Team USA figure skater Alysa Liu put American women’s skating on the map with her gold medal performance on Thursday. However, her most iconic moment came later that night at the Winter Olympics.
Liu had a marvelous free skate performance, putting on a jumping showcase with storytelling and character that no one else managed to get across.
Her score held up in a dramatic finish to a great night of skating, leading to a joyful celebration.
After she declared the winner of the women’s program, Liu and the other two skaters prepared for the medal ceremony, which requires presentations for each athlete.
When Liu’s name was called, she jumped for joy, and the image of her happiness perfectly captures her entire demeanor throughout the Olympics — simply being happy to be there.
The scene of her final jump of the night went viral on Reddit, with 56,000 upvotes on a post featured in r/olympics
In the comments, people celebrated her moment and achievement because of her infectious enthusiasm.
“This is a historic photo,” one user said.
“Not gonna lie my ankles would fold like origami if I jumped in ice skates,” a second said.
“Legendary. She’s a crowd favorite and I think a lot of us have been aware of her for approximately 10 min. Great representation of the US today,” a third wrote.
“I’m glad she got this epic jump in before getting her medal, because it might not have survived lol,” someone else commented.
What did Alysa Liu say after winning her gold medal?
Liu, in the aftermath of her victory, voiced what message she wanted to send.
I guess it’s about doing things people tell you that you shouldn’t do. I’ve been doing that a lot. But it’s also about finding a really good team. I’m so grateful — I have such a great support system around me, friends who really hold me down,” Liu said.
“No matter what happens in life, I think I have a very beautiful life story, and I feel really lucky. I’m glad that now there are a lot of people watching me, so I can show them everything I’ve come up with in my head and share my stories. I want to be a storyteller.”
