Alysa Liu taking in Olympic experience with eyes wide open: 'My goal is to stay in the moment'

Three years after Alysa Liu was a national champion at the age 13, the American figure skater is making her Olympic debut.

"My goal here is to stay in the moment and enjoy everything," Liu, 16, said Sunday (13 February) of her experience at the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022.

"I know that even though I feel like I'm here for a long time, it's going to go by really fast. I'm just trying to take everything. I want to process everything so I have good memories."

Things have moved quickly for Liu, the two-time U.S. champion (in 2019 and 2020) who made her senior international debut this year. After becoming the youngest champion in American history at age 13 in 2019, there were big expectations placed on her shoulders.

A growth spurt during the 2020-21 season - coupled pandemic shutdowns and limited competitions - saw Liu finish fourth at the 2021 U.S. Championships, but the California native never stopped learning at every step of the way.

In September, she qualified the U.S. its third quota position at the Nebelhorn Trophy ISU Challenger event.

A consistent season - in which she made her debut on the senior international circuit - helped her solidify her Olympic berth, something she wanted to do to "honour my childhood dream," she said.

Now she feels like one of the adults in the room because she is: She's made it to the Olympics.

"The village is really fun," a beaming Liu described of the athlete village in Beijing following a practice session. "In the cafeteria is where all the athletes go to eat. People from other sports are there too, so seeing all the other athletes is really cool. Walking around the athlete mall is really fun... especially when you do it with teammates. [On Saturday we] had a watch party for the