Alysa Liu won two Olympic gold medals by doing things her way. 

And, her coach says, Liu hopes to keep doing that once she leaves Italy Sunday.

That’s why it’s probably a good thing that she has skating commitments to keep her busy for the next two months, including a trip to Prague to defend her world title in late March.

“No press tour right away, no nothing,” coach Phillip DiGuglielmo said Saturday via telephone from Milan, not long before Liu closed down the exhibition gala’s solo performances.

“We have to figure out how we are going to train (for worlds). We may have to ask the rink management (in Oakland, Calif.) to close the rink when she trains because of the attention she has gotten. “Dealing with that kind of attention is not what she wants now. She doesn’t want to be famous. She wants to be Alysa.”

That won’t be easy.  Liu captivated the world, especially the United States, with her joyous, quirky personality as she won the women’s singles title after helping Team USA win the team figure skating event.

Her impact even boosted attention on the late disco diva Donna Summers, whose version of the 1978 song, “MacArthur Park” was the soundtrack for Liu’s free skate.

Streams of the song on Spotify jumped nearly 900 percent, according to Forbes.com.  It moved into the Top 10 on iTunes, according to a post on X by Chart Data.

When a reporter asked Liu during the singles medalists press conference how she would deal with “superstardom,” the answer was quintessentially Alysa: quick-witted with just the right degree of snark.

“I mean, I don't know if I'm there, but, um, I kind of don't want to be,” Liu said.  “I have no idea how I'm gonna deal with it. Probably wigs.  I'm gonna wear some wigs when I go outside.”

Liu paused and grinned before adding, “Nah, I'm playing.”

The upside of being in such a bright spotlight, Liu said, is that others will hear her comeback story and be motivated to give themselves grace or seek help for mental health problems they can’t deal with alone.

“I hope that with all this attention, I can at least raise awareness about mental health and sports and mental health in general,” Liu said.  “And I think my story is pretty cool, and so I hope that inspires some people as well.”

After the World Championships, in which the women’s event is March 25 (short program) and March 27 (free skate), Liu will immediately go to Japan for eight shows in nine days with the Stars on Ice Japan tour.

Four days later, she will start the Stars on Ice U.S. tour, with 26 shows over six weeks.

“Alysa is going to have some time for herself, but it won’t be much, because we leave for Prague March 21,” DiGuglielmo said. 

Once the shows are over, Liu will begin thinking of programs for next season.

“People are telling her, `You could skate four more years, be in another Olympics,’’’ DiGuglielmo said.  “The sport could be very different in four more years.”

*All of the U.S. skaters who were named in January to the U.S. team for the 2026 World Championships still intend to compete as of Saturday, a U.S. Figure Skating spokesperson said.

That world team includes all the members of the Olympic figure skating team except men’s singles skater Maxim Naumov, who is to be replaced by two-time Olympian Jason Brown, and pairs team Emily Chan and Spencer Howe, replaced by Katie McBeath and Daniil Parkman.

The U.S. has an additional pairs spot at worlds.  It goes to two-time U.S. champions Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrafonov, who were ineligible for the Olympics because Efimova is not yet a U.S citizen.  Different eligibility rules apply for the World Championships.

Philip Hersh, who has covered figure skating at 13 straight Olympics, is a special contributor to NBCOlympics.com