Alysa Liu having a blast during Winter Olympics that have been controversial and isolating – USA TODAY

US hockey loses gold to Canada, Shiffrin skis out; Two-woman bobsled Friday

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Sandy Hooper, USA TODAY

BEIJING The 2022 Winter Olympics will likely be remembered as bothcontroversial and isolating. They've featuredpolitical tensions and severe COVID-19 restrictions. Questions about the whereabouts of Peng Shuai and forced labor camps in Xinjiang. Plexiglass barriers. A Russian doping scandal. Complaintsfrom athletes about quality of food and quarantine conditions.

But you wouldn't know any of that from talking with 16-year-old figure skaterAlysa Liu.

"ITS BEEN SO FUN SO FAR," she wrote on Instagram last week.

The youngest athlete on Team USA in Beijing, Liu said she's been having a blast in her first trip to the Games, despite all the negativity surrounding them. She's made new friends from other countries, bought souvenirs for friends back home, participated in multiple snowball fights and raved about the peach juice available in the Olympic village.

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The experience hasn't really been what she expected, but in a great way.

"I thought because of COVID and everything, I would just be in my room, and then (at the rink). But thats not the case," Liu said after her short program Tuesday night.

"And theres, like, a mall (at the Olympic village). I didnt know there was a mall. I found out when I got here. I was like, theres a mall? I think they told us there was a mall, but I obviously didnt hear that. So the village is really fun."

Liu said she's also been surprised by how many games are available in the village, including a mini basketball arcade game outside their Team USA apartment, and cornhole boards outside of Team Canada's.

"Apparently, I was playing it wrong," she said, laughing."I was like throwing (overhand). Someone from our medical team was like, uh, underhand Alysa.' "

That Liu skated well in her short program Tuesday night was just an added bonus.

A two-time U.S. champion who was knocked out of this year's national championships by a positive COVID-19 test, Liu finished eighth in the first half of the women's individual competition, leaving her as the highest-ranked American in the field. She later said teammate Madison Hubbell, who won a bronze medal in ice dance, did her makeup ahead of the competition.

"Im really glad I did a clean short program," Liu said afterwards."I would also be fine if I didnt do a clean short, but Im glad I did a clean short program."

Naturally, she had a huge smile when she stepped onto the ice, and perhaps an even larger one when she left.

Liu's outlook has offered a rare glimpse of the excitement that usually permeates the Olympics but has been harder to come by in Beijing. And it hasn't been dampened by what's happening in Liu's own event with Russian skater Kamila Valieva, who has been permitted to compete despite testing positive for a banned substance, sparking a high-stakes legal battle and international backlash.

When asked if they're following Valieva's case, most skaters Tuesday demurred or said they were only focused on their own performances. But Liu?

"Yeah, its like the biggest thing thats happened here so far in the figure skating event," she said."So, yeah, weve definitely talked about it. ...Every time something new happens, we tell each other, because there's updates on it."

Liu admitted that "it does suck" that Valieva's case led to the cancellation of the medal ceremony for the team figure skating event, where her teammates were scheduled to receive silver medals. But she understands it. And while the Valieva saga continues to loom over her event, she said it hasn't tarnished her Olympic debut.

"Im still having fun here," Liu said. "It hasnt ruined my experience here."

Contact Tom Schad at tschad@usatoday.com or on Twitter @Tom_Schad.

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Alysa Liu having a blast during Winter Olympics that have been controversial and isolating - USA TODAY