Alysa Liu, 16, shines in Olympic figure skating debut

Alysa Liu couldn't help but break into a big grin on Olympic ice.

The 16-year-old American figure skater, making her debut at the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022, had good reason to, skating to a 69.50 to place third with six skaters remaining.

Liu, who became the youngest American ever to win a national title at age 13 in 2019, is also the youngest member of the Team USA contingent - across any sport - at Beijing 2022.

She has secured her spot in Thursday (17 February)'s free skate.

Liu, who has a triple Axel in her repertoire, opted for a double Axel in the opening moments of her program, then added a triple flip and triple Lutz-triple toe-loop in combination in her skate, set to "Gypsy Dance."

Her teammate, reigning U.S. champion Mariah Bell, fell on her opening triple Lutz-triple toe combination, but was impressive in the rest of her program to score a 65.38.

Karen Chen is still to skate

More to come.