Olympics superstar Alysa Liu won the Best Breakthrough Athlete award at the 2026 ESPYs on Wednesday night. The US figure skating star, 20, beat out a field that included Macklin Celebrini, Drake Maye, and Fernando Mendoza.
Alysa Liu's 2026 Olympics US Figure Skating Comeback
Her award caps a two-year return to competitive skating. Liu, one of the youngest skaters to land a triple Axel, competed at the 2022 Beijing Olympics when she was just 16. She retired shortly after and enrolled at UCLA. After nearly two years away, she returned to the ice in 2024.
That decision paid off at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics.
Liu's skate to Laufey's "Promise" went viral as she used the routine to tell her story of coming back to the sport. The performance won the women's singles gold, ending a 24-year US drought as she became the first US woman to take the title since Sarah Hughes in 2002.
Alysa Liu Discusses Her 2026 ESPYs Breakthrough Win
Accepting the ESPY at Lincoln Center in New York City, Liu reflected on her path back to the Olympics.
"I've been in my sport since I was 5 years old, and I had some really rough times in it, and I took two years off," Liu said. "So, for me, it really feels like I broke through in my own way, for myself and for my sport."
