NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The U.S. Olympic women's figure skating team is set.
And despite recently testing positive for COVID-19, Alysa Liu is on it.
The 16-year-old successfully petitioned for her spot and will join national champion Mariah Bell and runner-up Karen Chen in representing Team USA at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing next month. The three-woman team was finalized and announced Saturday afternoon, one day after the conclusion of the women's competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships.
The remaining members of the U.S. figure skating team – which will include three men, three ice dance teams and two pairs – will be announced Sunday.
For the women, Saturday's announcement was years in the making yet not entirely surprising. After the withdrawals of Bradie Tennell (injury) and Amber Glenn (COVID-19), Bell, Chen and Liu were widely viewed as the top three skaters in the U.S. women's field.
Liu and Bell, 25, will be making their Olympic debuts, while Chen will be making her second appearance. The 22-year-old finished 11th at the 2018 Winter Games.
None of the three U.S. figure skaters are expected to contend for medals in an event that has been dominated in recent years by the Russians. But Liu, a two-time national champion before her 15th birthday, might represent Team USA's best shot at the podium. She is one of the few U.S. women to ever land the notoriously-tricky triple axel in competition.
After testing positive for COVID-19 on Friday morning, Liu was forced to withdraw from nationals between the short program and free skate. She will have to produce a string of negative COVID-19 tests in order to travel to Beijing.
Bell, meanwhile, is believed to be the oldest female figure skater to make Team USA in an individual capacity since the late 1920s. She won her first national championship in nine tries Saturday night to lock up her Olympic spot.
Contact Tom Schad at tschad@usatoday.com or on Twitter @Tom_Schad.
