The father behind success of figure skating sensation Alysa Liu

When Alysa made her final jump in the freestyle event at the 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics, the entire arena held their breath. Minutes later, as her score flashed on the board, the stands erupted. The 20-year-old American athlete captured the gold medal, ending a 24-year drought for the U.S. in the women’s singles event.

In that triumphant moment, cameras captured a man standing quietly in the stands and almost tearing up. He was Arthur, her father, manager, companion, and the man who sacrificed almost everything so his daughter could soar on the ice.

While Alysa’s performance moved millions, the story of the “Ice Angel” is anchored by a father who started with nothing and dedicated his life to her dream.

Arthur, now an attorney in California, was a political activist who was forced to leave China in 1989. As a graduate student at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, he helped organize pro-democracy protests. When the movement was suppressed, he became a wanted man.

Thanks to the “Operation Yellowbird”, which was designed to help dissidents who participated in the Tiananmen Square protest to avoid arrest, Liu escaped to Hong Kong and eventually sought asylum in the U.S. at just 26 years old.

Starting over in America, Liu studied law, opened his own office and built a stable life. Around the age of 40, he confronted a question many single men face regarding fatherhood. Choosing a less conventional path, he became a single father through surrogacy. With the help of two surrogate mothers and an anonymous egg donor, he raised five children, with Alysa being his eldest.

While single-father households have increased in the U.S., actively choosing this path through surrogacy as a single man remains rare. For Liu, it was simply the choice of a man who deeply wanted a family.

Investing in a prodigy

Alysa was born in Oakland, California, on Aug. 8, 2005. During her early years, the family squeezed into a one-bedroom apartment while Liu balanced his legal career with raising five children.

When Alysa stepped onto the ice at age five, Arthur quickly recognized her rare talent and committed to investing heavily in her future.

Figure skating is known as an expensive sport, requiring private coaches, choreographers, physical experts, customized fits and lots of international travel.

But Arthur shouldered it all.

“I spared no money, no time,” he said during a 60 Minutes special. “I just saw the talent.”

Drawing from years of hard work and savings, he spent between $500,000 and $1 million funding her career. That investment yielded early historic returns: at 12, Alysa became the youngest female athlete to land a triple axel in U.S. history, and at 13, she became the youngest national champion.

However, beyond the ice, the pressure was immense. Liu managed every aspect of his daughter’s career, from selecting coaches to deciding training schedules. Alysa later reflected that figure skating felt more like her dad’s business than her own.

Alysa Liu performs in the women’s singles figure skating at the Winter Olympics on the Milan, Italy, on Feb. 19, 2026. Photo by AP

Following the 2022 Winter Olympics, a 16-year-old Alysa shocked everyone by announcing her retirement. Arthur noticed the severe burnout, acknowledging that she avoided the ice at all costs and was hurting.

“I didn’t really ask his opinion when I decided to retire. After all, it’s my life,” she told San Francisco Chronicleadding that her father was supportive of her decision.

After stepping away to enjoy a normal teenage life, Alysa found her way back to the ice in 2024, but this time on her own terms, with much less involvement from her father.

“I get to pick my own program music, I get to help with the creative process of the program,” she said on 60 Minutes. “If I feel like I’m skating too much, I’ll back down. If I feel like I’m not skating enough, I’ll ramp it up. No one is going to starve me, tell me what I can and can’t eat.

“He’s a great father, I just didn’t want him to be as invested in it as he was before.”

Alysa’s journey is not just about the sport. Before the 2022 Beijing Olympics, Arthur revealed he was approached by Chinese representatives suggesting Alysa compete for her ancestral homeland, a strategy used with other athletes of Chinese descent, like freestyle skier Eileen Gu.

However, he immediately refused.

Having fled China, he continued organizing protests outside the Chinese consulate in San Francisco and the embassy in Washington.

Despite understanding the value of money and the struggles of raising a family in a small apartment, he refused the offer to compromise his principles, stating he would never sacrifice his integrity.