Nearly 5,000 people gathered in Oakland on Thursday afternoon to celebrate local hero Alysa Liu – a fitting homecoming for the two-time Olympic gold medalist who joyously shouted out the Bay Area city after her short program in Milan less than a month ago.
Scores of people arrived early Thursday to snag a seat close to the stage in front of city hall at the free but ticketed event, which sold out quickly. One group of women donned striped wigs in tribute to Liu’s famously dyed hair, while others held handmade signs showing pride for the figure skating icon.
Liu appeared on stage as local luminaries feted the “home town hero”.
“Every time she stepped on the ice, she carried the spirit of Oakland with her,” mayor Barbara Lee said, presenting Liu a key to the city.
“To all of us in Oakland, we know that she is our hero, but what I will tell you, brothers and sisters and siblings, she is an American hero,” said the representative Lateefah Simon.
“What’s up, Oakland!” Liu said to cheers from the crowd. “This is for y’all,” she added, holding the gold medals around her neck.
Liu’s family moved around the Bay Area a lot, but she says she represents Oakland. She briefly attended Oakland School for the Arts and trained at the Oakland Ice Center, both walking distance from city hall.
Liu was the youngest US women’s figure-skating champion at 13 years-old, placed sixth at the Beijing Olympics and then quit figure skating when she was 16. Years later, she decided to step back on the ice and won the 2025 world championships, setting her up for her Olympic victories at 20 years old. She’s the first US woman to win the individual figure-skating gold medal in 24 years.
“The two years I spent away helped me as a person,” she told a group of journalists Thursday morning. “I got to go to school, hang out with my friends, I got to take my siblings to and from school, run errands … I feel like had I not quit and stepped back, I would not have experienced all that. I’m really glad that I listened to myself.”
“She relishes in the journey, every day. Whether it’s a good day, whether it’s a not-so-good-day,” one of her coaches, Phillip DiGuglielmo, said.
Since winning a medal for the team and individual events in Milan, Liu has charmed the media and public with her free spirit, her groundedness and her overall perspective on life.
She said dealing with the attention has been an adjustment. She tries to stay offline and clears her social media feed of posts about herself by pressing “not interested”. “My feed is not of me, so I feel normal,” she said with a laugh.
Liu recently bowed out of the upcoming figure skating world championships, due to overlapping commitments and a lack of time for training. “There’s always next season,” she said, adding she’s “satisfied” after the Olympics.
At Liu’s wishes, organizers opted against a parade and instead showcased a slew of local artists. Fremont high school’s drumline performed, as did a lion dance troupe from US Shaolin Kung Fu. Oakland School for the Arts student and American Idol contestant Abayomi Lewis sang MacArthur Park, the same song Liu skated to in her Olympic free skate. When Turfinc, a group celebrating Oakland’s street dance culture, performed, Liu even joined them on stage. Despite the unseasonably hot day in Oakland, the crowd cheered and danced along with the performers.
Figure-skating legend Kristi Yamaguchi, a native of nearby Fremont who won gold at the 1992 Olympics, spoke at the celebration, as did Andre Ward, the 2004 Olympic gold medal boxer who grew up in Oakland. Other Bay Area sports legends, including Warriors coach Steve Kerr, NBA star Stephen Curry and figure skater Brian Boitano recorded video messages for the event, while the Valkyries, Oakland Roots and Oakland Ballers presented Liu with custom jerseys, a jacket and her own championship ring.
The showcase was topped off with a performance by Grammy-award-winning R&B singer Kehlani, who also attended Oakland School for the Arts.
“It’s been truly amazing to see how she’s put Oakland onto a global stage,” said attendee and musician ClayDough, who graduated from Oakland School for the Arts. “We get a lot of negative stuff in the news. Some of that is valid, but this makes me really happy to see us shown positively.”
