Alysa Liu sets record as the youngest U.S. figure skating champion—thanks her dad for all that he has done for her

Meet the new U.S. figure skating champion who is only 13 years old and the youngest in the nation’s history, Alysa Liu.

The youngest figure skating champion rose into popularity after earning a total score of 217.51 and emerged as the youngest U.S. women’s figure skating champion after beating Bradie Tennell (213.59) and Mariah Bell (212.40).

The rising star may be a teenage girl but she is the only American woman to complete three triple axels in a single competition.

In the competition, she performed to ‘Don’t Rain on my Parade’ by Barbara Streisand where she executed the triple axels.

“I was really happy because I did everything I wanted to do,” Liu said with tears of joy streaming down her cheeks. “I wasn’t really nervous. I was just really excited to compete here.”

Liu later gave the gold medal she won to her father, Arthur, to express her gratitude of what he has done for her. “He just helps me so much bringing me to the rink every day, and I think he puts in a lot of effort and he deserves it,” Liu told TODAY.

It is the toughest triple jump in figure skating. Nevertheless, she does not show any signs to stop at the current record.

According to TIME, the triple axel jump is the most difficult version of a jump and hence the most challenging. Even in the Olympic Games, only eight women have landed the triple axel, and two of them—Tonya Harding and Mirai Nagasu—are from the United States.

Currently, the youngest champion is practicing at perfecting her quadruple jumps.

 

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Thank you to everyone on my team for making this dream come true!!! I also want to thank my supporters, family, and friends who have helped me through everything! I am honored to be the 2019 US National Champion ?? Good job to everyone who competed and thank you to the competitors who made the spectacular show super fun!!! I appreciate all the support and gifts from all of the people who came to watch! ❤️

A post shared by Alysa Liu (@alysaxliu) on Jan 27, 2019 at 9:15pm PST

Liu will have to wait until 2022 to be eligible to skate at the Olympic Games before she is allowed to compete in world championships.

U.S. skating champion Alysa Liu may only be 13, but she confessed her sporting dreams to her idol and Olympic champ @Meryl_Davis.

Watch the full interview: https://t.co/dsyO1nRAHK#FigureSkating @ISU_Figure @USFigureSkating #USChamps19 pic.twitter.com/vLiNXK3ZsT

— Olympic Channel (@olympicchannel) January 29, 2019

Watch how she nailed the difficult triple axels in her stunning performance here

Credit: TODAY | Olympic Channel