On Thursday, February 19, following her victory in the women’s figure skating singles event at the 2026 Milan Winter Olympics, 20-year-old American figure skater Alysa Liu became the center of media attention. Her father, Arthur Liu (also known as Liu Chun-guo), revealed his mixed emotions to the media.
Behind the glory, Arthur Liu reflected on past events that caused his daughter immense distress. In an exclusive interview with “USA Today”, he confessed that his excessive meddling almost destroyed her talent. He deeply regretted a coach adjustment many years ago that made his daughter “hate figure skating” and led her to retire at the age of 16.
“In retrospect, I feel I made a mistake,” Liu Chun said. During that period, Alysa “began to hate things like figure skating, until she eventually gave it up.” Furthermore, he regretted sending Alysa alone to train in Colorado Springs before the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, as he was busy with his law firm and taking care of their other four children, unable to be by her side.
“She was very sad and homesick at that time,” he said. “I thought she could tough it out like I did when I attended boarding school, but I didn’t realize how much pain she was in.” Alysa Liu only finished sixth in that Winter Olympics and then fell into silence.
At the age of 18, Alysa Liu decided to return to the ice rink, but this time she set conditions for her father: “I’m coming back, but I will do it my way.”
As a single father, Arthur Liu chose to respect and let go. He exited his daughter’s management team and no longer interfered in any specific affairs.
“Although it was a bit heartbreaking to hear her wanting independence, that was my original intention,” Liu Chun said. “I have fulfilled my duty to her, and now I need to focus on the other four children.”
On the night of the free skate final, Liu Chun sat in the second row of the stands at the Milan Ice Rink with his four children. Alysa Liu noticed her family in the audience during warm-ups and made a heart gesture towards them.
That night, Alysa Liu performed flawlessly, ultimately surpassing Japanese stars Ami Naka and Kaori Sakamoto to become the first American female figure skating champion at the Olympics since 2002. Liu Chun expressed that what makes him happiest now is not the medal, but seeing his daughter rediscover the pure joy she had playing on the ice rink in her childhood.
Due to his participation in the 1989 Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests, Liu Chun was wanted by the Chinese government and subsequently fled to the United States to avoid the Communist regime. In an interview with NTD Television, a sister media outlet of Epoch Times, in Milan, he mentioned that due to concerns about China’s human rights record, he would not allow his daughter to represent China in competitions.
“She is truly happy to see the audience cheering for her,” Liu Chun sighed. “She just wants to put on a spectacular performance.”