# Chelsea Liu

Chelsea Liu (born December 31, 1999) is an American pair skater. With her former partner, Balázs Nagy, she is the 2023 Skate America bronze medalist and 2024 U.S. national pewter medalist.
With former partner Xie Zhong for China, Liu is the 2020 Chinese national bronze medalist.
With Brian Johnson, she won two medals on the ISU Challenger Series. They also competed together at one ISU Junior Grand Prix Final and two World Junior Championships.

## Personal life

Chelsea Liu was born December 31, 1999, in Marshall, Missouri. The daughter of Tingyuan Liu and Koman Ting, she has an older sister, Chaochih, who competed for Chinese Taipei, and a younger sister, Cheyenne.

## Career
### Early years

Liu began skating in 2006. She teamed up with Devin Perini in July 2010. They debuted on the ISU Junior Grand Prix (JGP) series in 2013, placing fifth at both of their assignments, before winning the junior silver medal at the 2014 U.S. Championships.

### Partnership with Johnson

Liu teamed up with Brian Johnson in May 2014. They were coached by Todd Sand and Jenni Meno in Orange County, California.
During the 2014–15 JGP series, Liu/Johnson won a bronze medal in Dresden, Germany and placed fourth in Zagreb, Croatia. Their results gave them a spot at the 2014–15 JGP Final in Barcelona, Spain, where the pair finished sixth. After winning the junior silver medal at the 2015 U.S. Championships, they were assigned to the 2015 World Junior Championships in Tallinn, Estonia. The pair placed 5th in the short program, 8th in the free skate, and 7th overall.
Competing in the 2015–16 JGP series, Liu/Johnson placed 8th in Linz, Austria and 5th in Toruń, Poland. Ranked fifth in both segments, the pair finished fifth at the 2016 World Junior Championships in Debrecen, Hungary.

### Partnership with O'Shea

On June 29, 2021, NBC Sports published an article announcing new partnership with Danny O'Shea.
Liu/O'Shea finished fifth in their international debut at the Cranberry Cup, and went on to make their Grand Prix debut together at the 2021 Skate America, where they came seventh. However, their partnership was derailed by an on-ice accident at the 2021 CS Warsaw Cup that left both concussed. They withdrew from the 2022 U.S. Championships, and ultimately their partnership ended.

### Partnership with Nagy

Following the end of her partnership with O'Shea and requiring months off for concussion recovery, Liu contemplated retiring from competitive skating, later explaining that "I thought, 'You know, recover and live kind of a normal, safe life for the time being.' I took a whole eight months off the ice to recover and at that point I just didn't know if skating was in the picture for me." However, with encouragement from her parents to revisit whether she still wanted to pursue it, she tried out with Balázs Nagy in April 2023. The two announced their partnership in May.
Liu/Nagy made their domestic debut by winning the Glacier Falls Summer Classic, before being sent to make their international debut on the Challenger debut at the 2023 CS Autumn Classic International. They attracted notice for their innovative climactic lift in the free skate, but finished fourth. They were subsequently invited to make their Grand Prix debut at the 2023 Skate America, finishing third in the short program with a new personal best score (61.23). They were third in the free skate as well, despite Liu making two Salchow errors, winning the bronze medal. Liu said that "winning a medal on the Grand Prix is great, but what feels even better is that we put out a great program." Liu/Nagy went on to place sixth at the 2023 NHK Trophy.
In advance of the 2024 U.S. Championships, Liu/Nagy were preemptively assigned to the American team for the 2024 Four Continents Championships in Shanghai, which were to occur a week after the national championship. At the national championships, they finished sixth in the short program. In the free skate they came third in the segment, moving up to fourth overall in the process, despite struggles on their jump and throw elements. Nagy said they were "a little bit frustrated that we were not able to show off our throws the way they've been in training." At the Four Continents Championships the following weekend, Liu/Nagy came third in the short program, winning a bronze small medal, despite Liu stumbling out of her jump. Liu said that they had "been working so hard on our throws and they've been so good since the New Year. I'm super happy that we were able to show that." They had a difficult free skate, and dropped to seventh.
On March 26, Liu announced she had ended her partnership with Nagy to prioritize her mental health.

## Programs
### With Nagy

| Season | Short program | Free skating | Exhibition |
| 2023–2024 | "Dive" by Ed Sheeran choreo. by Adam Rippon, Christine Fowler-Binder | "A Thousand Times Good Night" (from Romeo & Juliet) by Abel Korzeniowski choreo. by Pasquale Camerlengo | "Peer Pressure" by James Bay & Julia Michaels |

### With O'Shea

| Season | Short program | Free skating |
| 2021–2022 | "Lover" by Taylor Swift choreo. by Adam Rippon | "Becoming Human" (from Score: A Film Music Documentary) by Ryan Taubert choreo. by Sinead Kerr, John Kerr |

### With Meyh

| Season | Short program | Free skating |
| 2018–2019 | "One and Only" by Adele | "Exogenesis: Symphony" (Part 3) by Muse |

### With Johnson

| Season | Short program | Free skating |
| 2017–2018 | Still Got the Blues by Gary Moore | Act III: Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia (from Spartacus) by Aram Khachaturian, Michail Jurowski |
| 2016–2017 | "The Way You Make Me Feel" by Michael Jackson "Black or White" by Michael Jackson | Beauty and the Beast by Alan Menken choreo. by Renée Roca |
| 2015–2016 | "Tango de los Exilados" by Walter Taieb, Vanessa-Mae choreo. by Pasquale Camerlengo | Beauty and the Beast by Alan Menken choreo. by Renée Roca |
| 2014–2015 | Mary Poppins by the Sherman Brothers choreo. by Christine Binder | Yellow River Piano Concerto: Prelude performed by Lang Lang choreo. by Christine Binder |

### With Perini

| Season | Short program | Free skating |
| 2013–2014 | 42nd Street by Harry Warren performed by the Boston Pops Orchestra | "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen |
| 2012–2013 | "Dueling Banjos" by Eric Weissberg | Charlie Chaplin film music |
| 2011–2012 | "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" by The Andrews Sisters | Charlie Chaplin film music |
| 2010–2011 | "The Can Can" by Rugby World Cup Classic | "Oogway Ascends" (from Kung Fu Panda) by Hans Zimmer |

## Competitive highlights
### Pair skating with Balázs Nagy (for the United States)

Competition placements at senior level :
| Season | 2023–24 |
| Four Continents Championships | 7th |
| U.S. Championships | 4th |
| GP NHK Trophy | 6th |
| GP Skate America | 3rd |
| CS Autumn Classic | 4th |

### Pair skating with Daniel O'Shea (for the United States)

Competition placements at senior level :
| Season | 2021–22 |
| GP Skate America | 7th |
| CS Warsaw Cup | WD |
| Cranberry Cup | 5th |
| John Nicks Pairs | 4th |

### Pair skating with Xie Zhong (for China)

Competition placements at senior level :
| Season | 2019–20 |
| Chinese Championships | 3rd |

### Pair skating with Ian Meyh (for the United States)

Competition placements at senior level :
| Season | 2018–19 |
| U.S. Championships | 11th |
| Bavarian Open | 1st |
| Golden Spin of Zagreb | 3rd |

### Pair skating with Brian Johnson (for the United States)

Competition placements at senior level :
| Season | 2016–17 | 2017–18 |
| U.S. Championships | 6th | 7th |
| CS U.S. Classic | | 3rd |
| CS Warsaw Cup | 2nd | 6th |
Competition placements at junior level :
| Season | 2014–15 | 2015–16 | 2016–17 |
| World Junior Championships | 7th | 5th | 7th |
| Junior Grand Prix Final | 6th | | |
| U.S. Championships | 2nd | | |
| JGP Austria | | 8th | |
| JGP Croatia | 4th | | |
| JGP Czech Republic | | | 3rd |
| JGP Estonia | | | 5th |
| JGP Germany | 3rd | | |
| JGP Poland | | 5th | |

### Pair skating with Devin Perini (for the United States)

Competition placements at junior level :
| Season | 2012–13 | 2013–14 |
| U.S. Championships | 4th | 2nd |
| JGP Czech Republic | | 5th |
| JGP Slovakia | | 4th |

## Detailed results
### Pair skating with Balázs Nagy (for the United States)

ISU personal best scores in the +5/-5 GOE System :
| Segment | Type | Score | Event |
| Total | TSS | 177.66 | 2023 Skate America |
| Short program | TSS | 61.90 | 2024 Four Continents Championships |
| Short program | TES | 33.92 | 2023 Skate America |
| Short program | PCS | 29.19 | 2024 Four Continents Championships |
| Free skating | TSS | 116.43 | 2023 Skate America |
| Free skating | TES | 60.43 | 2023 Skate America |
| Free skating | PCS | 58.55 | 2024 Four Continents Championships |
2023–2024 season :
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
| Jan. 30 – Feb. 4, 2024 | 2024 Four Continents Championships | 3 61.90 | 8 113.95 | 7 175.85 |
| January 22–28, 2024 | 2024 U.S. Championships | 6 60.13 | 3 118.70 | 4 178.83 |
| November 24–26, 2023 | 2023 NHK Trophy | 5 61.23 | 7 111.37 | 6 172.60 |
| October 20–22, 2023 | 2023 Skate America | 3 61.23 | 3 116.43 | 3 177.66 |
| September 14–17, 2023 | 2023 CS Autumn Classic International | 4 56.09 | 3 109.22 | 4 165.20 |

### Pair skating with Daniel O'Shea

ISU personal best scores in the +5/-5 GOE System :
| Segment | Type | Score | Event |
| Total | TSS | 175.40 | 2021 Skate America |
| Short program | TSS | 62.55 | 2021 CS Warsaw Cup |
| Short program | TES | 34.63 | 2021 CS Warsaw Cup |
| Short program | PCS | 28.92 | 2021 Skate America |
| Free skating | TSS | 115.24 | 2021 Skate America |
| Free skating | TES | 57.13 | 2021 Skate America |
| Free skating | PCS | 60.11 | 2021 Skate America |
Results in the 2021–22 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Aug 13–15, 2021 | 2021 Cranberry Cup International | 6 | 56.31 | 5 | 108.89 | 5 | 165.20 |
| Sep 9–10, 2021 | 2021 John Nicks Pairs Challenge | 3 | 66.67 | 5 | 110.78 | 4 | 177.45 |
| Oct 22–24, 2021 | 2021 Skate America | 7 | 60.16 | 7 | 115.24 | 7 | 175.40 |
| Nov 17–20, 2021 | 2021 CS Warsaw Cup | 5 | 62.55 | — | — | – | WD |