By Francesca Catanese

The Olympics have officially come to a close, but for Americans, one win is still ringing in our ears. When 20-year-old Alysa Liu took the ice, performing her final free skate, she flawlessly executed her jumping passes. There was a big smile on her face as she glided around in a sparkling dress, each movement effortless. She added enough of her distinct confident personality to garner a standing ovation. Winning the gold by a large margin, she surpassed her serious competitors, the Japanese. 

But Liu, with her striped hair, youthful energy, and down-to-earth demeanor, is not only raising technical standards in the figure skating world. She is also the sole proprietor of a new attitude in professional athletics, one of supreme sportsmanship and internal self worth. 

Olympic athletes are generally singularly focused on winning. The global competition is, after all, the biggest platform any athlete can have. The amount of Gold Medals a country has is viewed as a direct reflection of their prowess. So when an American says “I don’t need a medal. I just need to be here, and I just need to be present” people take notice. Liu expressed those views about the medal in a USA Today interview last week. 

Only two days later, she was on televisions around the world, hugging and congratulating the Silver and Bronze finishers. Unbridled joy and excitement was in the air as the three women embraced. But seeing an American athlete excitedly congratulate their competitors from another country isn’t exactly the norm. Through her outward displays of sportsmanship and community support, we are waking up to the idea that it could be.

Her attitude towards what most athletes view as their defining moment is reshaping the idea of perfection in sports. There is no denying that Liu is an uber-talented figure skater. Her style is a mix of queenly grace and childlike rambunctiousness. But we have seen people with far less talent crash and burn because what was once their passion becomes a painful obligation. It is refreshing to hear a young woman value the journey over the destination.

Many young girls and boys, American or not, are growing up, dreaming of becoming Olympic champions in their sports. Many will be pushed to their breaking point in pursuit of greatness, forced to train till they collapse, restrict, put themselves in a box. But now Liu is showing them another way. Like her, they can perform on their own terms, be their own best advocate, and still be amazing athletes. They never have to stop doing it for love. And If they lose, they are not failures. 

The next generation now has a role model in the woman who, after winning an Olympic gold medal, said to NBC, “I don’t need this. But what I needed was a stage, and I got that. So I was all good, no matter what. If I fell on every jump, I would still be wearing this dress, so it’s all good.”