Alysa Liu Becomes First U.S. Woman to Land Quad Lutz in Junior Grand Prix Win
Alysa Liu became the first American woman to land a quad jump in competition on Saturday, hitting her signature quadruple lutz during a free skate to win the Junior Grand Prix.
Liu, 14, achieved the feat despite falling on a triple axel to open her debut. The U.S. national champion then landed a triple lutz-triple toe combination and a sequence that included a triple lutz and triple salchow.
Liu won the free skate with a score of 80.14, nearly 14 points ahead of second place. She also won the short program to finish the Grand Prix with 208.10 points and became the first woman of any country to land a quad lutz and triple axel in the same program.
Liu joins Japan's Miki Ando (2002) and Russia's Alexandrea Trusova (2018) as one of just a few women to land quads in competition.
"It’s a good learning experience since it’s only my first junior Grand Prix and one of my first big competitions this season," Liu told the Associated Press. "I’m just trying to keep learning from this."
Liu became the U.S.'s youngest-ever national champion in January and is already being tagged as a favorite at the Beijing Olympics in 2022.
The 14-year-old phenom will skate at another Junior Grand Prix in Poland next month.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
