Richmond resident and figure-skating star Alysa Liu won the 2021 Nebelhorn Trophy last weekend, which has earned Team USA a third entry in women’s events at the upcoming Olympic Winter Games.
According to U.S. Figure Skating, “Liu bolted ahead of every competitor in sight” at the competition in Oberstdorf, Germany, which served as the final qualifying event for the Olympics, which begin in less than four and a half months.
The victory secured Team USA a third entry at the Olympic Winter Games but does not necessarily mean Liu will be competing in Beijing. The skaters actually competing at the Beijing Games will be announced after the 2022 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in January.
Liu garnered her third international win of the season last weekend, according to Team USA. The 16-year-old, a two-time U.S. Champion (2019, 2020) who was the youngest to win the U.S. title at age 13, told Team USA she’s “really honored to have been chosen” to compete in Oberstdorf, Germany. She won the short program (70.86) and free skate (136.54) and finishing 14 points ahead of the second-place finisher, Ekaterina Kurakova (193.58), of Poland, with 207.40 total points. In the men’s event, Liu’s USA teammate Vincent Zhou also won the Nebelhorn Trophy and confirmed the U.S. a third entry in the men’s events at the Olympic Winter Games.
In February 2019, Liu joined National Park Service Ranger Betty Reid Soskin and other prominent Richmond residents in being honored during Mayor Tom Butt’s State of the City address.
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