When national champion Alysa Liu abruptly quit figure skating, it shocked the sport.
But when she returned a few years later and became a world champion, it was even more surprising.
"It's unheard of," said Olympic men's skating gold medalist Brian Boitano. "It's the biggest comeback in sports history."
Even Liu admits she did not see it coming.
"I didn't, you know, foresee winning Worlds, or really winning any competition," she said.
Liu faced an uphill battle when she returned to the ice full time in June 2024 after two years off. She was out of shape, and her body had changed.
Learning the jumps "was so easy for her as a child," Boitano said. "She didn't even think about it. She just did it."
But now with her new body, he said, it was hard work to learn those jumps again. "There were a lot of days that she was crying center ice."
As a young teen, Liu was breaking records on the ice.
At 12, she was the youngest skater in history to land a triple axel in an international competition. Then, a year later in 2019, she became the youngest U.S. women's champion in history. She won the title again in 2020.
Boitano said Liu was exceptional in her early years, performing jumps no other skater could execute at the time.
When Liu unexpectedly quit at 16, she announced her retirement on Instagram, deleted the social media app, and stepped away from the sport. She spent her time traveling and hanging out with friends. She told 60 Minutes she was "really just living it up."
But Liu's competitive spark and her love of skating hadn't entirely disappeared, so she decided to lace up her skates again.
Boitano said she has changed completely as a figure skater – both physically and mentally.
"Once she got her woman's body, she didn't do all those hard things anymore. But she came down to a level where she was competing with the same technical arsenal that everybody else was," explained Boitano.
Boitano said as a child, Liu was more of a technician without much style. Now, he said, stylistically she is "definitely one of the best."
"There's a depth to her movement," he noted. "It's fluid and graceful and strong."
Liu, now 20, became more independent. Unlike her early figure skating career, she made it clear to her coaches: she was now in charge.
Her choreographer, Massimo Scali, said Liu's skating before and after her retirement is like that of two different skaters. Before, she was "not interested in the process at all." Now, she is deeply invested.
Scali said at one time he chose her skating music. Now, Liu prefers to make those decisions herself.
Her coach, Phillip DiGuglielmo, said this shift made her a better skater.
"For many years, she was dropped off at the rink. She was told what to do," explained DiGuglielmo.
"Now she comes in, and it is all collaborative."
"I think the maturity comes out in the movement of the body in the choreography," he added.
Liu said her focus now is on the art of skating, not winning.
"I kind of skated for other people. And I was a kid, and all these adults were telling me what I had to do. So, I kind of just followed suit. But now, like, I don't care, but it's because I value, I guess, the art of skating so much more," said Liu.
Liu is a gold medal favorite at next month's Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy.
The video above was produced by Janelle Davis and was edited by Scott Rosann.
Figure skater Alysa Liu's epic comeback
Figure skater Alysa Liu's epic comeback
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