Olympic gold medalist Alysa Liu is taking the 2026-27 figure skating season off from competition and plans to return for the 2027-28 season.
"While people are announcing programs, imma take this time to announce that I will not be competing this season," she posted. "I always want to challenge myself in new ways, so my artistry & skating can evolve. It's important to me that my sport reflects my personal growth. I'm gonna take the time to recalibrate, fine-tune things & whatnot. So fear not, I'll be back, & in the meantime I'll be rooting for my teammates near & far. See yall soon!!"
In an interview, Liu said she plans to continue training during her break and work on her craft — "overall artistry, spins, jumps, everything."
"I really want to improve my skating, and I wanted to take the time to do that for myself and just to evolve," she said, "and then I'll be back after that is done. But I'll still be cheering on all my competitors and my teammates, and I'm really excited."
She added, "Logically and emotionally and physically, this just makes the most sense. I will miss seeing the international competitors at all the international (competitions), but there will be more, so it's fine."

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