Alysa Liu Becomes First American Women's Figure Skating World Champion In Nearly 20 Years
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On March 28, 2025, 19-year-old Alysa Liu became the first American woman to win the ISU World Figure Skating Championships in nearly 20 years. The last American woman to claim this title was Kimmie Meissner, who won in 2006.
Liu led the competition from the start with an outstanding short program. Her free skate, set to Donna Summer's rendition of "MacArthur Park," featured seven triple jumps and two double axels. This routine earned her a career-high score of 148.39, securing the title. Liu defeated three-time defending champion Kaori Sakamoto, who had won in 2022, 2023, and 2024.
"It means so much to me and everything I've been through," Liu said after the event. "My last skating experience, my time away and this time around — I'm so happy, I guess. I'm mostly glad I could put out two of my best performances."
Liu rose to fame in 2019 when she became the youngest US national champion at age 13. She repeated the feat in 2020 and made more history as the first American woman to land a quadruple jump in competition. This is one of the sport’s most difficult elements. Two years later, she became the youngest athlete to join Team USA for the 2022 Beijing Olympics, finishing sixth. That same year, Liu earned a bronze medal at the World Championships.
After the competition, Liu, 16 then, decided to hang up her skates. The sport had lost the joy it once brought her, and competing had started to feel more like a job. She shifted her focus to college life, studying psychology at UCLA and exploring her interests in fashion and photography.
A family ski trip in 2024 reminded Liu of the thrill she had once felt on the ice. She announced her return that March and began training with her former coach, Phillip DiGuglielmo. Liu entered the CS Budapest Challenger Series in October — and won. A few months later, she took silver at the US Figure Skating Championships, and now the gold at the World Championships. Her hard work is paying off. Most importantly, Liu is enjoying the sport again.
"The new plan," says DiGuglielmo, "is having an athlete who has a life—and then skates."
Resources: NPR.org, NBCarea.com, SI.com
