Sofia Samodelkina on Alysa Liu: “No one was used to seeing figure skating like this. For us, sport is a battlefield, a fight, but here’s a girl enjoying herself throughout the whole program.”
Kazakh figure skater Sofia Samodelkina defended Alysa Liu’s Olympic gold, calling criticism of her victory unfounded and praising Liu’s unique approach and attitude.
original source: Sports by Maya Bagriantseva
In an interview with Sports correspondent Maya Bagriantseva, Kazakh figure skater Sofia Samodelkina shared her opinion on the performances of American Alysa Liu, who won gold in the individual event at the 2026 Olympics. Here’s a translation.
“Q: What do you think is the phenomenon of Alysa Liu? Why do people connect so deeply with her live performances?
Sofia Samodelkina: It’s clear why she captivated everyone: no one was used to seeing figure skating like that. For us, sport is a battlefield, a fight. You go out and think: it’s either me or them. I was raised my whole life to push forward, grit my teeth, no matter what. Remember the Beijing Olympics – it was a real battle.
But then this girl comes out: she enjoys the whole program, looks how she wants, her body is different – and she wins gold. At the same time, she works hard and performs equally difficult content. It’s something you can only dream of: living with joy, skating for pleasure, not limiting yourself – and taking first place.
Of course, after that, everyone is confused: how is this possible? She might skip training to meet friends, dyes her hair in an unusual ways – and gets a medal like that? She didn’t deserve it!
But I think that’s complete nonsense. Alysa has her own, difficult story; as a child, she was forced to do everything just like everyone else. At some point, she decided she didn’t want to live that way anymore. Then she came back: with her own rules and understanding that if it works out – great, if not – it’s okay, it’s not the end of the world.
I think she’s the kind of person who says, “It’s no big deal, at least I enjoyed myself.” I can’t say I’m the same. Yes, I skate without fear, and I don’t have the mindset of “if I fail, I’ll be punished.” For me, just stepping onto the ice is already a joy. But psychologically, we’re different, of course.”
Related topics: Alysa Liu, Sofia Samodelkina
Beautiful, honest observation by Sofia and beautiful comment, thanks MLouisa.
I thinks so too, those are signs we are moving towards something lighter and more genuine.
Sofia is honest here as she recognizes that she is one way and Alysa another, and yet Sofia has the depth of understanding that there is more than one way to be an elite figure skater. I personally think Alysa’s attitude will one day dominate. It is like the world has evolved one step closer to our true human experience.