U.S. figure skater Alysa Liu has become one of the breakout stars of 2026 winter olympicsNot just for her performance on the ice, but also for her rise on social media.
Liu won two gold medals at the Winter Olympics. A gold medal in the team event and the women’s individual event marked the first individual Olympic gold medal for an American woman at the Olympics. figure skating Since 2002, her victories have made her a global sensation, attracting fans from around the world.
After winning the championship, Liu Xiaobo’s Instagram followers surged from less than 300,000 before the Olympics to more than 5 million, surpassing the number of Chinese-American Olympians born in California. Gu AilinRepresents the Chinese team and has approximately 3.7 million fans. Fox News reported on the scale of the growth, noting that it was one of the fastest-growing social media events at this year’s Olympics.
Even Gu joined in celebrating Liu’s success and commented “YESSSSSSS” on one of Liu’s posts.
Oakland prepares to honor hometown heroes
Liu, who grew up in Richmond and trained at the Oakland Ice Center, also inspired the local community. The city of Oakland announced plans to hold a public celebration to honor her achievement.
“Alyssa represents the heart, grit, resilience and joy of Oakland. Her accomplishments fill our city with pride, and we are now coordinating with her team to set a date so the community can celebrate her together,” city officials said.
Young skaters are taking inspiration from Liu’s journey. “She’s from Oakland Ice, so it proves that anyone from here can go to the Olympics and compete,” local athlete Giada Lee told CBS News.
Liu and Gu were both children of Chinese immigrants who grew up in the Bay Area. Although Gu has chosen to represent China starting in 2019, Liu and her family remain loyal to Team USA.
Liu described the experience as “a little weird and exciting,” recalling how her father’s past activism affected her understanding of the concerns they faced.
