How much interest can Alysa Liu revive in figure skating in the US?

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

I was curious about how many USA women gold medalists skated at post-olympics Worlds.
Yes: Albright, Heiss, Fleming, Hamill, Yamaguchi.
No: Lipinski, Hughes.

I have to give Alysa props for skating in Prague. It must be hard to get psyched for Worlds after the emotional highs of the last month.

I think that’s a testament to her mentality. While you could see that the Olympics were mentally and emotionally draining for many, which understandably means not competing at Worlds, Liu seems to thrive off the energy of competition these days. She’s got two Olympic golds and has already won Worlds so she’s playing with house money at this point.

 

[Mathman]

Did you see that recent 'game' someone got him to play and posted, where other male skaters at the time and since were named and he only spoke if they were in his opinion stronger than him?

So, the whole clip was wo minutes of dead silence?

Yagudin was the premier skater of his era -- and not known for his modesty.

But then, too, yes, if you ask 100 old-time skating fans to name one thing that they remember about Yagudin's skating, 99 would say, "the step sequence in the Winter Short Program." Maybe 1 would mention, "didn't he also have a quad toe loop?"

 

[Mathman]

I was curious about how many USA women gold medalists skated at post-olympics Worlds.
Yes: Albright, Heiss, Fleming, Hamill, Yamaguchi.
No: Lipinski, Hughes.

I think that back in the day the norm was, of course you compete at the World Championship of your sport if you're good enough to get an invite. Why wouldn't you?

In the case of Lipinski and Hughes, they faced some blow-back about their decision. The suspicion was that their success at the Olympics was kind of flukey (others were actually better skaters), and they didn't want to risk "tarnishing" their Olympic gold medals by coming out on the short end in a rematch at Worlds.

 

[dorispulaski]

Later we learned Tara had a severe problem with her hip, so it was quite understandable she did not want to do worlds.

 

[Mathman]

Trusova was rather bratty, but I don't really hold it against her ...

Also she was told if she landed her quads she would win — but she clearly didn't understand that if you fall on your 3A in the SP and flub a 2A+3T, you give back points that your quads have accrued.

Ok, so give her a one-point deduction for brattiness.

As for the rest... come on, the girl can count and is not deficient in understanding the IJS. Yes, she could have won if she had timidly held back in the SP and only done a double Axel. But she went for the triple. I got no problem with that, even though in retrospect it didn't work out.

 

[skatingfan4ever]

Later we learned Tara had a severe problem with her hip, so it was quite understandable she did not want to do worlds.

Additionally, Tara got a terrible flu-like bug following the Olympics. Whether it was a late version of the Nagano flu or another illness, she was ill for quite a while, IIRC. She said later (during 2010 Worlds, maybe?) that she would have liked to try to defend her World title but her body wouldn't let her.

Let's not be too judgmental of skaters going/not going to Worlds, because there are always factors that we don't see/are unaware of.

 

[yfan1]

So, the whole clip was wo minutes of dead silence?

Yagudin was the premier skater of his era -- and not known for his modesty.

But then, too, yes, if you ask 100 old-time skating fans to name one thing that they remember about Yagudin's skating, 99 would say, "the step sequence in the Winter Short Program." Maybe 1 would mention, "didn't he also have a quad toe loop?"

Yagudin's personality notwithstanding, he was indeed an excellent all-around skater, and from what I understand provides great commentary about overall skating in Russian. So it's not surprising to me that he was able to give such an interview.

What's surprising to me, though, is how this is somehow supposed to be new, or why Yagudin chose to comment on the two skaters sent to these Olympics. Previously, Russia sent skaters like Tuktamysheva and the Eteri girls who also didn't have great basic skating, yet scored quite high PCS.

 

[Diana Delafield]

So, the whole clip was wo minutes of dead silence?

Yagudin was the premier skater of his era -- and not known for his modesty.

But then, too, yes, if you ask 100 old-time skating fans to name one thing that they remember about Yagudin's skating, 99 would say, "the step sequence in the Winter Short Program." Maybe 1 would mention, "didn't he also have a quad toe loop?"

I guess I qualify as "old-time". My instant memory of Yagudin if asked would be a brief shot from the 2002 Olympics, off the ice, letting out a whoop of triumph and punching the air during Plushenko's skate when he fell? made some major error anyway. His skating, I'd have to hunt down videos and rewatch. The same for Plushenko.

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

“In our country, they simply don’t teach skating. They teach you to jump, jump, and jump. Then people wonder why the component scores are so low.”​

Alexei Yagudin: “In our country, they simply don’t teach skating. They teach you to jump, jump, and jump. Then people wonder why the component scores are so low.”

Olympic champion Alexei Yagudin on the show “Katok” criticized the system of training figure skaters in Russia.

fs-gossips.com

While I'm no big Yagudin fan (as a person, yes as a skater), I'm glad SOMEONE in Russia is actually looking at the bigger picture.

In Russia, they're taught that if you do ultra-C that confers to higher components. While yes, it often does since harder difficulty is harder to perform, they lose sight of actual skating.

They were honestly spoiled in Beijing 2022 where Schcherbakova/Trusova/Valieva were showered with PCS. I mean Valieva got over 70 PCS for one of her worst freeskates. They were so pampered with being given high scores if they hit ultra-C elements (heck, as with Trusova's 35 PCS SP, even got 35 PCS for attempting and UR falling on her 3A). And in Russian Cups and whatnot, if you do your quads and have the political backing you're getting 9.00s no matter how much improvement is needed in your skating or your programs.

Russian women have in the past 12-ish years been basically entitled to getting progressively higher and higher scores for continuously clean skates... kudos for consistency but often their scores improve just because they keep skating clean or try the hardest elements, even if their skating skills don't actually improve or their program choreo doesn't change. It all started with Lipnitskaia getting her PCS pushed higher and higher so by the time of her clean team Sochi LP she was gett 69.82 ... heck, she fell in her individual LP and the PCS went UP to 70.06 PCS. Skaters like Zagitova had meteoric PCS rises because they kept going clean with the hardest content, even though they lacked refinement in their skating skills and had meh choreo/program designs (and even with a very flawed Worlds 2018 LP she got 69.87 PCS).

It's like the ISU judges in 2026 came to their senses (even though 65.71 for a relatively inexperienced, unseasoned skater like Petrosian who fell, and kinda phoned it in by looking rather "over it" throughout the remainder of the program, was still rather generous IMO). But before, it's like if you stay on your feet and do the tough tricks, you'll be given 70+ PCS, and even if you don't you could still be given 9.00's+ as long as you'd been consistent and a de facto favourite at that point.

Someone needed to tell Eteri's skaters (and the current other Russian jumping beans) to develop their actual SKATING. But I also fault the judges for incessantly giving candies to Russian skaters (and other skaters, mind you) who don't deserve it, and their coaches for instilling in them that if they hit their jumps the rest doesn't matter as much. As far as the past Russian OGMs, Anna's winning LP I would have given it about 70-71 PCS. Alina's winning LP in 2018, around 68 (not 75). Adelina in 2014 around 67 (def not 74 lol). Valieva at her best, maybe a 71-72.

The only Russian skater who when clean I think deserved to creep towards mid-70's PCS is Kostornaia, because she actually had the artistic and skating skills/edge quality and beautiful program composition to merit it... if not for the triple axels you would not have even thought she was an Eteri skater.

 

[Quadrifecta]

Also to be fair, the USA men's hockey team did not have good PR after their Olympic gold with the whole Kash Patel party and laughing at Donald Trump's joke about the women's hockey team. So I won't be surprised that the NHL viewership didn't go up, the potential new demographic that got interested in them through their Olympic journey (likely to be mostly women) simply got turned off and went away.

I think Alysa, for now, has a midas touch. I'm on Twitter (I know, LOL) and one thing I noticed is that... okay so this generation is obsessed with tracking chart positions of songs. And one of the songs Alysa skated to was "Stateside" by Pink Pantheress ft. Zara Larrson, as her gala. A fine song doing quite well by itself on the charts through stan streaming, but it basically doubled and tripled its streams since the day Alysa skated it, and is jumping up the charts. Globally, in the US itself, and in other countries. Even the fans of the singers have to admit, the number of general public exposed to this song through Alysa is more significant than they thought. This is interesting, because I don't think we have this kind of effect since the days of Michelle Kwan where new Eva Cassidy albums have to be released for people to buy after she skated to Fields of Gold.

Now if Alysa deigns to share that midas touch to figure skating, it would be interesting. The scrutiny and misinformation about her is intense, but the thing about Alysa is she came back and won things too soon for anyone in the fandom to establish themselves as her intense critics or her staunch defenders, so she, in a way, immediately got catapulted to the larger pop culture through her own personality, and not through the lens of an intense but niche fandom of an individual. She hasn't been... filtered, in a way, and simply does not have a fandom dedicated enough to correct and dictate everyone else on how to perceive her.

I think if Alysa continues competing on her own terms and having fun with skating itself, that attention on her can translate to attention on skating. Because she shows that skating is fun, entertaining, and joyful. If someone as cool as her can put a seed of thought in people's heads, that when they feel down they can just turn on skating to get their daily dose of serotonin, it may lead to something. (Even though with skating it truly either makes you deliriously happy or just exhausted from the menning lol).

I can agree that they were overscored, of course. But we also know that PCS are not only about skating skills. Skating skills are just one component.
This is not only an issue related to the Russians. The same thing happens in the men’s field. Look at Ilia Malinin. He is an incredible jumper, probably one of the best jumpers ever, but he can still receive 9 s skating skills . That shows how judges often reward jumps indirectly through PCS.
So this is not only a “Russian problem.” It is a broader judging issue.
And I want to add another point. Let’s not pretend that Alysa Liu and Amber Glenn have exceptional skating skills. In my opinion, their skating skills are not above the 7–8 range.
Meanwhile, Japanese skaters such as Kaori Sakamoto were often overshadowed during the years when the Russian jump-heavy skaters dominated. Now that those skaters are absent, we can see those skating skills more clearly.
What bothers me is the narrative that suddenly gives American skaters credit for superior skating skills when, realistically, those skills are fairly average.

 

[Mathman]

To get back to the topic of the thread, I don't think that the hoped-for bump in the popularity of figure skating in the U.S. has anything to do with skating skills or judges' over- and under-scoring. Alysa seized the day, put on a big show. Casual and seasoned fans alike, at least in the U.S., said, "Wow, looky there! Now that's what I'm talking about!"

 

[Alex Fedorov]

It's remarkable how eager everyone is to cite the words of that same Yagudin, who just recently everyone was ready to bury alive because he said something bad about LGBT. You guys are all lucky you don't understand Russian and don't hear him commentate on competitions. This man can't open his mouth without saying something stupid; his tongue runs far ahead of his thoughts. Only his longtime rival Plushenko can compete with him in this regard, and even then, not every day, only when he feels like talking.

But I already know that this quote from Yagudin will be repeated, repeated, and repeated. Somehow, it must be explained why mediocre skaters have now become champions. But no matter how many times this quote is repeated, Alisa Liu will still remain far worse than even Sasha Trusova, who truly disdained choreography. Even if Alisa begins to radiate joy more than a supernova radiate gamma rays, this will not change.

 

[Anna K.]

...realistically, those skills are fairly average.

What do you mean by "average"?

I mean, I just posted a set of official ISU references (at least they were at the date) to 'weak", "average", and "good" skating skills in the Skaters Who Improved Their Skating Skills Program Component Over Time thread. So I just wanted to ask, when you say "average", do you mean "average" in the ISU system or do mean that it is your personal impression?

 

[yfan1]

You guys are all lucky you don't understand Russian and don't hear him commentate on competitions. This man can't open his mouth without saying something stupid; his tongue runs far ahead of his thoughts.

Well you could give us examples?

 

[Anna K.]

Back to the topic...

To get back to the topic of the thread, I don't think that the hoped-for bump in the popularity of figure skating in the U.S. has anything to do with skating skills or judges' over- and under-scoring. Alysa seized the day, put on a big show. Casual and seasoned fans alike, at least in the U.S., said, "Wow, looky there! Now that's what I'm talking about!"

...YouTube keeps throwing at me Alysa Liu shorts
I'll drop here the one with the coaching stuff reaction (don't know if it has been already shared on this forum or not):

 

[Alex Fedorov]

Well you could give us examples?

I don't record Yagudin's statements, and they're usually trivial and require context to understand (i.e., he doesn't claim the earth is flat, so to speak). I can tell you that sometimes he shares commentary with Anna Shcherbakova, and you can often see her glancing at him with obvious discomfort. Early in the season, he called himself "Alyoshka-kushka" and insisted on this ridiculous nickname—and Anna's looks were especially expressive on that occasion.

Well, since this quote quotes him as saying that Russian figure skaters are only taught jumps, I can tell you that at almost every competition, he wipes tears from his eyes, passionately speaking about the extraordinary beauty of their programs and the fluidity of their skating. In other words, he's remarkably consistent and logical in his statements.

Before the women's free skate at the championships, Yagudin attended training sessions and said they had inspired great optimism in him. Why? Because he saw many good ultra-c elements. Sounds logical, right?

 

[el henry]

OK, as. the OP....

this is all very interesting folks, but I would love your opinions on my original question:

how much can Alysa's medal and performance increase interest in figure skating in the US? Whether or not deserved, whether or not comparable to others, not relevant to the query:

Can she actually increase interest in the US overall?

 

[el henry]

Alysa on the cover of Teen Vogue

Like I said earlier, I side eye social media numbers, but two million likes is a lot

 

[gsk8]

Yes definitely back to topic This was cute!

 

[gsk8]

Apparently when she landed at an airport, she was chased to her car...

Figure Skater Alysa Liu Says Someone Chased Her to Her Car in Plea For Privacy After Olympics

After Alysa Liu touched down in the U.S. following her golden experience at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, the figure skater revealed how the spotlight has continued to follow her.

www.eonline.com