Another inspiring story from the Olympics and how a family was created from Third Party Reproduction
How Alysa Liu's parents raised an Olympic figure skating prodigy
Photo by Harry How/Getty Images
Team USA’s Alysa Liu nailed her Olympics 2022 short program on Tuesday (15 February 2022) and viewers are now interested to know more about the skating prodigy’s parents.
At just 16 years old, Alysa Liu has made history in her seven-year career.
In 2019, she became the youngest US GEICO figure skating champion at age 13, and was the first American female skater to complete a quadruple Lutz at the ISU Junior Grand Prix 2019, her international competition debut.
Liu made her Olympic debut in Tuesday’s stunning short program, placing eighth with a score of 69.50. While she undoubtedly has natural talent, her success can be partly credited to her father, Arthur, who introduced her to the sport.
Get to know Alysa Liu’s parents
Father
Born in Clovis, California, on 8 August 2005, Liu is the oldest of five children. Her father, Arthur Liu, is a lawyer who hails from a mountain village in Sichuan, China.
He attended an elite high school in Zhongxian, Chongqing, and went on to study English literature at Guangzhou’s Southwest Teachers University, also known as Southwest Normal University. During college, he became interested in political activism and as a graduate in the late 1980s, he reportedly organized pro-democracy demonstrations in the port city.
Following the events of the 1989 protests in Tiananmen Square, he allegedly led demonstrations blocking traffic in Guangzhou which, according to Sports Illustrated, placed him on a list of students wanted by the Chinese government.
Shortly thereafter, Liu emigrated to the US, arriving in Oakland at 25 years old. He gained income from working at a Chinese restaurant and used it to fund his law degree at the University of California – he currently operates a firm in Oakland.
Mother
There is no known information about Alysa Liu’s biological mother. The Liu children were conceived via in vitro fertilization and born to surrogate mothers – the athlete had a different egg donor and surrogate to the rest of her siblings.
It is known, however, that both egg donors are Caucasian as Arthur Liu “felt his children would benefit from a diverse gene pool” and multicultural upbringing. His younger children – Selina and triplets Joshua, Justin and Julia – are about 13 and 11 years old respectively. The lawyer also doesn’t know the identities of the women.
Yan Qingxin – also known as Mary – is Alysa Liu’s ‘mom’ as she was married to Arthur when she was born. Although the couple are divorced, the Liu children refer to her as mom and regularly spend time with her.
Her father is a tough trainer
Although he’s not her official coach, Liu has always been a fan of figure skating, and Michelle Kwan particularly. He enrolled Alysa in lessons with former coach Laura Lipetsky when she was five. Her father has been so dedicated the skater gifted him her national gold medal to thank him for helping her achieve success:
“He just helps me so much. He brings me to the rink every day,” she told Today. “I think he puts in a lot of effort and deserves it.”
Liu’s strict program consists of the “Coach Arthur rule: everything five times” – no wonder the teenager made it to the Olympics.