The first quarter of 2026 is already on its way to a close. By now we’ve witnessed the start of the DGPT season and the first champions have been crowned. But February also gave us something else to follow - Olympic athletes on their journey toward medals. As a big sports fan, I kept an eye on the action.
Among the many impressive performances, one thing that caught my attention was interesting - in addition to her amazing skating, it was the hairstyle of Alysa Liu that caught my eye! It was a name I hadn’t heard before. So I went online and to be honest at first I was simply curious about the story behind her hair. But the deeper I looked, the more interesting the story became.
She is only 20 years old, yet the way she approaches her career reflects many of the values I care about. At the age of 16 she stepped away from figure skating and took time off. For someone at the peak of their career, that might not seem like an understandable decision at first. But she trusted her inner feeling. I know how difficult and uncomfortable it can be to try to believe in a change when there is no external proof that it will “work out”. Long story short, she returned four years later and was crowned an Olympic champion. Seemingly effortlessly, simply enjoying what she does.
I’m not saying this is a template that works the same way for everyone. But what I take from her story is that trusting your gut and doing something that feels right for you can be incredibly rewarding. And I don’t mean rewarding in the sense of achievements or results - although I believe paradoxically that sometimes happens as well - what I mean is that being connected to yourself and living life on your own terms is the most beautiful way to live. How amazing that such a young woman has already discovered that. Very inspiring.
Among the many impressive performances, one thing that caught my attention was interesting - in addition to her amazing skating, it was the hairstyle of Alysa Liu that caught my eye! It was a name I hadn’t heard before. So I went online and to be honest at first I was simply curious about the story behind her hair. But the deeper I looked, the more interesting the story became.
She is only 20 years old, yet the way she approaches her career reflects many of the values I care about. At the age of 16 she stepped away from figure skating and took time off. For someone at the peak of their career, that might not seem like an understandable decision at first. But she trusted her inner feeling. I know how difficult and uncomfortable it can be to try to believe in a change when there is no external proof that it will “work out”. Long story short, she returned four years later and was crowned an Olympic champion. Seemingly effortlessly, simply enjoying what she does.
I’m not saying this is a template that works the same way for everyone. But what I take from her story is that trusting your gut and doing something that feels right for you can be incredibly rewarding. And I don’t mean rewarding in the sense of achievements or results - although I believe paradoxically that sometimes happens as well - what I mean is that being connected to yourself and living life on your own terms is the most beautiful way to live. How amazing that such a young woman has already discovered that. Very inspiring.
Even though the stories we write in our lives are all unique, I can see some resemblance to my own journey. Not only in the big decision of stepping off the touring carousel last year, but also in the decisions that led me there, including how I started playing disc golf in the first place. Many of those decisions were based on a strong gut feeling. Just as there were no guarantees when I entered the sport, there are no guarantees now that I’m choosing currently not to compete in the same way.
For the first time in more than ten years, I find myself doing things much differently. I have the privilege of making space for something new. That doesn’t mean my love for disc golf has faded. Quite the opposite. Over the years I’ve built a lot of knowledge and many meaningful connections within the sport. My partnership with Latitude 64 began in early 2017 and together we’ve grown and achieved a lot. I’m excited to continue that partnership, just in a slightly different way.
This year I’m not focused on touring or on analyzing and perfecting my own performance week after week. Instead, I’m turning my attention toward sharing what I’ve learned with the disc golf community. You’ll see more of that through videos on the Latitude 64 YouTube channel, where I’ll share my experiences and thoughts about improving in the game. I’ll also be talking about different disc molds and how they have worked for me and writing more reflections here in blog posts.
In many ways, this direction feels more creative. Something I’ve been drawn to for a long time but never fully explored. As a symbol of this new chapter, I created a signature line of discs with my drawings on them. The first ones were released at the end of last year, but you can definitely expect more this season.
Beyond that, I’ll be putting more energy into organizing tournaments together with Silver, joining the commentary team for some events in Europe and running training sessions. But also, simply being more present at home. Having more time to explore interests and passions outside of competition feels like a luxury I haven’t experienced in a long time.
All in all, I like to think of this year as a software update. There was a moment when I already felt the update was needed, but like many of us do, I kept clicking “remind me later.” Eventually it reached a point where postponing it wasn’t an option anymore. So now I’m in the process of rewriting some old systems and making them better.
And while the unknown can sometimes feel chaotic or even a little scary, it’s also equally exciting, because that’s where new discoveries begin.Kristin
