Liu landed a triple flip-triple toe loop combination, double Axel and triple Lutz. She finished, then buried her face in her hands, bent over her knees and appeared to tear up. She let loose on emotions that began stirring a few minutes earlier, when she first stepped on the ice for her program to “Promise” by Laufey.

Alysa Liu delivered a brilliant and breathtaking short program in her return to the U.S. Figure Skating Championships on Thursday night, taking a solid lead over Bradie Tennell and Amber Glenn.

Alysa Liu wore the smudge of blood on her dress at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships on Thursday night like a poignant badge of honor, symbolic of everything she has gone through over the past few years.