At long last, the USA has a medalist in the women’s free skate short program in the Winter Olympics

And not only did Team USA get someone on the podium, but 20-year-old phenom Alysa Liu won a gold medal after her spectacular performance during the short program final on February 19.

Alysa Liu (24) of the United States | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images© Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

The 20-year-old Liu (who is a student at UCLA) became the first U.S. women’s champion in 24 years, after Sarah Hughes won a gold medal in 2002 in Salt Lake City.

And this story becomes even more spectacular, considering that Liu quit the figure skating competition after the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics Games because she had fallen out of love with the sport. But her decision to return 2.5 years later was probably the greatest decision of her life.

Alysa Liu | IMAGO / Xinhua© IMAGO / Xinhua

And Liu’s story gets even more miraculous when one considers who her father, Arthur, is, and the way in which Alysa was born.

Arthur Liu elected to have five children (with Alysa being the oldest) via surrogacy using anonymous egg donors. Alysa and three of her siblings share a mother, whom Alysa has met in the past.

father of Alysa Liu (24) | James Lang-Imagn Images© James Lang-Imagn Images

Arthur Liu’s Reaction to Alysa’s Gold Medal Says It All

Arthur Liu was in the building to watch Alysa secure her second gold medal (she was also part of the Team USA figure skating group that won gold) on Thursday.

And cameras caught him celebrating with Alysa’s siblings in the stands shortly after it became clear that she won gold.

It’s awesome to see the genuine excitement and pride Arthur (who emigrated to the USA from China when he was 25) has in what’s surely the biggest moment of Alysa’s career.