Alysa Liu's Surprising Chloe Kim Admission Speaks Volumes

One of the most fascinating and impressive stories to stem from the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games was the dominance of the United States' Olympic women athletes.

The USA as a whole won 33 medals (12 gold, 12 silver, and 9 bronze). Of those 33 medals, 21 were won by women (including mixed team events). And eight of the 12 gold medals were won by women. That means American women won as many gold medals as Germany, Sweden, and France.

Alysa Liu of the United States | James Lang-Imagn Images

That's a staggering amount of success for American women. And their elite Olympic Games weren't solely owed to the number of medals they had placed around their necks. Several of these women became global superstars and entered a new echelon of popularity because of what they did on the biggest stage.

The best example of this is with USA figure skater Alysa Liu. The 20-year-old became the first woman to win an individual Olympic gold medal for Team USA figure skating since 2002 with her extraordinary women's singles program. Liu won a second gold medal for the USA at the team event, as well.

Another USA woman superstar was Chloe Kim. The 25-year-old snowboarder secured a silver medal in the halfpipe event in Italy, despite dislocating her shoulder while training for the Olympics. She won a gold medal in the same event at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.

Kim was already one of the biggest names to compete. Yet, her sustained success (and her relationship with NFL superstar Myles Garrett) made her even more of a household name.

Chloe Kim of the United States | Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

Alysa Liu Picks Chloe Kim for Dream Olympic Swap

One would imagine that every Olympic athlete has a ton of respect for what their peers can (and do) accomplish with the entire world watching.

Liu made it clear that she has a ton of admiration for Kim with an answer she gave during an interview with Self Magazine that was originally posted to the @selfmagazine Instagram account on February 20.

Alysa Liu skates the Exhibition Gala at the 2026 Milano Cortina Games. | IMAGO / Gribaudi/ImagePhoto

In the interview, Liu was asked who she would choose if she could trade places with one Olympic for a day.

"Chloe Kim," Liu responded without hesitation. She then added, "I just want to be really good at snowboarding."

One person also answered Chloe Kim, and multiple others (including Liu's figure skating peer, Amber Glenn) answered with USA gymnast Simone Biles.

It would be interesting to hear what Kim's answer to this question would be.