OT: Alysa Liu Skating Gold - Cure For Sports World Ills

Bueller

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14 year old Liu won US Championships in 2019 and 2020. Covid closed the rinks and she discovered she was happy - hoped they stayed closed. She had a tiger dad (who escaped China after promoting Tiananmen Square protests) who was taking the joy away. China tried to recruit Liu for 2022 Olympics - Allyssa and her father said "no" and CCP sent spies. Alysa decided to retire and be a regular kid (she loved it).

Liu put skates on after 2 years of inaction and discovered she liked skating again. She didn't expect to win anything but by 2025 she was World Champion. At the 2026 Olympic she was just enjoying skating again and not fixated to an outcome. She says she mostly enjoys the skating for herself and others and doesn't worry about the placements. Sounds like the ordinary BS that athletes say but no this kid means it. She whirls around the ice like a happy puppy and is constantly smiling (off ice too - she's a smile machine). The audiences love her and her competition loves her. Standing ovations from audiences -competitors crying on her shoulder. Never saw anything like her.

With all the NIL grasping , betting scandals, doping scandals, parents driving kids and coaches crazy , Alysa Liu shows-up like a bolt from another dimension. Her skate is fun to watch and her story has a lot of enlightenment. Can't think of another Olympian like her.




Check her out with Japanese skaters she beat at 4:00

 
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newell138

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14 year old Liu won US Championships in 2019 and 2020. Covid closed the rinks and she discovered she was happy - hoped they stayed closed. She had a tiger dad (who escaped China after promoting Tiananmen Square protests) who was taking the joy away. China tried to recruit Liu for 2022 Olympics - Allyssa and her father said "no" and CCP sent spies. Alysa decided to retire and be a regular kid (she loved it).

Liu put skates on after 2 years of inaction and discovered she liked skating again. She didn't expect to win anything but by 2025 she was World Champion. At the 2026 Olympic she was just enjoying skating again and not fixated to an outcome. She says she mostly enjoys the skating for herself and others and doesn't worry about the placements. Sounds like the ordinary BS that athletes say but no this kid means it. She whirls around the ice like a happy puppy and is constantly smiling (off ice too - she's a smile machine). The audiences love her and her competition loves her. Standing ovations from audiences -competitors crying on her shoulder. Never saw anything like her.

With all the NIL grasping , betting scandals, doping scandals, parents driving kids and coaches crazy , Alysa Liu shows-up like a bolt from another dimension. Her skate is fun to watch and her story has a lot of enlightenment. Can't think of another Olympian like her.




Check her out with Japanese skaters she beat at 4:00


I had heard people talking about her performance so I watched earlier on you tube It really was spectacular and she looked so relaxed and happy. Pure joy coming off the ice to her coaches
 

Scarlet4Shore

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Watched both of her skates. Looked so light as she moved around the ice. Definitely a gold medal performance and a gold medal outcome after a dark time.
 
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Bueller

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I had heard people talking about her performance so I watched earlier on you tube It really was spectacular and she looked so relaxed and happy. Pure joy coming off the ice to her coaches

One of the Japanese skaters, Kaori Sakamoto, is three time world champ and was fav for the gold at Milano. The other skater from Japan (Ami Naka) was leader after the short program. So even after Liu got her score she still had a couple of boss skaters to go. Not bad for an Oakland kid who looks like she would hang at a Hot Topic goth store at the mall
 

bac2therac

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14 year old Liu won US Championships in 2019 and 2020. Covid closed the rinks and she discovered she was happy - hoped they stayed closed. She had a tiger dad (who escaped China after promoting Tiananmen Square protests) who was taking the joy away. China tried to recruit Liu for 2022 Olympics - Allyssa and her father said "no" and CCP sent spies. Alysa decided to retire and be a regular kid (she loved it).

Liu put skates on after 2 years of inaction and discovered she liked skating again. She didn't expect to win anything but by 2025 she was World Champion. At the 2026 Olympic she was just enjoying skating again and not fixated to an outcome. She says she mostly enjoys the skating for herself and others and doesn't worry about the placements. Sounds like the ordinary BS that athletes say but no this kid means it. She whirls around the ice like a happy puppy and is constantly smiling (off ice too - she's a smile machine). The audiences love her and her competition loves her. Standing ovations from audiences -competitors crying on her shoulder. Never saw anything like her.

With all the NIL grasping , betting scandals, doping scandals, parents driving kids and coaches crazy , Alysa Liu shows-up like a bolt from another dimension. Her skate is fun to watch and her story has a lot of enlightenment. Can't think of another Olympian like her.




Check her out with Japanese skaters she beat at 4:00


Great story and something America can rally around

Had the most graceful and effortless skate and liked her music choice of Mac Arthur Park
 
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Bueller

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Great story and some America can rally around

Had the most graceful and effortless skate and liked her music choice of Mac Arthur Park

She picked the music - something she wasn't allowed to do in past years. The words are evocative of her walk away from skating and her attempt at a comeback. She never expected a gold making a return (her coaches didn't either - they said).

"Someone left the cake out in the rain
I don't think that I can take it
'Cause it took so long to bake it
And I'll never have that recipe again"

Article about CCP hassling Liu fam

US Olympic gold medalist Alysa Liu was once targeted by Chinese spies – here's what she has to say about it​

"Her father told The Associated Press at the time, "They are probably just trying to intimidate us, to... in a way threaten us not to say anything, to cause trouble to them and say anything political or related to human rights violations in China... I had concerns about her safety. The U.S. government did a good job protecting her."


 
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RUFANCT

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One of the Japanese skaters, Kaori Sakamoto, is three time world champ and was fav for the gold at Milano. The other skater from Japan (Ami Naka) was leader after the short program. So even after Liu got her score she still had a couple of boss skaters to go. Not bad for an Oakland kid who looks like she would hang at a Hot Topic goth store at the mall
I felt Kaori Sakamoto skated was much better than Liu, Lius’ story is what won the gold. This contest is always so subjective. Just my opinion!
 

T2Kplus20

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I felt Kaori Sakamoto skated was much better than Liu, Lius’ story is what won the gold. This contest is always so subjective. Just my opinion!
Sakamoto had a less difficult program, so even though her skate was near perfect, it wasn't eligible for as many points. Or so I read. LOL!
 

RUJMM78

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Sakamoto had a less difficult program, so even though her skate was near perfect, it wasn't eligible for as many points. Or so I read. LOL!
She missed one of her jumps which caused a deduction in scoring.Liu had the far more difficult program .
 
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Bueller

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She missed one of her jumps which caused a deduction in scoring.Liu had the far more difficult program .

Sakamoto was crying coming off the ice because she knew she hurt herself with missed combo.. She also looked a bit tight doing her last Olympic skate and needing a high score.

6:15 in
 

Bueller

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I just read a good article on Olympic figure skating. The writer is NYT dance critic who used to skate. She highlighted something that I noticed that Liu does but I wasn't sure if everyone did the same things., I saw Liu really uses her hands and arms a lot. Some gestures look like she's casting spells with arm thrusts and opening palms. She does that a lot when coming out of spins and pivots. That way her routine seems more fluid overall and not series of discrete stunts . Liu has said she sees herself more as an artist/performer more than athlete (but she likes that part too) and she wants audience to have fun (they did -thus the ovation)

"Alysa Liu, a rare artist on ice, skates to perform. Now 20, she came back to competitive skating on her own terms after retiring at 16 and has done so with a renewed focus on joy. This is a woman who moves with abandon; who laughs in amusement, as much to herself as to the crowd; and who floats with such looseness and buoyancy that she can seem nonchalant. This is an illusion. She cares. But her motivation is different from other skaters who are fueled solely by competition. Her drive is rooted in the art of performance, and the first person she needs to please is herself.

She moves like water on a frozen surface, staying flexible to its grooves and bumps while keeping her body in a continual, flexible state of flow... Fluidity is her trademark, allowing for a certain softness to buffer her strength, not just in jumps that propelled her spinning body into the air but in the way she moved in and out of them, landing with open arms and expressive, alive hands...Liu was a vision of spontaneous perfection, so deep in her body that as she connected steps and jumps with seamless ebullience, her skating became a release, as much a feeling as a physical act."


Watch Sakamoto (linked vid) from 4:10 to the final Biellmann spin (when they grab their blades) through 4:55. She hardly does anything with her hands. Then watch Liu (vid in OP) from 3:40 to 4.10 and she how active her hands are - and timed to the music. Might not seem like much but it takes a lot of practice/skill. Her Choreographer, Massimo Scali, was an Olympic ice dancer and no doubt he made a big difference
 
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Bueller

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She did an interview without the usual canned answers. She has to work at suppressing smiles. Indiana and Mendoza in Jan and Alysa Liu in Feb. Some young sparklers in sports

Q. What do you say to a young skater who wants to be like Alysa Liu.
A) I would say don't try to be the next me me - just be yourself. Take time for yourself and be alone.

Q, What would you say to your 14 yr old self if you could go back?
A) I wouldn't tell my younger self a thing - she's going to figure it out

 
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Bueller

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Marshawn Lynch found out Alyssa is from Oakland (Lynch hometown)




I don't know what East Bay is like but the kid fits in in a lot of places.


Baseball honorary pitch
 

Bueller

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Great story and something America can rally around

Had the most graceful and effortless skate and liked her music choice of Mac Arthur Park

The song is going up the streaming charts

"U.S. on-demand streams of Summer’s MacArthur Park across all major platforms surged 505% following Liu’s free skate performance to the song on Thursday, according to data from Luminate. Total streams averaged about 12,000 per day in the six days leading into Liu’s free skate, then jumped to about 115,000 on Friday and 139,000 on Saturday..."


Songwriter Jimmy Webb was pleased




On NBCs Youtube page most Olympic video uploads have 10-20k. The US hockey highlight of Canada game win has 750K as of now. Alysa Liu MacArthur skate has 6,014,000 million
 

Kbe4

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The song is going up the streaming charts

"U.S. on-demand streams of Summer’s MacArthur Park across all major platforms surged 505% following Liu’s free skate performance to the song on Thursday, according to data from Luminate. Total streams averaged about 12,000 per day in the six days leading into Liu’s free skate, then jumped to about 115,000 on Friday and 139,000 on Saturday..."


Songwriter Jimmy Webb was pleased




On NBCs Youtube page most Olympic video uploads have 10-20k. The US hockey highlight of Canada game win has 750K as of now. Alysa Liu MacArthur skate has 6,014,000 million

I prefer the Richard Harris version of the song.
 

Bueller

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Alysa Lie, Amber Glenn and Isabeau Levito are all over media being called "The Blade Angels." The most anonymous skater is Levito who is from NJ(Mt Holly). Rutgers student paper ran a bit on the skaters

"From Mount Holly, Isabeau Levito is a women’s figure skater representing Team USA this year. At only eighteen, Levito is the 2023 US National champion and 2024 World silver medalist. Currently, she is the 2026 US National bronze medalist, which got her an Olympic spot this year. Levito trains in Mount Laurel with the Skating Club of Southern New Jersey at Igloo Ice Rink. US Figure Skating has named Levito and her fellow US women’s figure skaters the “Blade Angels,” modeling the three women after Charlie’s Angels as they compete for the Olympic podium this year.

South Jersey at the Milano Cortina Olympics​



Somehow Taylor Swift ended-up doing a promo for the three skaters. I guess its the girl power thing Swift dwells on. Vid mentions Levito with an Italian granny not far from the Olympic sites

 

Bueller

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I prefer the Richard Harris version of the song.

That's a good version - its a quirky song that could be made by a lot of different people. I always thought Leonard Cohen wrote the song because it seemed like something he could do
 

Bueller

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Breathtaking legendary performance. Really something to see.

Indeed - and we almost didn't get it. She was a real star at 13 and 14 winning US titles before retiring in 22. Now she's bigger physically and that actually keeps her from doing some things she could do at 14. I watched her US title skate from 2019, and when she heard her first place score she just broke into sobs that were not all joy @ 7:50. Watching her now its hard to see beyond the smiles


 
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Bueller

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If you came through the Cold War you didn't see a lot of chumming between competitors. Now things are different. I think the pandemic/lockdowns made these kids built different. The gal taking the selfie - Kaori Sakamoto - was fav for gold but she's dialed-in. Alysa Liu has a great saying "Feel but don't dwell."

Worth a mention that skaters legs look natural but the wear tights. It keeps them warmer but also hides all the cuts and bruises most of them have from falling (and they fall a lot)


750.jpg000.gif
 
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mdk02

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If you came through the Cold War you didn't see a lot of chumming between competitors. Now things are different. I think the pandemic/lockdowns made these kids built different. The gal taking the selfie - Kaori Sakamoto - was fav for gold but she's dialed-in. Alysa Liu has a great saying "Feel but don't dwell."

Worth a mention that skaters legs look natural but the wear tights. It keeps them warmer but also hides all the cuts and bruises most of them have from falling (and they fall a lot)


View attachment 1198649View attachment 1198650

During the Cold War you also got 9.5, 9.5, 9.5 and a 6 from the Russian judge
 

Bueller

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During the Cold War you also got 9.5, 9.5, 9.5 and a 6 from the Russian judge

I remember all that and some say that judge inflation still happens although I didn't watch the ice dancing where it was claimed by some that French judges buttered the numbers


One skater who was claimed by some as "best in the world" is Russia's Kamila Valieva. But she was banned for PEDs (trimetazidine) after 2022 bust in Beijing . Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) banned her for four years so she missed 2026 games. She was a skinny, stick figure skater who could do some quads. Alysa Liu used to do some quads as well when she was 14 and 4' 7."

 

Larry K

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Indeed - and we almost didn't get it. She was a real star at 13 and 14 winning US titles before retiring in 22. Now she's bigger physically and that actually keeps her from doing some things she could do at 14. I watched her US title skate from 2019, and when she heard her first place score she just broke into sobs that were not all joy @ 7:50. Watching her now its hard to see beyond the smiles




Yes. I'd read about that but hadn't seen it. Really interesting journey and story to here. It's incredible how effortless it looks and how happy she is.
 
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Bueller

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Yes. I'd read about that but hadn't seen it. Really interesting journey and story to here. It's incredible how effortless it looks and how happy she is.

Yes she's a breath of fresh air as the saying goes. I took most of 2025 off concerning sports. I saw only one NFL game and mostly highlights for college. Missing nice fall days for 3 hours of fast food commercials, replays, betting odds and flexing became too much. Then Indiana happened - they opened a mental window and let some air in. Alysa Liu built on that.

A lot of post-war football had coaches who were in the military and wars. There was a "boot camp" flavor to everything and some coaches could fly their tyrant flag under cover of the sports rah-rah. I neve liked Lombardi or stuff like "The Junction Boys." These were the people who denied players water on 90+ degree days, twisted facemasks, slapped helmets and knew little about technique but were big on sprints and punishment drills. I had a lot of coaches out of that mold and did well but I saw good guys suffer because coaches didn't like them personally.

I'm not against discipline or regimentation - I just never felt it had to be severe and joyless. Liu has really cracked the concrete with her story and success. Indiana in Jan and Liu in Feb was quite a run. I could add in Alex Honnold who many consider an athlete and has brilliant things to say. Liu is like that too and says things like "feel but don't dwell." People can throw out their meds if they can learn that. Watching her cheer her competitors and be friends with them is so opposite the Nike vibe where athletes grind their way to godlike status with opponent's under their feet.

That's a lot to say but I'm not sure people realize the cracks in the cement after stories like Liu and Indiana. Mendoza talks about sports an life similar to Liu in that he loves his sports but he has philosophical mind and sports dont turn him into a sociopath. Quite a few of the zoomers are built different and I think the lockdowns and stuff played a roll. The world receded on these kids and they were alone more compared to the usual conveyer belt.


do2knsgfejkg1.gif
 
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Caliknight

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Her and Mendoza are completely different. I never heard him mention himself in interviews. It was always the team and other guys. I get she in an individual sport but I've never heard her talk about anyone but herself.
 

Bueller

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Her and Mendoza are completely different. I never heard him mention himself in interviews. It was always the team and other guys. I get she in an individual sport but I've never heard her talk about anyone but herself.

She only talks in interviews where she is being asked about herself and there have been many dozens of those. She's super popular around the world now but she's not too happy about being a celebrity. She likes her own space (stresses importance of being alone and not caught-up )

Mendoza is a stoic (in his own words) . He reflects a lot and practices self-denial. He's high minded and also family oriented. His stoicism emphasizes process over result and Liu is the same in a solo sport. She was US champ at 13 and 14 and walked away as the grind and tiger dad killed then joy. Now she's like the happiest person around. She says things like "feel but dont dwell" and "I like falling and struggle - make me feel alive."

The way Google AI describes her could also apply to Mendoza., I have no doubt he is a fan. Some GenZ people are on the ball after the lockdowns broke the chain of conditioning.


Detachment from Results: Liu stopped letting her self-worth be defined by competition outcomes. She expressed being "fine with any outcome," which actually relieved pressure and improved her performance.

Focus on Joy: After retiring briefly due to burnout, she returned with a focus on fun, skating because she loves it, not for external validation.

Connect but Not Attached": She described her philosophy as connecting with her sport and experiences, but not holding on to them, which helped her manage anxiety and pressure.

Mental Shift: Her approach, which has been likened to Stoicism, emphasizes focusing on what she can control (effort, joy) rather than what she cannot (judging, medal color).



 

Caliknight

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She only talks in interviews where she is being asked about herself and there have been many dozens of those. She's super popular around the world now but she's not too happy about being a celebrity. She likes her own space (stresses importance of being alone and not caught-up )

Mendoza is a stoic (in his own words) . He reflects a lot and practices self-denial. He's high minded and also family oriented. His stoicism emphasizes process over result and Liu is the same in a solo sport. She was US champ at 13 and 14 and walked away as the grind and tiger dad killed then joy. Now she's like the happiest person around. She says things like "feel but dont dwell" and "I like falling and struggle - make me feel alive."

The way Google AI describes her could also apply to Mendoza., I have no doubt he is a fan. Some GenZ people are on the ball after the lockdowns broke the chain of conditioning.


Detachment from Results: Liu stopped letting her self-worth be defined by competition outcomes. She expressed being "fine with any outcome," which actually relieved pressure and improved her performance.

Focus on Joy: After retiring briefly due to burnout, she returned with a focus on fun, skating because she loves it, not for external validation.

Connect but Not Attached": She described her philosophy as connecting with her sport and experiences, but not holding on to them, which helped her manage anxiety and pressure.

Mental Shift: Her approach, which has been likened to Stoicism, emphasizes focusing on what she can control (effort, joy) rather than what she cannot (judging, medal color).




That’s not true. I’ve seen her enough in interviews to see that isn’t accurate. Great skater, but she and Mendoza share nothing in common except gaming, including, and I would wager a lot, politically.
 
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Bueller

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That’s not true. I’ve seen her enough in interviews to see that isn’t accurate. Great skater, but she and Mendoza share nothing in common except gaming, including, and I would wager a lot, politically.

Well what did she say exactly? I'm sure its no accident they are in ads together (she's doing Nike now). Not that I care that much its just that aside from the Russians you're the only person who doesn't like her. The Russians don't like her because they think their top skater would beat her but she's been suspended a couple of years for PEDs.
 
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Caliknight

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Well what did she say exactly? I'm sure its no accident they are in ads together (she's doing Nike now). Not that I care that much its just that aside from the Russians you're the only person who doesn't like her. The Russians don't like her because they think their top skater would beat her but she's been suspended a couple of years for PEDs.
Where did I say I don’t like her? Nike, so what? Love their woke capitalism though. Smart.
 
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Bueller

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Nike is just the start (and they sponsor USA Skating so she may not have had a choice). Mendoza has 1 mil Insta followers, Eileen Gu 4.6 mil (and with a China behind her) , Michael Phelps has 3.7 mil and Caitlin Clark has 2 mil. Alysa has 8 million after a 6 weeks - and she barely even uses social media. People love her and she's extremely popular. US figures skating calls her most iconic skater in US history - new skaters at rinks are rinks up 30%

Liu “is fantastic for the sport,” Colin Smith, director general for the International Skating Union, said. “She’s not only a great talent, but she’s a great person, and [her] personality and the charisma and the character and the sort of the laid-back approach [she takes] to our sport, it’s fantastic.”

Liu and Mendoza are both very positive people who are generous but keep their standards inside. Their sports are extensions of them and not vice versa.. Mendoza is great for college sports and Liu is great for Olympic sports (Women's skating and gymnastics being most popular). A thing I really like about skating is that its not full of Amazon juicers like track and swimming (they now look like East Germans used to). Liu smiles constantly - has to suppress them.

I've never heard Mendoza mention politics and Liu only once because Rolling Stone was trying to get her pigeon holed but she's not particular political in any toxic way and he fans aren't split either. She even has men and women equal. She has been very open about saluting US for helping her and her fam (CCP sent agents after them). Pops had to defect after Tiananmen Square. Liu is more eccentric than Mendoza style wise but that's compensation for years of being suppressed growing-up isolated.

She was in training hell during CV-19 lockdowns and pretty much alone all the time. She did hate skating but now she legit loves doing her thing on ice for herself and the audience. Personally I don't think she knows how good she is since she often seems surprised. The best athletes can often do things that surprise even them.

I suspect Mendoza and Liu will do something together again
 
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Bueller

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You’re clearly a huge fanboy. Have you considered starting a club?

There are already too many lol. She's the most cheerful and authentic gal in sports and US sports needs that. Mendoza and Indiana did that too but Liu already won her sports Super Bowl. She might be in front of Mendoza for now. Last night she was the iHeart presenter for Taylor Swift's Artist of the Year award. Swift made a video for the women's Olympic team event and is big AL fan.






Meathead tells AL how impressed he was with her presentation
 

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