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New York Times
27-03-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Alysa Liu left figure skating at 16. Now she's back, and in position for a major win
BOSTON — The most recent reports estimate that roughly 20 percent of American retirees find themselves back working again. One of them is 19 years old. But Alysa Liu was not back at work, dazzling the rink at TD Garden on Wednesday, because it's too hard to make ends meet. She's back on the ice because, emotionally speaking, spiritually even, they finally do. Advertisement The 16-year-old version of herself had the courage to walk away. To no longer be complicit in surrendering her life to the sport at the expense of her happiness. She said goodbye to figure skating after finishing third in the 2022 world championships. 'Moments like these made me realize 16-year-old me was so right,' Liu said with a proud smile. 'I wouldn't be here if I didn't decide to retire for a little bit. So I'm glad that I listened to myself. … I was, like, kind of in my own world and people would always tell me not to make the decisions I made. But I'm really glad. I think I have good intuition. Maybe.' Three years later, Liu returned to the world championships much more whole. And her holistic development shined in a stunning performance in the women's short program. She said it wasn't fun before, which is why she quit. But it was unmistakable in her return. The joy she emanated, this time, wasn't manufactured. The confidence she exuded sprung from a well of inner peace. Because of it, Liu stole the day. Season's Best 🔥 Back with a bang this season — Alysa Liu takes the lead at #WorldFigure in Boston, right in front of the home crowd 🇺🇸✨ What. A. Moment. 💥👏#FigureSkating — ISU Figure Skating (@ISU_Figure) March 26, 2025 She stole it from Amber Glenn, the dominant American whose run of perfection ended with a fall Wednesday on her triple Axel. From Kaori Sakamoto, Japan's three-time defending world champion who simply didn't display her usual pristine brilliance. From her own expectations. She was clearly moved at the end, showered by applause and ovation and stuffed animals thrown onto the ice. It was a moment earned through sacrifice. She chose herself over the sport, and wound up getting the sport back. 'When you want to do it, your feelings and emotions are also in it, and then you can perform to your best abilities,' she said. 'When you're kind of hiding away, shying away, or not 100 percent dedicated to your work, it won't work.' Advertisement Liu registered a career performance: 74.58 points, the highest she's ever scored in an international competition in the short program. It was such a showing, none of the next 15 skaters could best Liu's score. Fellow American Isabeau Levito came close: 73.33. Levito, the 2024 world championship silver medalist, missed four months with a stress reaction in her right foot, including January's U.S. championships. Levito wasn't sure how her return to worlds would unfold. She stiff-armed the pressure to podium, grateful for the ability to compete, though not quite 100 percent. 'There was such a high chance I wasn't going to make it,' said Levito, 18, who finished just behind Japan's Mone Chiba (73.44). 'When I tried to come back earlier — when I wasn't fully healed and we didn't know it quite yet — in order to compete in nationals, and I couldn't … I thought my season was over and I was so, so sad. I thought there was no chance.' Now, she's got a great chance. Her performance Wednesday was highlighted by the shift in tempo on the choreography sequence, to the tune of Audrey Hepburn's 'Moon River' in the 1961 version of 'Breakfast at Tiffany's,' that delighted the adoring crowd. A strong performance from either Liu or Levito in the free skate competition on Friday — which will determine the medal winners — could etch one of their names in U.S. figure skating history. An American hasn't won world-championship gold since Kimmie Meissner in 2006. Since then, the only U.S. medals at worlds are Ashley Wagner's silver in 2016, Liu's bronze in 2022 and Levito's silver last year. Certainly, winning in Boston this weekend would be a severe confidence boost for their gold-medal chances at the Winter Olympics in February in Milan, Italy. Oddly enough, America's hopes for gold in the Winter Olympics seemed to get a boost from Glenn. Advertisement Anyone who saw her reaction at the end of her short program would expect her to approach these next 11 months with a vengeance. The anger in her star, and the welling tears in her eyes, were a window into Glenn's motivation. After an undefeated Grand Prix season, and taking the mantel as America's best with a gold at the U.S. championships, Glenn looked mortal Wednesday in Boston. She took a seat on her first jump, missing the landing on a triple Axel. She finished the program stoically, but the damage was done. Glenn's score, 67.65, landed her ninth. Disappointment painted her face at the conclusion of her performance. She took a knee on the ice, a moment to process what just happened. But when she rose, and when she explained, the fierceness in her eyes told of a woman who found new purpose on her mission. Each skater gave a quote that was displayed on the video board before their routine. Glenn's was 'Calm the beast.' After falling, the beast was no longer calm. 'To be honest, I haven't had to do too much of that socially this season,' she said of responding to falling. 'So to miss the first element is very hard.' Her coach, Damon Allen, praised her for sticking with the program. In the past, Glenn would've let the falter get the better of her. But she fought. It's how she's become such a force late in her career. It's why the safe money is on her bouncing back. 'Just relying on my training,' she said. If Wednesday was any indicator, Glenn will have Liu pushing her. While she's six years younger than Glenn, Liu's maturation and comfort are hard to miss. The prodigy seems to be peaking after time away. She began by entering the rink with a cartwheel, an impulsive introduction to the new Liu. Then on the ice, she was a picture of grace and certainty. Her routine scented by a refreshed spirit. Her triple jumps, including a Lutz, were executed with smoothness that contradicted the pressure of the moment. Liu was free. Advertisement The song she chose — 'Promise,' by Laufey — was an ode to her journey of departure and return. Of a breakup with a love that was necessary to be rekindled. I made a promise. To distance myself. Took a flight through aurora skies. Honestly, I didn't think about how we didn't say goodbye. Wednesday, Liu said hello again. To the world championships stage. To the thrill of success. To the 16-year-old girl who made a promise to herself, and in turn made this all possible. (Top photo of Alysa Liu, during Wednesday's short program: Geoff Robins / AFP via Getty Images)
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Dick Button, first U.S. Olympic figure skating gold medalist, dies at 95
Dick Button, the legendary figure skater who became the first American to win Olympic gold in the sport, died Thursday at age 95, according to U.S. Figure Skating. In 1948, Button, then 18, won the first of back-to-back Olympic titles. He remains the youngest man to win an Olympic figure skating gold medal. His athletic style of jumping revolutionized the sport. At the 1948 St. Moritz Games, Button became the first skater to land a double Axel in competition. At the 1952 Oslo Games, he became the first skater to land a three-revolution jump in competition, hitting a triple loop en route to repeat gold. "It didn't seem like an enormous accomplishment," to win back-to-back Olympic golds, Button said in 1999. "It just seemed that it was the most natural thing in the world to go on and compete in the next championship." Button converted his medals into a belt buckle for his mom and a paper weight for his dad. "They both wanted me to go to law school; I didn't (want to)," said Button, who relented and went to law school after the 1952 Games. "So when I graduated, their Christmas present was the degree." Both of his Olympic events were held outdoors. Skaters competed to music being played on records and were also judged on compulsory figures, or tracing patterns on the ice. 'It was, in a sense, far more difficult because of the complexity and school figures and compulsory figures and the time — and the all-consuming time — that took,' he said. Button also won seven consecutive U.S. titles — the first at age 16 — and five consecutive world titles, succeeding while also a student at Harvard. No man has matched either streak since. "He was the guy that changed the sport forever," 1984 Olympic gold medalist Scott Hamilton said in 2024. "So many people that came after him learned from him. ... His presence and his greatness and the explosive nature of his athletic ability was beyond spectacular. And he did it all outdoors — all of it outdoors. I can't even imagine skating at that level, outdoors, and he did it in 1948 all the way through 1952." Button turned professional shortly after the 1952 Games and spent decades as a figure skating broadcaster. He worked for NBC Olympics at the Winter Games in 2006 and 2010 and was inducted into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2015. "I lusted for skating," Button said. "The only Christmas present I ever remember getting was a pair of ice skates. They'd broken through the box. The teeth were sticking out on the end, and I was so excited about it I ran around the house showing them to everybody without even taking them out of the box. I couldn't wait to get on the ice." Button's death came during a tragic time for the sport after several members of the U.S. figure skating community were aboard a flight that collided with an Army helicopter on Wednesday night in Washington, D.C.
Fox News
31-01-2025
- Sport
- Fox News
Skaters killed in plane crash were Olympic hopefuls, peers say: 'Absolutely remarkable'
Emotions were running high at The Skating Club of Boston Thursday after six people with ties to the organization died in a plane crash near Reagan International Airport Wednesday night. Among those who spoke were Olympic silver medalist Nancy Kerrigan, who couldn't hold back tears while talking about the crash. President Donald Trump said there were no survivors after an American Airlines jet collided with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter. The plane was carrying 64 people, among them teenage skaters Jinna Han and Spencer Lane, their mothers Jin Han and Christine Lane and their coaches Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov. Three members of The Skating Club of Boston — Misha Mitrofanov, Jimmy Ma and Alisa Efimova — also spoke of their peers, who they say were the next generation of hopeful U.S. Olympians. "The potential that they showed on the ice and the capabilities they had at such a young age showed that they had promise for the future of this sport," Mitrofanov, whose partner is Efimova, told reporters Thursday. Mitrofanov and Efimova had just won the 2025 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, Kansas, in the pairs discipline. That's where the American Airlines flight was coming from. Han and Lane were returning from a developmental camp over the weekend. "The camp basically brings them in for the championships so that they can watch, for example, Jimmy, or at least an ice skate at a championship level," Mitrofanov said. "Afterwards, they are part of a fairly strict routine. ... Lot of training, lots of drills and exercises that the U.S. Figure Skating wants to see." Han, 13, and Lane, 16, were chosen for the developmental camp because of the promise they showed, and Ma was blunt about just how promising these two skaters were. "Absolutely phenomenal," Ma said. "If I was their age back when I was their age, they would blow me out of the water. Even Jinna, at 13 years old, I couldn't do anything. She was already 10 times better than me at such a young age. "They showed championship-level skating. It would take time for them to develop to maximize their full potential. But the amount they were able to achieve in such a short amount of time was absolutely remarkable." Efimova said the campers were spotted in the crowd in the red jackets they would wear, and as she worked along with Mitrofanov to win in pairs, she used their cheering as motivation. "They all have these red jackets, so you can really, really identify this community during the competition, which helps me personally a lot to bring a lot of joy into skating," Efimova said. Ma also pointed out how great Shishkova and Naumov, winners at the 1994 world championships in pairs while competing in two Olympic Games, were as coaches. "Their meticulousness in developing young skaters is almost unparalleled," Ma explained. "You could tell by their son, Max, who I consider not just a friend, but a fierce competitor. I look at him every day, I'm like, 'Damn, I got to do better.' That was all them." The Skating Club of Boston wasn't the only figure skating community that was hit by this. The Philadelphia Skating Club & Humane Society posted on social media that "beloved members" of its team were on the flight. Skating coach Alexandr Kirsanov and two of his youth skaters were also aboard the fight, according to Kirsanov's wife, per ABC News. "U.S. Figure Skating can confirm that several members of our skating community were sadly aboard American Airlines Flight 5342, which collided with a helicopter yesterday evening in Washington, D.C.," U.S. Figure Skating said in a statement. "We are devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and hold the victims' families closely in our hearts." As the figure skating world and others affected by the crash mourn the losses of loved ones, Mitrofanov said skaters will continue to train and compete with their "family" in mind. "Watching these kids skate and watching their fire and love for the sport, that's what helped us to, honestly, continue training," Mitrofanov said. "Watching these kids develop helps us want to push ourselves as well. It's a two-way street that they look up to us, but we also look up to them." Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Yahoo
30-01-2025
- General
- Yahoo
'Light of hope': Awaiting news about crash victims, Wichita residents gather for prayer
WICHITA – More than 100 residents and faith leaders packed into a Wichita City Hall conference room to pray and console each other the day after 67 people died in a mid-air collision over Washington D.C. It's not yet clear how many Kansans were on the flight, which is a daily route from Wichita to the nation's capital. Officials said that the identities of the victims would only be released after making contact with families. Many of those who came to the vigil Thursday weren't even sure if they knew someone on board. They still showed up. "There's no way that we're not going to know people that were on that flight," said local business owner Will Harmon, who described Wichita as a "big-little town." "If you don't have a personal relationship with someone, you're going to know someone that did. And we need to be here with everybody and support and lift each other up." Live updates: 'We will find out what happened,' NTSB vows after tragic midair collision Ronda Kingwood, Pastor of Heart of Christ United Methodist Church, led the assembly in a somber rendition of the gospel song, "We Need You Lord." Their determined cry was repeated as it echoed through the chamber: "We need you lord, right now." At a press conference Thursday, Wichita Mayor Lily Wu called the crash "a terrible tragedy that will unite those in Washington D.C. and Wichita, Kansas, forever." What little is known about the passengers is that several coaches and members of the U.S. Figure Skating development team were on board after attending the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita last weekend. The event is considered a crucial step toward making the Olympic team. "It was truly an honor to have future Olympians and those who are at the highest competition level of figure skating right here in (Wichita)," Wu told reporters on Thursday. "We were so excited to have the opportunity to host the national championship and even yesterday, I had folks tell me how wonderful these last few days have been with additional individuals that came into our community, whether to watch or participate." The Rev. Ben Staley of Chapel Hill United Methodist Church showed up at the Wichita airport late Wednesday night to assist family members. At the vigil the next day, he said that community might feel helpless, but they are not hopeless. "Do you know the world is watching Wichita, Kansas? Let us be a light of hope," Staley told the assembly. "Maybe we should be doing better than we've been doing by caring for one another in spite of differences and all the things that could separate us. Let us remember that love never fails." Pastor Pamela Hughes Mason, acting president of the Greater Wichita Ministerial League implored the community not to end the day in sorrow. "We don't know what the day will bring, but we do know that when we come together as one there is power in prayer, power in communities. We pray for comfort in this time of uncertainty, calling for each of us to remember our neighbor." Rabbi Shmulik Greenberg told reporters at the vigil on Thursday that it is important to come together in moments like these to show unity as a community, regardless of faith denomination. 'We have to come together in times of happiness and joy, and when things like this happen, it's so important that we come together and shine a light. It's not enough to just grieve together, but this has to continue on to joyous times together,' Greenberg said. The daily American Airlines round-trip flight between Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport and Washington D.C. has only been in service for about a year. It was announced in January 2024 as benefitting the business and education prospects for Wichita, which is also known as "The Air Capital of the World" for its long history as a hub for aviation manufacturing. Wichita's member of Congress, U.S. Rep. Ron Estes, was on board that inaugural flight a year ago and said Thursday he will continue to support the route. "I wouldn't hesitate to continue to fly in and out of Washington Reagan airport, including on this particular flight and this particular plane," Estes said. "When you look at the overall track record in terms of how safe air travel is, I still feel confident we have strong safety measures in our air traffic system. And obviously we want to make sure that if there are any areas that need to be improved, we will work on those. And if there's something to be learned out of this lesson, we will take that lesson and move forward." This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Wichita mourns plane crash victims with prayer vigil
Fox News
30-01-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Trump Blames Helicopter Pilot (NEW: 8AM)
Donald Trump is blaming the helicopter pilot for the fatal American Airlines crash. U.S Figure Skating team members, coaches, and former champions were among the passengers of the fatal flight. Plus, Katy Perry had a fiery close call. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit
