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Since conquering the gold in the 2026 Winter Olympics of Milan-Cortina, Alysa Liu has stepped into a new spotlight. After being the best in women's singles and in the team event, the 20-year-old Californian became the first U.S. woman to stand first the podium since Sarah Hughes in 2002.
However, as her name is well known, dominating headlines across the globe, a new debate has emerged: Are we pronouncing it right? After years of hearing different versions of her name from commentators and fans, the Olympic champion has finally clarified how to say it how it truly is.
The end of the pronunciation debate
In an exclusive interview with Newsweek following her return home to California, Liu addressed how to pronounce her name correctly. While many fans and broadcasters have defaulted to the phonetic "Lu," Liu revealed the true family pronunciation, which is most of times mistaken.
"The correct pronunciation is 'Lee-oh'
Despite the common slip-up, the gold medalist understands the confusion:
"I personally don't care. My last name can be hard to pronounce. And I don't expect people to know how to say that."
The clarification did not conclude at her surname. Liu also refered on the subtle differences in how people say her first name. While it may look like a variation of a common American name, there is a distinct family way of saying it versus the world's way too. Family says 'Ally-sa' but everybody says 'Alyssa'.