US Olympian Alysa Liu was once targeted by Chinese spies – here's what she has to say about it

American fig skater Alyssa Liu is America's past anticipation astatine winning a golden medal successful an idiosyncratic fig skating lawsuit astatine the Milan Cortina Olympics. 

Liu has go a instrumentality favourite for the U.S. this year, playing a cardinal relation successful  helping her state triumph golden successful the squad lawsuit aft her melodramatic comeback story. She lone conscionable returned to the satellite signifier aft a little status pursuing her show astatine the 2022 Beijing Winter Games. 

But determination was a infinitesimal successful her communicative that wasn't each feel-good sports joy. There was a infinitesimal wherever she had to look the fearfulness of geopolitical espionage. 

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

Alysa Liu of Team United States competes during the Women's Single Skating - Short Program connected time eleven of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games astatine Milano Ice Skating Arena connected February 17, 2026 successful Milan, Italy.  (Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

Just anterior to her quality successful the 2022 Beijing games, she and her begetter were the targets of a spying cognition by the Chinese government.

Her father, Arthur, fled China arsenic a exile decades earlier. But his past followed him, arsenic his past engagement successful the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests made him and his girl the targets of spies successful 2022. 

Liu called the acquisition "a small spot freaky and exciting."

"You cognize what I mean? It's truthful … unbelievable. You cognize what I mean like, that's crazy," Liu antecedently told Fox News Digital astatine a roundtable interrogation astatine the USOPC Media Summit successful October.

ILIA MALININ HINTS AT INTENSE OLYMPIC PRESSURE DAYS AFTER UNEXPECTED RESULT

Alysa Liu of the United States performs her regular during the Figure Skating, Women's Singles Skating, Short Program astatine the Milano Ice Skating Arena astatine the Milano Cortina Winter Olympic Games 2026 connected February 17th, 2026 successful Milan, Italy.   (Tim Clayton/Getty Images)

"Like, ideate uncovering that retired astatine specified a young age, I mean, similar In a weird way, I was like, 'Am I similar successful immoderate prank show?' Like, is this satellite existent similar I indispensable beryllium immoderate movie character. But, I mean, it was similar it made consciousness to me, you know, from similar everything my dada did backmost successful his activistic days."

One of the 5 men who were charged Wednesday with spying connected Chinese dissidents surviving successful the U.S., Matthew Ziburis, allegedly contacted Arthur successful November 2021, impersonating a USOPC authoritative and asking for his and Liu's passport numbers, The Associated Press reported astatine the time. 

Ziburis allegedly traveled to California’s Bay Area, wherever the Liu household lived, to surveil them and effort to coax backstage accusation from the household that helium could past proviso to the Chinese government.

Her begetter told The Associated Press astatine the time, "They are astir apt conscionable trying to intimidate us, to ... successful a mode endanger america not to accidental anything, to origin occupation to them and accidental thing governmental oregon related to quality rights violations successful China... I had concerns astir her safety. The U.S. authorities did a bully occupation protecting her."

The U.S. Department of Justice and FBI came to Liu's aid. 

She archetypal spoke with the FBI cause who would support her household astatine magnitude astatine a section Japanese restaurant.

"I went similar to devour meal with her a mates times I mostly talk, due to the fact that like, I'm besides like, truly funny successful what she does, similar guys like, that's truthful chill to maine like, I don't know, conscionable similar gathering with an FBI cause similar that's brainsick work," she said. 

"You know, and I mean, similar not galore radical tin bash that. So I, you know, I person truthful galore questions and similar I've met with, similar a scientist there, not for maine similar because, I was like, truthful funny astir similar what she does."

Liu added the FBI made her consciousness "safe," passim the situation.

The spy cognition didn't scare Liu disconnected from competing successful Beijing. But she had heightened information assurances from the U.S. State Department and USOPC, arsenic astatine slightest 2 radical escorted her astatine each times erstwhile she was there. 

She hasn't ruled retired seeing her life, and acquisition successful an planetary spying incident, adapted into a movie.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Alysa Liu poses for a photograph pursuing the 2026 Milan Olympics fig skating squad announcement amusement astatine Enterprise Center connected Jan. 11, 2026. (Jeff Curry/Imagn Images)

Still, she has immoderate preferences if her communicative makes it onto the large screen.

"They gotta marque maine look similar ace chill leader oregon something. And just, I can't conscionable beryllium the kid that got spied connected and did thing astir it," she said. "But Honestly, I would conscionable person the main absorption beryllium similar my dad's story, due to the fact that similar his communicative is truthful chill and similar besides conscionable similar everything that lone happened due to the fact that of what helium did, so, similar I consciousness similar we got to commencement with the roots."

Liu volition present bash what she tin to guarantee her state doesn't permission Milan Cortina without an idiosyncratic golden medal successful fig skating, arsenic she enactment herself successful contention for golden aft the abbreviated programme connected Tuesday night. 

Liu landed a triple Lutz-triple loop, the hardest operation that immoderate pistillate attempted. She volition person to usurp Japanese rivals Ami Nakai and Kaori Sakamoto.

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports sum connected X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.