Shibutani siblings win the gold at U.S Figure Skating Championships

Alex and Maia Shibutani won the U.S. title last weekend in St. Paul, Minnesota.

IT HAS BEEN a long road for the brother-sister team of Maia and Alex Shibutani.

For years they were perennial runner-ups but the Shibutani siblings broke through to place first with a passionate free dance Jan. 23 at the 2016 Prudential U.S. Figure Skating Championships in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Performing to Coldplay’s “Fix You,” they created four mesmerizing minutes where the skaters and crowd connected. The program was both passionate and technically precise. And it earned the siblings a standing ovation and the highest free dance score of the competition and vaulted them over the defending champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates and into first place.

With their first U.S. title in hand, Maia, 21, and Alex Shibutani, 24, head to Boston for the Worlds on March 28 to April 3.

“I think Maia and I have been skating for 12 years, it’s been a long time,” Alex Shibutani said. “When we first started, the dream was always to go to the Olympics. We accomplished that in 2014, and I think that experience really propelled us to where we’re standing today.”

After winning the national champions at the intermediate, novice and junior levels, the Shibutanis had won five straight U.S. medals after joining the senior ranks in 2011, including silver in 2011, ’12 and ’15. They also won a world bronze medal in 2011 and finished ninth at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games.

But the U.S. title had eluded them - until last weekend. 

Performing to Coldplay’s “Fix You,” the Shibutanis were on point from the start to finish in their free skate, drawing the crowd into the performance as they went. When the score was announced, Alex Shibutani raised his arms and pumped his fists. 

“That was an absolutely incredible moment for Alex and me!” said Maia. “The crowd was fantastic and to become national champions for the first time is incredible."

The Michigan-based Shibutanis have skated together since the spring of 2004, and are each other’s first and only partners. The younger of the siblings, Maia, got the ball rolling in the sport when she was introduced to figure skating at the tender age of four.

Alex and Maia Shibutani react when they hear their scores.

“While we were growing up, our parents wanted to expose us to all sorts of sports and activities including swimming, tennis, and music,” said the now fifteen year-old Maia. “We were living in Old Greenwich Conn., and birthday parties involving skating were really common. I immediately fell in love with skating and began taking private lessons.”

At age seven, older brother Alex, 19, followed his sister to the ice, but not before having dreams of becoming another type of athlete.

“When Maia started skating, I would be taken to the rink when she had her lessons,” Alex explained. “As I was still under the delusion that I would grow to be at least 6’6″ and play professional basketball, skating wasn’t an instant interest for me. However, Maia always looked like she was having so much fun, so I decided to give it a try too.”"We’ve put in the work this season and I think that has really been showing across the board. We’ve taken our skating to another level this season and I think that’s reflected in our performances and in our scores.”

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