Two-time Olympian Alysa Liu has gained a ton of attention for her gold medal-winning performance in women's figure skating on Thursday, but that's not the only moment of hers that has taken the Internet by storm this week. After being launched into the international spotlight at the 2026 Winter Olympics, many online began reacting to an impressive moment of Liu's from nearly a year ago. 
In May 2025, Liu was invited to throw the first pitch ahead of a St. Louis Cardinals' game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The “Blade Angels” member put her on-ice skills on full display, landing a stunning double axel on land before tossing the baseball to home plate.
@bleacherreport Alysa Liu is ridiculous 😵‍💫🥇 (via @MLB, h/t conorsen/X) #alysaliu #figureskating #winterolympics #baseball #mlb ♬ original sound – bleacherreport

We're used to seeing it on ice, but seeing a human rotate on land like that seems like an optical illusion,” the comment attached to the video read. “How does she spin so fast?” one poster asked on TikTok.

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“Honestly, with those moves, she could slide into home plate and still snag a gold medal! Who needs baseball when you've got figure skating finesse like that? #AlysaForMVP,” another commenter chimed in.

The 20-year-old scored a season-high 150.20 in her free skate after racking up 76.59 points in her short program, finishing with a total of 226.79. She became the first American to win a gold medal in women's singles figure skating since 2002. The last skater to stand on the top of the podium for the US was Sarah Hughes, three years before Liu was even born.

Liu's unapologetically authentic persona has won over a lot of fans, including the Cardinals, who referenced the moment while congratulating her on her historic Olympic win.