Alysa Liu is the girl on fire at the moment in the world of sports.
The 20-year-old figure skater had a little over 200,000 Instagram followers when she touched down in Italy over three weeks ago to prepare for the Winter Olympic Games.
Now, after boarding a plane home to the United States, Liu has over 5 million followers on Instagram.
It’s a meteoric rise for the young skater who retired from the sport four years ago after the 2022 Beijing Games.
Liu returned to figure skating after only setting strict rules that her father and team coaches had to abide by, making her want to compete again.
She wanted to pick the music. She wanted to help with the creative process of her routines. And if she wanted to eat a lava cake or two the week of a gold medal competition, she would get to do that.
Her way of doing things paid off and then some, with Liu winning two gold medals in Milan and becoming the first woman to stand atop the Olympic podium for an individual figure skating win in 24 years.
More news: Amber Glenn Shuts Down Ilia Malinin Dating Rumors After Viral Video
More news: Alysa Liu Decides Her Figure Skating Future at Olympic Closing Ceremony
Liu’s devil-may-care attitude and unique presentation drew the gigantic audience to her, shattering the record for most Instagram followers by a figure skater.
Not only that, she surpassed skiers Eileen Gu of China and Team USA’s Lindsey Vonn to become the most-followed active American-born Olympian at the most recent Games.
She is not first, however, among the most active followers on Instagram among athletes at the 2026 Winter Games.
That achievement belongs to Netherlands speedskater Jutta Leerdam, who also won a gold medal in Milan and has 6.5 million followers at the time of the writing of this article.
