After Alysa Liu's mesmerizing and joyous free skate performance at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, where she won gold, I discovered, like many others, that she had ADHD.
Even better, I discovered that she is quite honest about her diagnosis. "I have ADHD, and I love situations that I'm not expecting," she said to ESPN. I get a dopamine surge from it.
Liu does have that ADHD aura that is a little wild. Seldom does she sit still. When she went off after winning, she was reminded that she had to go retrieve her medal, giving the impression that she was charmingly ignorant. Even when it looks unexpected or a little goofy, she speaks and does what she wants. At press conferences, she makes jokes. After winning, she said, "Now that's what I'm f*ckin' talking about!" into the camera. Since then, it has turned into a meme. She applauds her fellow skaters. Also consider Mexican Adderall Online for best results!
As a neurodivergent athlete, Liu is, in essence, everything I was warned not to be.
Like Liu, I'm a figure skater with ADHD. In contrast to her, I am not an Olympic champion, have never performed a quadruple lutz (though I have performed a double), and lack the courage to pierce my frenulum or color my hair. (When I got my ears pierced, I sobbed.)
However, similar to Liu, I had a fascinating journey to comprehend my ADHD.
When Liu discovered she had 145 unfinished homework assignments in her senior year of high school, she was examined for ADHD. Like many of us, she fought with procrastination and needed challenge and novelty to stay focused.
Liu's Diagnostics:
I was diagnosed at age 11, quickly forgot about it (I didn't take medication for a variety of reasons), and was re-diagnosed 20 years later when I mistakenly sought OCD diagnosis and treatment. (A route that a lot of women with ADHD take).
I was thrilled when Liu skated at the Olympics, just like everyone else. I may have been more invested since I had interviewed her when she initially made an impression on the junior circuit. At the time, she was a small 13-year-old with the hopes and ambitions of the skating world resting on her small shoulders.
When you consider her background, her Olympic victory becomes even more remarkable: she quit at the age of sixteen following a poor sixth-place result at the 2022 Olympics, had a two-year break, climbed Mount Everest, and returned to win both the Olympic gold and the World Championship in 2025.
She gave up because she was no longer able to handle the pressure. She truly disliked not being able to make her own decisions about her life, not just her skating, and she didn't appreciate feeling like a "puppet."
Liu returned because skating was enjoyable and she missed the sense of adrenaline. But there's a catch: everything would be on her terms, including training, food, music, and clothes.
And that proved to be the missing piece. Liu demonstrated to us all what happens when we decide to do things our way rather than the neurotypical way by making accommodations for herself and taking charge of her life.
What Alysa Liu’s Burnout Can Teach High-Functioning ADHD Women
Many girls and women with high-functioning ADHD—possibly including Liu—never receive a diagnosis or receive one later in life because they seem to be doing just fine. They do well in school. In sports, they are dominant. They devote themselves fully to whatever piques their intense interest. Everything appears fantastic from the outside. However, they are struggling on the inside.
This can feel even more oppressive in highly regulated settings, such as top figure skating. A brain that yearns for independence and novelty clashes with the ongoing urge to perform, fit in, and submit.
In sports, there is also a common belief that hardship leads to development. The cost of achievement is that discipline. It appears as though you are spending hours on the ice while your thoughts are silently crumbling. It is putting aside your own needs and desires in order to avoid disappointing anyone.
This is what I experienced. I competed in figure skating for more than 20 years, although I wasn't an Olympian. I was surrounded by Olympians who trained and coached me, and I wondered for years why I couldn't just put in the same kind of effort and dedication as them. At the age of 18, my perfectionism caused me to leave. My body made the decision for me to burn out even though, like Liu, I went back to the activity and had times when I stopped performing neurotypically.
The thing about Liu that most impresses me is that she didn't wait for it. She made the decision to go before it broke her and to return only when she was able to do so on her own terms. She made no attempt to reintegrate into the previous system. She constructed a new one.
Alysa Liu Is the Role Model I Didn’t Know I Needed
To be fair, there are other athletes who have discussed their mental health. However, it's refreshing how she discusses ADHD and openly celebrates it.
That's revolutionary in a sport that has traditionally valued strict control over bodies, speech, and appearance. She becomes an iconic figure skater for a whole new generation that embraces individualism and sets its own standards.
Our brains, like those with ADHD, are not wired for obligation. We require occupations and activities that are innovative, present fresh difficulties, and keep us on our toes. Because humans thrive on the unknown, a large number of athletes, entrepreneurs, and creatives are neurodivergent.
However, we quickly lose interest in those activities when they become routine. Burnout occurs at the top, and it begins to seem like slogging uphill.
Liu most likely ended up here prior to her retirement. She then departed. When she returned, she made sure happiness came first.
Even if the majority of us will never take home an Olympic medal, we can still benefit from her journey. We are able to make accommodations for ourselves. Rather of doing what we believe people want, we can be genuine and honest. We can request assistance. We may respect our own process—the straying focus, the dispersed exercises, the FaceTime conversations during the warm-up—and have faith that our energy will manifest when it is time.
Conclusion:
The most important thing we can take away from Liu is to be authentic. Take care of yourself as you need to. You will succeed if you pursue your hobbies.
Perhaps the only thing we need to alter is the way we lead.
Alysa led with delight. She prevailed.
Dual-sport neurodivergent athlete Christie Sausa, MS, is the author of the blog Not Your Average Athlete.
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