Alysa Liu left figure skating behind. She came back better than ever | Alysa Liu

Alysa Liu hadn’t even checked her phone. She didn’t know who had called, who had texted or who had screamed at their television when her gold-medal score flashed onto the screen. But she knew exactly who she wanted to call first.

“My siblings,” she said, laughing. “They have no idea that this is happening.”

No one really did. Liu’s win on Friday night at the world figure skating championships before a completely sold-out TD Garden crowd was historic: the first by an American woman in 19 years. She scored international personal bests in both the short program and free skate, finishing with 222.97 points over both segments to dethrone Kaori Sakamoto, the popular and well-liked three-time defending world champion from Japan. Not only is Liu back nearly three years after abruptly disappearing from the sport. She’s better than ever.

Kimmie Meissner’s 2006 world title came in the Olympic afterglow, only weeks after the Torino Games, that once-every-four-years scheduling quirk when figure skating’s world championships barely move the needle. Liu’s arrives with the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics just 10 months away – transforming her almost overnight from feel-good comeback story to default medal favorite and one of the faces of the US Winter Olympic team.

Were she to win a medal of any color in Milan, Liu would become the first American woman to reach the Olympic podium since Sasha Cohen won silver in 2006. Before that, it was Sarah Hughes’ gold and Michelle Kwan’s bronze in Salt Lake City in 2002.

Now in the span of three 72 dizzying hours in Boston, the conversation around US women’s skating has shifted. The drought is no longer a millstone. It’s an opportunity for Liu to make her mark.

She didn’t just meet expectations – she redefined what they meant. For Liu, it’s no longer about chasing medals or proving herself to anyone else. It’s about expression, fulfillment and skating on her own terms. “I didn’t have expectations coming in,” she told a throng of about 100 reporters late Friday night. “I never have expectations coming into competitions anymore. It’s more so, ‘What can I put out performance-wise?’ I really met my expectations on my part.”

She added: “Everything that I have been through, my time away and all that. This time around I’m so happy, I guess. I’m mostly glad that I could put out two of my best performances, and I am really happy with how things went today.”

That mindset took shape during her two-year break from the sport. After winning bronze at the 2022 world championships, Liu stunned the skating world by announcing her retirement. She’d made the decision privately months earlier, then made it Instagram-official before anyone could talk her out of it.

“I’m going to be moving on with my life,” Liu wrote.

She spent the time rediscovering life outside the rink: hiking in the Himalayas, traveling with family, starting school at UCLA. But it was a spontaneous ski trip to Lake Tahoe that changed everything.

Gliding downhill with friends, wind in her face, Liu felt something familiar: joy in motion. “I love sports. I like moving. I also love music and I love dancing,” she told the Guardian. “That’s literally skating?” She laughed at the realization, but she didn’t ignore it.

Back in Los Angeles, while balancing her winter quarter at UCLA, Liu started skating once a week at public sessions in El Segundo. To her surprise, the jumps came back. The pull of the ice was undeniable.

“If there’s days where you just want to be on the ice for fun when it’s not planned in your training schedules,” she said, “I feel like that’s kind of when you know you still like it.” And she did.

Soon, skating for fun turned into skating with purpose. She entered a small competition in Budapest – and won. Then Zagreb – and won again. She came thisclose capturing the US title, losing to Amber Glenn in one of the closest contests ever. And in Boston, she drilled seven clean triples, skated to Donna Summer in a gold-sequined dress, and cartwheeled onto the ice before Wednesday afternoon’s short program … and Friday night’s medal ceremony.

Liu became the 14th American woman to win a world title, helping Team USA secure three Olympic quota spots for the 2026 Games. With Isabeau Levito and Amber Glenn finishing fourth and fifth, respectively, it was the strongest collective US women’s showing at a world championships since 2001.

“Go Team USA. That’s all I can say,” Liu said. “I’m so proud of both Isabeau and Amber for putting up such great performances and such great fight.”

Sakamoto, who stood on the podium with Liu at worlds in 2022, praised her growth. “She went away and now she’s back – and the world champion,” the 24-year-old from Kobe said through a translator. “Her cheerfulness and kindness and the way she’s always happy brought her to the top step of the podium.”

Liu isn’t thinking too far ahead, but the rest of the sport is. She’s no longer just a comeback story. She’s a contender.

“I have never regretted anything in my life – every decision that I made, I am glad that I did,” Liu said. “It all brought me to this moment.”

A moment she met with wide eyes, a gold medal and one perfectly chaotic exclamation that captured the entire journey:

“What the hell?”