Olympian Alysa Liu wasn’t the only one glowing after her gold medal win in women’s figure skating in Milan on Thursday.The 20-year-old Bay Area native knew she had nailed it as she wrapped a near-flawless free skate set to Donna Summer and was heard saying, “That’s what I’m fucking talking about!” as she left the ice.Her feisty exit embodied much of Liu’s return to ice skating after hanging up her skates at 16 years old back in 2022.At the time, Liu, who started skating at age 5 and became the youngest person to win the U.S. national championship when she was 13, said she had achieved her figure skating goals and was ready to be “moving on with [her] life.”Alysa Liu had fans calling her an inspiration after she won gold in women's figure skating at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games on Thursday.Qian Jun/MB Media via Getty ImagesWhen Liu announced she was coming back to the ice in March 2024, the athlete said she would be doing things on her own terms, telling US Figure Skating it was “liberating” to be the one finally calling the shots.Since then, her charisma, unique style and on-the-rink poise have made her a fan favorite.So Olympics-watchers were thrilled to celebrated Liu as a tale of what can go right when you chart your own course.Embracing the skater’s be-true-to-you energy online, one person on X wrote, “Can Alysa Liu sell that joy in a bottle? I’ll buy and drink it every day.”“Therapist: what’s your mental health goal?” another posted. “me: Alysa Liu calm.”"Can Alysa Liu sell that joy in a bottle? I’ll buy and drink it every day," one person said of the skater online.Jamie Squire via Getty Images“The concept of alysa liu retiring, re-finding her love for the sport, coming back on her own terms, and then winning an olympic medal,” someone else wrote.“Alysa liu just yolo’d her way to being the olympic champion,” another fan cheered.“Not only is Alysa Liu showing others competing on your own time by your own rules ends in success, she is ALSO showing all the weird and expressive kids you don’t have to fit yourself into a box in order to live your dreams,” one post declared.therapist: what's your mental health goal?me: Alysa Liu calm— Sophie Vershbow (@svershbow) February 19, 2026the concept of alysa liu retiring, re-finding her love for the sport, coming back on her own terms, and then winning an olympic medal 🥹— lydia (@svtsjun) February 19, 2026Can Alysa Liu sell that joy in a bottle? I'll buy and drink it every day.— Jose Antonio Vargas (@joseiswriting) February 19, 2026alysa liu just yolo’d her way to being the olympic champion— em 💋🪩 (@harrysmedic) February 19, 2026this next generation of figure skaters will be able to look up to olympic gold medalist alysa liu as proof that u dont need to beat urself up to be at fs n that u can have fun w it i love everything alysa has done n im so happy she came back on her own terms— aj (@starsinseven) February 19, 2026Alysa Liu winning the Olympics on her own terms is the most important message she can send to young athletes— igs (@soranbushis) February 19, 2026Close