Thousands gathered Thursday at Frank Ogawa Plaza outside Oakland City Hall to celebrate Olympic figure skating champion Alysa Liu, where Mayor Barbara Lee presented the 20-year-old star athlete with the key to the city. The rally honored Liu’s historic performance at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina, where she won gold in women’s singles and helped the U.S. capture the team title.
Oakland honors hometown champion
Introducing Liu to the crowd, Lee praised the Olympic champion’s achievements and connection to the city. “The determination, her creativity and yes, her courage,” Lee said. “She is fearless, she is focused, and she is fully herself. She grew up here in our town and now the world, the entire world, knows her name.”
Liu reacted to the turnout: “This is crazy! I see so many people.” She pointed toward the nearby Oakland Ice Center where she trains and reflected on growing up in the city. “I love Oakland, I’ve been here all my life. I could not be more proud to represent Oakland out on the big stage at the Olympics,” she said while accepting the key to the city.
Olympic gold medal figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi and former world champion boxer Andre Ward also appeared at the rally. The celebration concluded with a performance by Oakland singer Kehlani.
Commitments collide with worlds
Before the rally, Liu spoke at a press conference where she explained her decision to skip the World Figure Skating Championships scheduled for March 24 to 29 in Prague.
Liu said she initially intended to compete but concluded she would not have enough time to prepare following the Olympics and a series of public commitments. “There’s so many commitments I have and activities that are overlapping with worlds, and also I don’t have much time training,” Liu said. “So I can’t be doing worlds. I don’t think I’d put out my best performance.”
Liu entered the season as the reigning world champion after winning the 2025 World Figure Skating Championships in Boston. Her Olympic victory in Milan-Cortina made her the first American woman to win Olympic gold in women’s singles figure skating since 2002. “It’s been crazy how much visibility I have right now. I would have never expected that, especially from a figure skater, we don’t really blow up like that,” Liu said. “So, definitely an adjustment.”
This story is part of The Rebel Yellow Newsletter — a bold weekly newsletter from the creators of NextShark, reclaiming our stories and celebrating Asian American voices.
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