain why Liu downplayed what she characterized as “not my best” long program Friday night. She began the session in second place and dropped two spots after posting a free skate score of 137.03.
“Now I know what I need to work on: my stamina and jumps,” Liu said. “This year was definitely full of challenges, with the virus and growing and my injury, but I’m up for any challenge.”
Liu burst onto the scene two years ago, when she became the youngest skater to win a U.S. individual title. She was only 4foot7 then and still too young to compete in the world championships, for which competitors must be 15 or older.
But she blended teenage precociousness and quiet confidence into a captivating package, memorably telling reporters after her breakthrough victory in Detroit, “I don’t skate to lose.”
This time, Liu insisted she was not preoccupied with the results. She started working with Scali in June, and he quickly reshaped her approach — introducing her to ballet, Pilates and yoga, trying to spread her wings.
By that measure, he said, this year’s nationals were a success.
“This was proof she’s not just a jumper,” Scali said. “She can be an incredible skater and artist. It takes time. It’s an aspect of skating she never explored before. … I’m really just so proud.”
Among the goals next on the horizon for Liu: qualifying for the U.S. team for next year’s Winter Olympics in Beijing.
Emilia Murdock, representing the Skating Club of San Francisco, posted 87.55 in the free skate competition Friday night. Murdock finished 14th out of 17 skaters in the field.