Back on Olympic stage, Liu goes for bold

She finishes second and shows creativity, growth as U.S. leads team figure skating.

- BY THỤC NHI NGUYEN

Photographs by ROBERT GAUTHIER Los Angeles Times ALYSA LIU competes on Friday with a routine that symbolized her growth since she was a teenage prodigy.

Alysa Liu brushed her bangs out of her eyes. She glanced down, blinked hard and collected herself. For a program as personal as this, she deserved a moment to herself before saluting the crowd at Milano Ice Skating Arena.

Liu, skating in the team competition Friday, was proud to present her short program, set to Laufey’s “Promise.” The haunting piano ballad has been one of her favorite songs since it was released in 2023, and for Liu’s return to the Olympic stage, her choice of the song and control over the choreography symbolizes how far she's come since she was a 16-year-old prodigy in Beijing who just skated as she was told.

"I have creative ideas that I got to satisfy and show here today," Liu said with a content smile after she finished second in the women's short program with 74.90 points that earned nine points for the U.S. team total.

She didn’t skate perfectly. The Oakland native made a face after leaning forward on her double axel landing. She made her coaches clench nervously when she took off slightly crooked on her tricky triple lutz-triple loop combination.