Very few people retire at the age of 16. Then again, few people have careers with as many twists as American figure skater Alysa Liu.
After becoming the youngest U.S. women's champion in history at age 13, the phenom shocked the skating world when she abruptly quit a few years later.
Now 20 years old, Alysa is back and a favorite to win gold at the Winter Olympics next month.
Her return to the sport was almost as surprising as her departure from it. No one knew what to expect when she started training again.
But somehow, on a Friday night this past March in Boston, Alysa Liu was leading at the World Championships with one performance to go.
She was the final skater of the night. A world title hung in the balance.
Within seconds it was clear she was up to the moment. As Donna Summer's disco beat pulsated, Alysa Liu blissfully dashed around the ice, weaving intricate jump combinations with artistic flair. The sold-out crowd in Boston roared its approval.
Alysa Liu: In my spin, right before I hit my ending pose, I saw everybody already standing up. Oh my God. I was like, "This is wild."
Figure skater Alysa Liu
60 Minutes
Alysa Liu: That was the most hype I've ever felt in my entire life. It's a crazy sensation.
Alysa Liu had seized the night. She was the world champion.
Her coaches Phillip DiGuglielmo and Massimo Scali were overjoyed.
Sharyn Alfonsi: Did you guys see this coming?
Phillip DiGuglielmo: No.
Massimo Scali: No.
Phillip DiGuglielmo: No
Massimo Scali: A year after she stepped back on the ice she was at the top--
Sharyn Alfonsi: It's unheard of.
Phillip DiGuglielmo: In our sport it is.
Massimo Scali: It is.
Unheard of in women's figure skating because Liu has come back, now, as a grown woman: a little edgier, bleached hair and more piercings, but also a full seven inches taller than when she first broke through by winning the 2019 U.S. championship at 13. She was still a child. The 4-foot-7 dynamo needed a lift to ascend to the top of the podium. Liu won another national title at age 14 and was hailed as the great American hope in figure skating.
Alysa Liu: And I skated every day when I was, like, 13, 14. So it was a very abnormal childhood.
She says coaches told her when to practice, what to wear, which music to skate to, even how much to eat.
Sharyn Alfonsi: Was it a job?
Alysa Liu: Yes, yeah. Especially as a kid, you know, you don't really know what you want. Skating feels more like a responsibility, or a burden even.
Sharyn Alfonsi: Like, "This is what I have to do?"
Alysa Liu: Yeah.
It was Alysa's father who was the engine of ambition.
Sharyn Alfonsi: He was really in your business when you were younger…
Alysa Liu: Oh, yeah. I mean, it was basically his business. It wasn't even really mine.
Arthur Liu had no skating background. In his native China, he had organized demonstrations during the time of the Tiananmen Square protests and was forced to flee. He came to America with nothing. Arthur built a law practice and a family in the Bay Area. A single dad, he had five kids with the help of surrogates. Alysa was his oldest child. And her figure skating career became his second full-time job.
Arthur Liu
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Arthur Liu: I took her everywhere. I took her to Japan to learn from the top coaches there. I took her to Canada.
Sharyn Alfonsi: How much do you think you spent to help her become the figure skater that she is?
Arthur Liu: I would say half a million to a million dollars.
Sharyn Alfonsi: Arthur!
Arthur Liu: I, I spared, I spared no money, no time just in…
Sharyn Alfonsi: Why?
Arthur Liu: I just saw the talent.
With so much at stake, Arthur began cycling and recycling through coaches.
Sharyn Alfonsi: How many times did he fire you?
Massimo Scali: Me once.
Phillip DiGuglielmo: I think three times.
Sharyn Alfonsi: Three times?
Phillip DiGuglielmo: Once in person, two via text, I think. Yeah. "Your services are no longer needed."
Some coaches tried to keep Arthur away from the rink. But one afternoon, he just couldn't help himself.
Arthur Liu: Just one time, I sneaked into the ice rink.
Sharyn Alfonsi: Why?
Arthur Liu: Big jacket, sunglasses, head covered. Entered the ice rink from the back. Not from the front. So I was sitting there - up in the bleachers - watching. And I didn't like what I saw. Standing around for 20 minutes. Skated around the rink a few times. That's where my money was going?
Sharyn Alfonsi: And how did that go down?
Arthur Liu: We stopped working with that coach.
Sharyn Alfonsi: These stories…
Arthur Liu: Yes.
Sharyn Alfonsi: …make it sound like you were like this tiger dad who was all over her career and pushing her. Is that fair?
Arthur Liu: Not quite. Not quite. I was…laissez-faire. Yes.
Sharyn Alfonsi: A laissez-faire dad doesn't bring a radar gun to the skating rink.
Arthur Liu: Well, I mean, you know, the radar gun is to measure her speed.
Alysa says everything changed when the pandemic hit in 2020. Her rink in Oakland closed, allowing her to catch her breath.
Alysa Liu
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Alysa Liu: I was like, "Wow. This is what a break feels like." And then I was like, "I really like not skating."
Sharyn Alfonsi: The pandemic hits. Most people are like, "Oh, this is such a bummer…."
Alysa Liu: Honestly, I was hoping, like the rinks wouldn't open.
When rinks did open, Alysa reluctantly returned to the ice. She made the 2022 U.S. Olympic team, finishing sixth in Beijing. But she'd had it with figure skating
Alysa Liu: And then I was like, "Yeah, I'm calling quits right now."
She did it on Instagram, catching the sport by surprise.
Sharyn Alfonsi: So tell me about the decision to retire.
Alysa Liu: It was a crucial time in my life. I was 16 and college was coming up. Like, I wanted to do so much. I went to Nepal and I trekked to Everest Base Camp. Me and my friends would do tons of road trips. Yeah. I mean, I was really just livin' it up. I would say it was my best life.
Sharyn Alfonsi: And at any point are you like, "Gosh, I kinda miss skating?"
Alysa Liu: No.
Sharyn Alfonsi: Not at all? You're not thinking about it all?
Alysa Liu: No, not a thought. I deleted my Instagram so I wouldn't see any skating. No one ever brought it up. So I never even had the chance to think about it.
But nearly two years into her self-imposed exile, she secretly laced up her skates.
Sharyn Alfonsi: And did you tell your family you were puttin' your skates back on?
Alysa Liu: I mean I wasn't planning to return to competition at this point. I just wanted quick hits of dopamine, basically.
Soon she wanted more. She pestered one of her many former coaches, Phillip DiGuglielmo.
Alysa Liu: And so I call up Phillip, and I tell him like, "Hey, I think I want to go back to skating."
Phillip DiGuglielmo: And I said, "Oh, that's fun." I thought, I thought, like, "Oh, you wanna do collegiate competitions." And she goes, "No, I wanna compete again." And I said, "Let me call you back." I go and I grab a bottle of red wine, and I open that bottle, and I pour myself a really big glass.
Sharyn Alfonsi: And are you thinking, "This is a terrible idea?"
Phillip DiGuglielmo: "This is a terrible idea. Terrible idea." Two and a half hours later of conversation with me trying to talk her out of it. And everything I said, like, oh, I said, you know "Other people have tried this, and it was hard because they're older." She goes, "I'm only 18."
Alysa made it clear on the Facetime call. If she came back, she would be in charge going forward.
Alysa Liu: I get to pick my own program music. I get to help with the creative process of the program. If I feel like I'm skating too much, I'll back down. If I feel like I'm not skating enough I'll ramp it up. No one's gonna starve me or tell me what I can and can't eat.
Phillip DiGuglielmo agreed with Alysa's conditions, and brought back choreographer Massimo Scali.
60 Minutes
Alysa Liu: I got my team. I told U.S. Figure Skating. And then I told my dad.
Sharyn Alfonsi: And how did Dad react when you told him that?
Alysa Liu: I mean, he was really happy. He's a great father, you know? I just didn't want him to be as invested in it as he was before.
Sharyn Alfonsi: When she said she didn't want you on the team anymore, were you hurt?
Arthur Liu: A little bit. A little bit. It's like I, I brought you up to U.S.– two U.S. national titles.
Sharyn Alfonsi: Do you think Alysa's a little bit of a rebel?
Arthur Liu: Yes
Sharyn Alfonsi: Like her father?
Arthur Liu: I think so. I really think so. She's a very free spirit, like me, in many ways.
Sharyn Alfonsi: God has a sense of humor, right?
Arthur Liu: Yes. Absolutely.
In June 2024, Alysa started training again full time at her home rink, the Oakland Ice Center. The idea was to take it slowly, to see where her comeback might lead, if anywhere. At first, she was out of shape.
Sharyn Alfonsi: When you got back on the ice, how long did you think it would take you to be a contender for a world championship?
Alysa Liu: Oh, never. I never even considered that…
Sharyn Alfonsi: That was not the plan?
Alysa Liu: No
But her coaches saw the old magic reappear.
Phillip DiGuglielmo: The jumps came back like that…
Massimo Scali: Quickly.
Sharyn Alfonsi: How amazing is that?
Massimo Scali: Oh, incredible.
Phillip DiGuglielmo: And there was something different about the way she moved her body that was no longer a child.
Sharyn Alfonsi: With her in charge, is she a better skater?
Phillip DiGuglielmo: Oh, yeah…
Massimo Scali: 100%
Sharyn Alfonsi: What do you see?
Phillip DiGuglielmo: For many years she was dropped off at the rink. She was told what to do. Now she comes in, and it is all collaborative.
Alysa Liu
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Her attachment to her coaches can be literal. This harness and what looks like a fishing pole help reel her in before she falls. But eventually they have to let her go…
This is what it takes to become a champion: constant pounding in pursuit of perfection.
Sharyn Alfonsi: I saw that when you were training, and they're like, "Oh, that's good. You're like, "One more. One more--"
Alysa Liu: Yeah. Yeah, yeah.
Sharyn Alfonsi: You don't need somebody pushing you.
Alysa Liu: No. I have my own, like, determination. My determination is like up there.
Sharyn Alfonsi: You're pretty scrappy.
Alysa Liu: I love struggling, actually.
Sharyn Alfonsi: You do--
Alysa Liu: Yeah. It makes me feel alive.
Skating isn't Alysa Liu's entire life anymore. She traded her ice princess tiara for a little freedom and room for expression.
What's unique about Alysa's skating is her blend of jumping ability and alluring movement.
Sharyn Alfonsi: Do you view yourself as an athlete or an artist?
Alysa Liu: An artist actually. But I-- I love being an athlete too. I think it's really cool. I view competitions more as, like-- a stage for performing.
There will be no bigger stage than next month's Winter Olympics in Italy, where Alysa will be a gold medal favorite. No American woman has won an Olympic figure skating singles title in 24 years.
Sharyn Alfonsi: Do you feel any kind of pressure that, "Now I've gotta do the Olympics, and I need to win gold"?
Alysa Liu: No. Actually I'm really excited, because my goal honestly is just to hype people up, give them an experience, whether it's negative or positive. As long as people are feelin' some strong emotions and anticipation, I'm fine with that.
Produced by Draggan Mihailovich and Nathalie Sommer. Associate producer, Emily Cameron. Broadcast associate, Erin DuCharme. Edited by Warren Lustig.
