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

The figure skating U.S. Championships will take place live on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, January 24th through the 26th, featuring the women's free skate, men's free skate, and free dance competitions at INTRUST Bank Arena in Wichita,

Alysa Liu, back from retirement at age 19, sits in first place after the women's short program at U.S. Figure Skating Championships on Thursday in Wichita, Kan. Liu was the bronze medalist at the 2022 World Championships before stepping away from the sport.

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.