Latest news with #U.S.FigureSkatingHallofFame
Straits Times
01-05-2025
- Sport
- Straits Times
Figure skating-Shibutanis returning to ice dance ahead of Milano Cortina Olympics
FILE PHOTO: Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibutani of the U.S. perform during the ice dance short dance program at the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating in Nagano, Japan, November 28, 2015. REUTERS/Yuya Shino/ File Photo FILE PHOTO: Ice dancers Alex Shibutani and Maia Shibutani pose for a portrait at the U.S. Olympic Committee Media Summit in Park City, Utah, U.S. September 25, 2017. The pair listens to Coldplay and Perez Prado while they train. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/ File Photo FILE PHOTO: Ice dancers Alex Shibutani and Maia Shibutani pose for a portrait at the U.S. Olympic Committee Media Summit in Park City, Utah, U.S. September 25, 2017. The pair listens to Coldplay and Perez Prado while they train. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/ File Photo FILE PHOTO: Maia Harumi Shibutani and Alex Hideo Shibutani arrive for an official State Dinner held by U.S. President Joe Biden in honour of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the White House in Washington, U.S., April 10, 2024. REUTERS/Bonnie Cash/ File Photo American ice dance siblings Maia and Alex Shibutani are returning to competitive figure skating, seven years after the two-times Olympic bronze medallists announced their retirement when Maia was diagnosed with cancer. The Shibutanis -- known in the skating world as the "Shib Sibs" -- plan to compete in the 2025-26 Olympic season under the guidance of coaches Marina Zoueva and Massimo Scali. "These past seven years have challenged and inspired us in ways we never expected. I'm so happy and grateful to be healthy and in a position to make the decision to return to the sport I love in this way," 30-year-old Maia said. The Shibutanis are two-times U.S. champions and three-times world medallists, winning silver in 2016 and bronze in 2011 and '17. Their 2011 medal made them the youngest ice dancers -- Maia was 16 and Alex, 20 -- in nearly 50 years to climb the world championship medal podium. They captured bronze medals in both the ice dance and the team event at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics, making history as the first athletes of Asian descent -- their parents are Japanese -- and only non-white team to earn an Olympic ice dance medal. The siblings took a break after the Olympics which they extended after Maia was diagnosed with kidney cancer. They have kept busy during their seven years as authors of four children's books while also working in choreography, public speaking and other creative endeavours. "Our experiences and the new skills we've developed during our time away from competition have brought us different perspectives and created some exciting new possibilities," said Alex, 34. "We don't take any of this for granted. We're really enjoying the process and look forward to performing and competing together again." The Shibutanis, who began their partnership in 2004, were inducted into the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 2023. "As Olympic medallists and U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Famers, it's incredibly exciting to have Maia and Alex return to competition next season," said U.S. Figure Skating's senior director of athlete high performance Justin Dillon. "They are strong ambassadors for the sport, both on and off the ice. Their comeback adds to the excitement surrounding Team USA after a very successful year and makes the team stronger as we look toward the Olympic season." The Shibutanis will have some competition on the U.S. team. Three-times world champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates will have their sights on their first Olympic ice dance title in 2026. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Reuters
01-05-2025
- Sport
- Reuters
Shibutanis returning to ice dance ahead of Milano Cortina Olympics
May 1 (Reuters) - American ice dance siblings Maia and Alex Shibutani are returning to competitive figure skating, seven years after the two-times Olympic bronze medallists announced their retirement when Maia was diagnosed with cancer. The Shibutanis -- known in the skating world as the "Shib Sibs" -- plan to compete in the 2025-26 Olympic season under the guidance of coaches Marina Zoueva and Massimo Scali. "These past seven years have challenged and inspired us in ways we never expected. I'm so happy and grateful to be healthy and in a position to make the decision to return to the sport I love in this way," 30-year-old Maia said. The Shibutanis are two-times U.S. champions and three-times world medallists, winning silver in 2016 and bronze in 2011 and '17. Their 2011 medal made them the youngest ice dancers -- Maia was 16 and Alex, 20 -- in nearly 50 years to climb the world championship medal podium. They captured bronze medals in both the ice dance and the team event at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics, making history as the first athletes of Asian descent -- their parents are Japanese -- and only non-white team to earn an Olympic ice dance medal. The siblings took a break after the Olympics which they extended after Maia was diagnosed with kidney cancer. They have kept busy during their seven years as authors of four children's books while also working in choreography, public speaking and other creative endeavours. "Our experiences and the new skills we've developed during our time away from competition have brought us different perspectives and created some exciting new possibilities," said Alex, 34. "We don't take any of this for granted. We're really enjoying the process and look forward to performing and competing together again." The Shibutanis, who began their partnership in 2004, were inducted into the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 2023. "As Olympic medallists and U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Famers, it's incredibly exciting to have Maia and Alex return to competition next season," said U.S. Figure Skating's senior director of athlete high performance Justin Dillon. "They are strong ambassadors for the sport, both on and off the ice. Their comeback adds to the excitement surrounding Team USA after a very successful year and makes the team stronger as we look toward the Olympic season." The Shibutanis will have some competition on the U.S. team. Three-times world champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates will have their sights on their first Olympic ice dance title in 2026.
CNA
01-05-2025
- Sport
- CNA
Figure skating-Shibutanis returning to ice dance ahead of Milano Cortina Olympics
American ice dance siblings Maia and Alex Shibutani are returning to competitive figure skating, seven years after the two-times Olympic bronze medallists announced their retirement when Maia was diagnosed with cancer. The Shibutanis - known in the skating world as the "Shib Sibs" - plan to compete in the 2025-26 Olympic season under the guidance of coaches Marina Zoueva and Massimo Scali. "These past seven years have challenged and inspired us in ways we never expected. I'm so happy and grateful to be healthy and in a position to make the decision to return to the sport I love in this way," 30-year-old Maia said. The Shibutanis are two-times U.S. champions and three-times world medallists, winning silver in 2016 and bronze in 2011 and '17. Their 2011 medal made them the youngest ice dancers - Maia was 16 and Alex, 20 - in nearly 50 years to climb the world championship medal podium. They captured bronze medals in both the ice dance and the team event at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics, making history as the first athletes of Asian descent - their parents are Japanese - and only non-white team to earn an Olympic ice dance medal. The siblings took a break after the Olympics which they extended after Maia was diagnosed with kidney cancer. They have kept busy during their seven years as authors of four children's books while also working in choreography, public speaking and other creative endeavours. "Our experiences and the new skills we've developed during our time away from competition have brought us different perspectives and created some exciting new possibilities," said Alex, 34. "We don't take any of this for granted. We're really enjoying the process and look forward to performing and competing together again." The Shibutanis, who began their partnership in 2004, were inducted into the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 2023. "As Olympic medallists and U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Famers, it's incredibly exciting to have Maia and Alex return to competition next season," said U.S. Figure Skating's senior director of athlete high performance Justin Dillon. "They are strong ambassadors for the sport, both on and off the ice. Their comeback adds to the excitement surrounding Team USA after a very successful year and makes the team stronger as we look toward the Olympic season." The Shibutanis will have some competition on the U.S. team. Three-times world champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates will have their sights on their first Olympic ice dance title in 2026.
USA Today
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Maia and Alex Shibutani announce figure skating comeback ahead of 2026 Winter Olympics
Hear this story Maia and Alex Shibutani are making a stunning return to competitive figure skating. The "Shib Sibs" announced Thursday morning that they will be back in competition next season ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina, returning to the sport more than seven years after they last skated for Team USA. Maia Shibutani, now 30, and Alex Shibutani, now 34, stepped away from figure skating after winning Olympic bronze in ice dance at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games. "Our experiences and the new skills we've developed during our time away from competition have brought us different perspectives and created some exciting new possibilities," Alex Shibutani said in a news release. "We don't take any of this for granted. We're really enjoying the process and look forward to performing and competing together again." The Shibutani siblings are among the most prominent ice dancing teams in U.S. history. After making their senior world championships debut in 2011, they went on to win three world medals, two national titles and two Olympic medals − in the ice dance and team events at the 2018 Games. They were inducted into the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 2023, which was their first year of eligibility. While the Shibutanis never formally announced their retirement, they were thought to be done after the 2018 Winter Olympics. Following those Games, they declined to compete at the 2018 world championships and said they would be taking a year off. Maia Shibutani then had surgery in late 2019 to remove a tumor from one of her kidneys, which was found to be cancerous. As she recovered, the siblings began to shift their focus to other endeavors, writing four children's books and trying new roles in choreography, photography and other creative lanes. "These past seven years have challenged and inspired us in ways we never expected," Maia Shibutani said in a statement. "I'm so happy and grateful to be healthy and in a position to make the decision to return to the sport I love in this way." The Shibutanis announced they will be training with two of their longtime coaches, Marina Zoueva and Massimo Scali − presumably with hopes of making it back to the Olympic Games for a third time. They finished ninth at the 2014 Sochi Games. The "Shib Sibs" will join a competitive U.S. ice dancing field that had one of its best ever performances at the most recent world figure skating championships in Boston, led by Madison Chock and Evan Bates, who won their third consecutive title. Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko finished just off the podium in fifth, followed by Caroline Green and Michael Parsons in ninth. Only three U.S. ice dance teams will compete in Milan. Contact Tom Schad at tschad@ or on social media @
Washington Post
08-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Washington Post
Circles of life
WICHITA — The most disorienting week in the history of American figure skating started with a familiar mix of promise and nostalgia. Blocks away from the ice rink where some of the nation's best athletes leaped, twirled and left the crowd gasping, a group of the sport's old guard convened in a hotel ballroom on Jan. 25 for the induction ceremony for the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame.
