Alysa Liu’s back tattoo has sparked discussion.
Alysa Liu grabbed two Olympic golds from the Winter Olympics. EPA / AOP
The American figure skater who won two Olympic gold medals at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics Alysa Liu is bubbling around.
20-year-old Liu celebrated gold in Italy in both women’s singles and team competition.
The success was also immediately visible on social media. The Instagram account, which gathered around 300,000 followers at the beginning of February, has grown to more than 6.3 million followers in a few weeks.
Huge popularity also has its flip side. Liu’s old Tiktok video showing a tattoo on his lower back has spread on social media. The screenshots of the tattoo have sparked a lively discussion both on social platforms and in the news media.
– It is unclear what this tattoo is, but some suggest it is Baphomet, a controversial symbol. But that’s just speculation at this point, Sports Illustrated editor Grant Young ponders in his story.
Baphomet is a pagan figure that was allegedly worshiped by the Knights Templar in their meetings around the 14th century. Today, Baphomet is often associated with Satanism.
Others have pointed out that the tattoo may represent the so-called cybersigilism style, where abstract and symbolic patterns do not necessarily refer to any religious figure.
The tattoo has not been seen in figure skating competitions, as Liu’s performance costumes cover the lower back.
Liu won his first US championship at the age of 13. He had time to end his figure skating career already at the age of 16, but finally returned to the sport two years later.
