After her booming rise to stardom and the massive fan following that followed her historic double-gold win at the 2026 Winter Olympics last month, Alysa Liu opened up about the dark side of the otherwise glitzy world of figure skating.
Liu made history at the age of 13 when she became the youngest woman to win the United States Figure Skating Championships in 2019, but that victory came with a massive cost for the young athlete.
Highlights
- Olympic champion Alysa Liu opened up about a troubling chapter of her childhood training, describing the environment as “bad,” which she says she has largely “blocked out.”
- The 20-year-old skater revealed how the intense pressure left her in a constant “fight-or-flight” state as a teenager, sparking strong reactions from fans online.
- Liu’s candid admission surfaced just as her sudden withdrawal from the upcoming World Championships made headlines, fueling debate about the dark realities behind young athletic prodigies.
In a Rolling Stone interview published on Saturday, March 7, the now 20-year-old got candid about the intense pressures she faced during her childhood training and how it took a massive toll on her mental well-being.
“Behind almost everybody great is a story like this, and it's terrible…” reacted one social media user.
2026 Winter Olympics double gold medalist Alysa Liu recently got candid about the dark side of being a young athlete
Image credits: Rolling Stone
Alysa Liu won the gold medal in both the women’s singles and team figure skating events at the 2026 Winter Olympics, ending a 24-year drought for American women in the sport.
But even as a child star, Alysa has had one of the most unconventional and record-breaking careers in figure skating history, often dubbed a “child prodigy.”
At 13, she broke Tara Lipinski's 22-year-old record as the youngest U.S. champion.
Image credits: Rolling Stone
Then, in 2019 during the Junior Grand Prix, Liu became the first woman to land a triple Axel and a quadruple jump in the same program.
Her achievements at such a young age made her an immediate media sensation at the time and catapulted her into the national spotlight.
Alysa became a sought-after guest for major networks, notably even appearing on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and was branded as the "future of American skating.”
Image credits: Rolling Stone
The unexpected attention created immense pressure on Liu’s young teenage mind and even affected her extreme training regimen.
In her recent Rolling Stone interview with Alex Morris, Liu admitted she has "blocked out" large portions of her childhood fame because the training environment was so "bad.”
The 20-year-old revealed that she had “blocked out” the days of her childhood training because it “was so bad”
Image credits: Erin Clark/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
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She said, “Yeah. I blocked them out. Probably because [that time in my life] was so bad, I just didn’t want to remember it.”
The Olympic star described being in a constant state of "fight-or-flight" as a young teenager due to strict coaching and immense pressure.
Liu continued, “Practice was so serious. I would cry after falling on every jump. The team I had around me was so strict. I was in fight-or-flight mode all the time. I didn’t enjoy being at the rink from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day, but I skated every day because I was scared that I would lose all my jumps and lose my abilities if I took a day off.”
Image credits: Rolling Stone
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"And [since] every day was the same, I can’t recall certain years or stuff like that. I missed birthdays and holidays, so that also makes the timeline a little bit sketchy for me. There are no pinpoints."
Several social media users expressed their sympathies and concerns about the challenges Alysa faced as a child.
One netizen wrote, “She was a CHILD. I can't believe people have more understanding for circus animals than they do for children.”
Image credits: Nathan Congleton/NBCU Photo Bank/Getty Images
Another user commented, “Burnout S**ks! thousands of kids never stay with it when they are pushed 24/7 365.”
“It’s a sad situation for a lot of people, and it’s certainly trauma-inducing; it’s why a lot of people have repressed childhood memories and have to ultimately search within themselves to be able to heal that trauma and conquer those shadows,” expressed a third person.
Many online users were enraged over Alysa’s confession as they labelled the conditions “child ab*se” and her treatment as that of “a slave”
Image credits: Rolling Stone
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“I’m proud of you, Alysa, for doing the work to heal your inner child and being the version of yourself that your younger self not only would look up to but also someone your younger self would have looked to for protection and guidance…”
The 20-year-old also highlighted the extreme training regimen she underwent as a young star.
When the interviewer asked her, “You were literally told like, you can’t drink water, you can’t… Everything was monitored. Everything was controlled,” Alysa confirmed it, admitting that it was done to help her maintain a low weight.
Image credits: Bruce Glikas/WireImage
Liu shared how even water, with no calories, was off the table, saying, “Yes, yeah! It was crazy because like, they were like ‘Water weight, you shouldn’t drink water,’ You should gargle it. It’s crazy. It’s insane.”
Alysa’s confessions about her tough childhood have gained significant attention among her fans, especially after news of her withdrawal from the 2026 World Figure Skating Championships in Prague, Czech Republic, set to begin on March 24, became public.
Image credits: strappyshoe
The International Skating Union (ISU) had listed her name as a participant in the competition in mid-January, and even after the Olympics final on February 26, the organization published the official entry list, which still included Liu as a headliner alongside teammates Amber Glenn and Isabeau Levito.
However, last week, an updated entry list showed that Liu had been replaced by 19-year-old Sarah Everhardt, who will be making her debut at the upcoming World Championships.
Liu confirmed that “everything was monitored. Everything was controlled” by her trainers while she was training as a young figure skating star
Image credits: alysaxliu
Liu confirmed her withdrawal on Instagram on Sunday, March 8, stating that she needed time to focus on "exciting things" happening since her return from Milan after the Winter Games.
She wrote, “Hellooo, as some of y’all already know, I withdrew from Worlds. “There’s been a lot of exciting things happening since my return from Milan, so I’m taking some time for that… see y’all next season!!”
Image credits: alysaxliu
While her abrupt departure from Worlds surprised many, Alysa has a history of stepping back from the sport following major events.
She stepped away and briefly retired from figure skating at age 16 after the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing to “live like a normal teenage girl.”
However, she made her comeback in 2024 with strict boundaries, including full autonomy over her diet and training.
As she took control of her “own program music” and the “creative process of the program,” saying, “No one’s gonna starve me or tell me what I can and can’t eat,” the shift worked in her favor, as Alysa went on to win gold at the 2025 World Figure Skating Championships, which also paved the way for her historic Olympic victory.
“The inhumane conditions she was put under. She had every right to quit and only come back on her own terms. She's a human, not a robot,” wrote one netizen
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