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| US figure skaters, from left, Karen Chen, Mariah Bell and Alysa Liu. |
Updated Feb. 18.
The American figure skaters each put out performances to remember at the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 but it was not enough to overtake the leaders.
Alysa, from Richmond, Calif., was even in the lead for a while after 19 skaters had performed. However, after the final group performed their routines, she ended up in seventh place.
“I’m just really glad that all my training paid off because I’m here competing,” Liu told NBC. “And the goal of my whole life and my skating career was to compete at the Olympics. So now I can officially say I’m an Olympian.”
The women's competition was eventually won by Russian skater and World Champion Anna Shcherbakova. Another Russian, Alexandra Trusova won the silver and Japan's Kaori Sakamoto took bronze.“I’m just really glad that all my training paid off because I’m here competing,” Liu told NBC. “And the goal of my whole life and my skating career was to compete at the Olympics. So now I can officially say I’m an Olympian.”
The skater expected to win it all, and the most controversial, 15-year old Kamila Valieva, fell during her free skate routine dropping Russia's top skater to fourth place and off the medal podium.
Kamila is at the center of controversy after test results showed that she had taken a banned drug before the Olympics. Her performance in the team competition vaulted the Russian team to first place but since the drug test results were discovered, the final results of the team competition remains up in the air.
Despite the controversial drug test results, the Russian teenager was allowed to compete in the individual skating competition. After the short program Tuesday, she was in first place.
Kamila is at the center of controversy after test results showed that she had taken a banned drug before the Olympics. Her performance in the team competition vaulted the Russian team to first place but since the drug test results were discovered, the final results of the team competition remains up in the air.
Despite the controversial drug test results, the Russian teenager was allowed to compete in the individual skating competition. After the short program Tuesday, she was in first place.
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| Alysa Liu led the U.S. figure skaters finishin in 7th place. |
Sixteen-year-old, Alysa was the US champion in 2019 and 2020 - her first title making her the youngest American ever to win a national title - at age 13. At age 16 years, she is the youngest member (in any sport) sent to Beijing by Team USA.
The California teen opened her "Violin Concerto in D" free skate with a triple Axel attempt, landing the jump but having it downgraded as she finished her rotation on the ice. She would score a 139.45 in the segment. Added to the score from her short program, her final score totaled 208.95.
Gone are the difficult quads that gave Alysa the US championships. She was the only US woman to perform the judge-pleasing four-revolution jumps.
“It was a lot easier when I was smaller, and a lot shorter,” said Liu, who stands approximately 5 feet, 2 inches. “It’s just been harder. Especially when COVID hit, I couldn’t train it as much. I stopped training it for a period. So, there was a lot of other factors, but definitely puberty (was one factor).”
“I’m so happy with two clean programs,” Liu said. “It’s better than I ever thought I would do at the Olympics, and I’m really happy about it.”
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Prior to Liu's skate, Bell, 25, performed her routine to "Hallelujah" earning her a 136.92 total. Her combined score of 202.30 left her in tenth place.
Liu was in eighth place after the women's short program, while Bell sat at 11th.
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| Karen Chen, 22, finished her routine after falling during her routine. |
Earlier, their American teammate Karen Chen, from Fremont, Calif., struggled in her free skate, her total score registering a 179.93 that gave her the 16th spot.
“It’s incredible to just know that I’ve made it here,” Chen said. “It did not go the way I wanted to, but I also had my moment in the team event, too. So, there are a lot of positive things to look at.”
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