Olympian Alysa Liu is a Chainsaw Man superfan

Alysa Liu appreciates the depths of a chainsaw heart

On Feb. 6, Team USA’s Alysa Liu participated in the 2026 Winter Olympics Figure Skating Team Event, winning second place. When combined with the result of her teammates Amber Glenn and Isabeau Levito, Liu’s team took home the Olympic gold medal on Feb. 8. Apart from previously holding the record for being the youngest U.S. figure skating national champion in history, Liu is also a massive Chainsaw Man fan, exemplified by her love for Pochita, the cute-yet-overpowered companion of franchise protagonist Denji.

Liu posted an Instagram story shortly before the Winter Olympics opening ceremony on Feb. 6, where she's hugging an adorable Pochita plushie that she also carried on her person during the Winter Olympics' interview cycle. Pochita is the Chainsaw Devil in Tatsuki Fujimoto’s acclaimed manga series, whose transformation into Denji’s heart becomes the catalyst for his tragic, eventful storyline.

Liu’s accolades are decidedly impressive: She competed at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, finishing sixth in the women’s singles event, and promptly won a bronze medal at the 2022 ISU World Figure Skating Championships a month later. The bronze win made Liu the first U.S. woman to reach the world podium since 2016. If this wasn’t praise-worthy enough, Liu is also a two-time Grand Prix medalist and a four-time Challenger Series champion. Phillip DiGuglielmo, one of Liu’s on-and-off coaches over the decade, told ELLE about the figure skater’s incredible mastery over her craft:

“Nobody understands what they’re doing better than Alysa understands what she’s doing. If we’re working on the technique of a jump, it’s, ‘What are you feeling? What am I seeing? Where can we make this look better?’ It’s a collaboration; it would never be me telling her, ‘Do this!’ That would not fly.’”

Liu’s gold medal fell to the floor and was dented shortly after she received it, an experience shared by several medal-winning athletes during this year's games. She explained what happened in a recent interview:

“I was just jumping up and down, as one does to celebrate, and it just dropped. It just literally fell off the ribbon. It got very scratched up, well, not very dented, but pretty dented. I actually liked it when it was off the ribbon, but that’s not allowed. I had to give it in. I was like, ‘Can’t you just fix this one?’ I’m attached. But it’s O.K., I’m detached. Just like it was.”

Milan Cortina’s chief games operations officer, Andrea Francisi, responded to the medal issue with the assurance that the matter would be promptly investigated and that damaged medals would be replaced. Thankfully, Liu received her replacement gold medal today.

While Liu’s professional accomplishments speak for themselves (she was also named in the 2019 Time 100 Next list), her love for Chainsaw Man and anime in general (evident from this wonderful Saiki K. cosplay) adds an endearing layer to her public image.