Alysa Liu never expected to win the world championships. After all, the 19-year-old figure skater retired from the sport three years ago, only returning to training again a year ago and international competition six months ago.

Alysa Liu, who walked away from figure skating at age 16 and returned last year, won the 2025 world championship on Friday.

Liu, 19, won gold at the world figure skating championships over the weekend in Boston, the first American women's singles skater to do so since Kimmie Meissner in 2006. It’s pretty heady stuff for someone who retired from the sport in 2022 when she was only 16.