Really cheered on Liu. Great story about her. She retired from the sport as she felt like she lost her childhood, time, friends and family - alone to her training and that was it.
Came back with a totally different reason to skate, to enjoy and showcase her abilities, not for the medal. And she looked like she was happy doing it, when there is so much pressure in this specific event. They really seem full of nerves before the competition. It was awesome to see her just perform and it felt like she was going to win cause of it.
And was still gracious and very happy for the Japanese skaters. She said she was very happy to watch them perform - both the young 17 year old and the world champion who may be retiring this year.
At age 13, she was so tiny when she won the US championship that she needed to be helped up to the podium! What a heck of a ride from that long ago.