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By Tyler Erzberger
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Alysa Liu would only return to figure skating after her 2022 retirement if she took control of her career and life.
At 13, a tiny Liu stole headlines when she became the youngest woman to win the national figure skating championship. She then proved she wasn't a fluke by going back-to-back and putting herself on the map as the United States' best chance to return to the top of the podium at the Winter Olympics.
But by the time she made her first Games at 16 in Beijing, she was tired, emotionally and physically. She saw figure skating as a job, and only went to the Olympics so she could fulfill her dream of experiencing the spectacle before walking away from the sport.
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Two years after her retirement, a family skiing trip with a friend rejuvenated her love of winter sports and prompted her to return to figure skating.
But she had a strict list of conditions that her coaches and father, who oversaw her career, had to agree to for her to compete.
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A lot of the decisions were based on her actual performance, with her styling, music choices, outfits, and how she wanted to be coached.
Liu, though, also wanted to make one thing clear: when it came to food, she would decide what she ate.
During the most recent Olympics, international journalists were shocked when she said she had been eating pasta and chocolate cake before the biggest performance of her life.
Liu embarrassed her critics by winning double gold medals at the competition.
In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Liu opened up fully about what she went through as a teenager before retiring from figure skating.
She wasn't only limited to what she could eat, but also to what she could drink. And that included water.
"They were like 'Water weight, you shouldn't drink water,'" Liu retold in her interview. "You should gargle it. It's crazy. It's insane."
Liu has taken control of her career and has become the Winter Olympian with the most Instagram followers in history, recently breaking past seven million.
The reigning world champion, Liu, also decided this past weekend that she will be taking a break from competition, withdrawing from the World Championships later this month in Prague.
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