A 13 year old described by the Times Herald as the “queen in waiting,” is second after the short program at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Detroit, reports the Mercury News.
Liu of Richmond, California hit the triple axel, becoming just the youngest in American history to ever do so at Nationals and just the third overall. The others are Tanya Harding and Kimmie Meissner.
Liu trails U.S. Champion Brady Tennell 76.60 to 73.89.
“I was really happy because I did everything I wanted to do,” Liu said to Team USA about the tears that rolled down her eyes after her performance.
Liu could be America’s future in her sport and, according to the Mercury News, is the most talked about skater in years.
She is the daughter of Arthur Liu who left China in 1989 after
Tiananmen Square. She was conceived through
anonymous egg donors and two surrogate mothers.
She has worked with Michelle Kwan’s former coach, Frank Carroll and is currently coached by Laura Lipetsky.
“I care about her so much, I give everything that I can to her because she only gets one shot,” Lipetsky said to the Mercury News. “She reminds me of someone that I was growing up.”
I know a lot of people think I’m all about the jumps,” said Liu to the Times Herald. “I do try to work on skating skills. Because I am so small it is a bit harder to project that emotion and presentation.”
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