She was the youngest ever US figure skating champion at 13 before leaving it all behind. Now Alysa Liu is back at this week’s world championships with a renewed purpose

Alysa Liu looks back on the ice as rotates on her left foot, picking up speed before she completes her triple flip-triple toe combination. A group of high schoolers on a field trip sitting in the stands erupts into applause. She gives a smile and small bow as she skates away. It’s a recovery day for her. She drives herself to the rink for a two-hour skating session. Later this afternoon, she plans to attend her brother’s basketball game.

If you had asked Liu a year and a half ago if she would be preparing for another figure skating world championships, she would have told you that you were crazy.