‘What Is There to Lose?’ Alysa Liu on Making an Olympic Comeback After Retiring at 16

Even if you’re not a dedicated figure-skating fan, you’ll easily recognize Alysa Liu when she takes to the ice in Milan as part of the U.S. women’s Olympic figure-skating team. She’s the one with the horizontal blonde and brown stripes in her hair.

Liu, 21, says the stripes are like the rings on a tree, and she’s been adding a blonde one every year since 2023. But she stands out for more than her unique do. At 13, she became the youngest U.S. women’s champion, and the first U.S. woman...