Olympic figure skating champion Alysa Liu announced Sunday on social media that she will not compete in the upcoming World Figure Skating Championships scheduled for Prague from March 24-29.
The 20-year-old athlete made history at the recent Milano Cortina Games by becoming the first American woman to earn Olympic gold in women’s singles figure skating in more than two decades, since 2002.
In her Instagram announcement, Liu shared: “As some of yall already know, I withdrew from Worlds.”
She continued: “There’s been a lot of exciting things happening since my return from Milan, so I’m taking some time for that … see yall next season,” though she did not elaborate on what those opportunities might be.
Liu was anticipated to compete as the defending champion after claiming the 2025 world title in Boston, making her the first American to secure that championship since 2006.
Her Boston victory represented an extraordinary return to competition after she had temporarily stepped away from the sport following the 2022 Beijing Olympics.
U.S. Figure Skating announced that Sarah Everhardt will take Liu’s spot on the American team for the world championships.
Beyond her individual Olympic triumph, Liu also contributed to the United States’ gold medal performance in the Olympic team competition. Her withdrawal joins other notable absences from the championships, including Japanese Olympic pairs champions Miura Riku and Kihara Ryuichi, who have also pulled out of the competition.
