Oakland Ice Center mural honors Olympic skaters Alysa Liu, Kristi Yamaguchi

New mural at Oakland Ice Center honors Olympic skaters Alysa Liu, Kristi Yamaguchi

New mural at Oakland Ice Center honors Olympic skaters Alysa Liu, Kristi Yamaguchi

OAKLAND, Calif. - A new mural featuring Olympic figure skaters Alysa Liu and Kristi Yamaguchi was recently completed at the Oakland Ice Center, the training grounds for both athletes.

The mural 

The backstory:

Bay Area artist Julie Engelmann spent four weeks working on the piece, which replaced an old sign on a blank wall at the rink.

Engelmann, who is from the Peninsula, said the project was a way to combine her respect for figure skating with her love for art.

"I try to make my work as realistic as possible," Engelmann said. "I hope people feel a lot of pride to be part of the Bay Area and feel inspired that we have two gold medal figures here."

Engelmann reached out to the rink with the idea for the mural after watching Liu’s performances in Milan. 

Artist Julie Engelmann paints a mural of Olympic skaters Alysa Liu and Kristi Yamaguchi on the Oakland Ice Center. April 16, 2026 

The Oakland Ice Center holds significance for both skaters, as both Liu and Yamaguchi trained at the facility during their careers.

The mural is visible from the classrooms at the Oakland School for the Arts, where Liu attended. Local skaters say the artwork serves as a reminder of where the stars earned their reputations before they were known globally.

‘Amazing’ tribute

What they're saying:

"What an amazing tribute, what an amazing work of art," said Kellie Allyn, a former competitive skater. "We’re lucky to have such amazing artists here."

Glenn Martin, the general manager at the Oakland Ice Center, noted that fans have been visiting the rink frequently in hopes of spotting Liu on the ice. Martin said he wanted the mural to stand out among other tributes appearing in the region.

"With all the murals popping up in this area and also in L.A., I wanted to make sure that ours was bigger and brighter and told a better story," Martin said.

Engelmann finished the final touches on the mural Thursday afternoon. The rink management plans to invite both gold medalists back to view the artwork in person.