Things to Know About Maia and Alex Shibutani
Though Maia and Alex Shibutani have been long-time giants on the international elite ice dancing circuit, the 24- and 26-year-olds came in ninth place in Sochi, their first Olympic games. Four years worth of training and growth later, the siblings (known to their fans as the #ShibSibs) are considered podium contenders in PyeongChang - something you can listen to them discuss on their budding YouTube channel. So before they gracefully kick some ass and take some names on the ice at the 2018 Games, get to know your new faves:
1. Maia was the first to start skating. Alex followed suit out of boredom. Her love of the sport began as a four-year-old who attended a slew of ice skating birthday parties. She asked her parents for solo private lessons and skated constantly. “I eventually got bored just hanging out at the rink," Alex, who was seven when he started skating, told NBC last year. "I decided to try it because Maia was having such a good time."
A post shared by Maia Shibutani (@maiashibutani) on Feb 13, 2014 at 8:43pm PST
2. But they both zeroed in on the Olympic goal pretty quickly. As their talent became more and more evident, the Shibs' first coach, Slavka Kohout, told their parents they should enroll in camp at the famous Broadmoor World Arena in Colorado Springs. “The first time we got to the World Arena, their eyes went wide,” their dad Chris told TIME in 2016. He and his wife Naomi sold a house they'd just bought in Connecticut and moved the kids to Colorado so they could train there; they knew if they were to be Olympians, that's where they had to be: “This was the house they Maia and Alex were going to come home to during Thanksgiving break from college, and we were going to live in for 30 years, just like our parents did in their generation."
3. Maia and Alex both went to and graduated from the University of Michigan. They are originally from Ann Arbor (before they went to Connecticut) and landed back in Michigan after their stint in Colorado. That's where they connected with coach Marina Zoueva, who helped Olympic ice dancers Meryl Davis and Charlie White to multiple victories.
4. Their first coach called them "Mac and Cheese." Maia was the Mac. Alex, who "would flash the judges a big smile," was the Cheese.
