2015 U.S. Champions Reflect on Their Return to Greensboro

The 2020 U.S. Figure Skating Championships will be taking place in a familiar location, Greensboro, North Carolina. The city previously hosted the championships in 2011 and 2015 and provided the sport with many memorable moments.
 
Prior to the start of this year's big event on Jan. 20, we checked in with the champions of 2015 and asked them to share a few memories as well as reflect on how their lives have changed over the past five years.
 
Jason Brown
 
Greensboro holds special meaning to 2015 U.S. men's champion Jason Brown because it's not only where he won his first and thus far only U.S. championship title, but it's also where he made his senior men's debut in 2011.
 
"[2011] was an extremely special moment for me, so to go back in 2015 and win was like a cherry on top," said Brown, 25. "The first time in Greensboro it was surreal just being a senior at nationals and experiencing that. Then, to go back four years later and win a national title was a dream fulfilled."
 
Since winning the title in 2015, Brown has experienced both highs and lows. He has earned numerous medals internationally and twice landed on the podium at the U.S. Championships. On the downside was a disappointing six-place finish in 2018, which kept him from a return trip to the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang. That spring, he announced that he was leaving his training base in Colorado to train in Toronto with Brian Orser and Tracy Wilson.
 
"The biggest change for me is how much I've matured since 2015," said Brown. "I had my first injury after 2015 (a back injury that kept him out of the 2016 U.S. Championships). Through all those highs and lows, I've continued to grow as a person and as a skater and continued to mature. It's been an incredible journey."
 
Since moving to Canada, Brown has cut off his famous ponytail (it had its own Twitter account) and has worked with choreographer David Wilson, only the second choreographer he's had for his competitive programs. Working with Wilson is exciting, said Brown, and he enjoys the new collaboration, saying Wilson is a "true artist."
 
Training alongside Yuzuru Hanyu is inspiring and he appreciates the camaraderie. On the other end of the spectrum, Brown still loves getting on the ice with young skaters.
 
"They have this child wonderment love of the sport," Brown said. "There's that excitement and feeling that anything is possible. It reminds me of why I fell in love with the sport and what I love so much about skating."
 
Madison Chock and Evan Bates
 
Greensboro holds a special place in the hearts of ice dancers Madison Chock and Evan Bates. It's where the two-time Olympians and two-time World medalists won their first and so far only U.S. title.
 
"The U.S. Championships are a really unique and special event," said Chock, 27. "It's one that we take a lot of pride in participating in, mainly because it's the event we looked up to as we were coming up as young skaters. I always dreamed of winning a national title, so when that dream came true it was a very special highlight of our career."
 
Bates, 30, remembered the 2015 U.S. Championships feeling a bit odd because six-time champions Meryl Davis and Charlie White weren't competing. "We grew up skating with them and competing against them," he said.
 
In an omen of things to come, Bates remembers hugging Chock at the end of their free dance and telling her he loved her. Sometime later, they became an off-ice couple.
 
In the years since, Chock and Bates competed at another Olympics, overcame a serious injury to Chock and changed their training base from the Detroit area to Montreal, which they said reinvigorated their love for the sport and their excitement for life. They love living in such a vibrant city.
 
"Through all of the experiences over the last five years, 2015 really does feel like a lifetime ago," said Bates. "With all the experience we've had, we feel like we're really grounded and settled into a good place in our careers knowing that we've taken our skating to the next level and are still pushing to reach new heights."
 
Heading into Greensboro as an off-ice couple heightens the sense of pride and anticipation. "We take on everything as a team and have such a strong support system because we're together 100 percent of the time," said Chock. "It's easy to take on challenges that life throws at you when you have such a strong, stable partner to help you through."
 
Bates seconded that. "We're better together," he said. "We were partners before we were dating, but I really do feel like we bring out the best in each other."

Alexa Knierim and Chris Knierim
 
Two-time U.S. pairs champions Alexa Knierim and Chris Knierim travel through life as a partnership both on and off the ice. When the then-engaged couple won their first U.S. title in 2015, they had no idea what lay ahead. Achieving a lifelong goal was satisfying and evokes sweet memories.
 
"When we finished both the short and the free programs, my reaction and the sensation I had after skating two great programs and in the kiss & cry when we found out we won the title, those pictures in my mind are what I look back and see when I need inspiration," said Alexa, 28.
 
The following year, they placed second at the U.S. Championships and ninth at the World Championships, and they got married that June. Around that time, Alexa became ill, which curtailed their training and even threatened her life. She was finally diagnosed and underwent two surgeries. They missed the 2017 U.S. Championships, but were given a medical bye to Worlds, where they placed 10th. In 2018, they rose to the top step of the U.S. podium once more, earning themselves a trip to the Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang, where they won a bronze medal in the Team Event.
 
"Being able to come back with that team bronze medal was a huge accomplishment and probably not something we were thinking was going to happen," said Chris, 32. "Alexa's perseverance, fight and determination to get on the Olympic team after being sick and down is an inspiration for me and I'm sure many others."
 
Since the Olympics, they've moved and are now based in Irvine, California, where they are coached by three-time U.S. champions Jenni Meno Sand and Todd Sand, as well as Rafael Arutunian.
 
"We spend 50 percent of our time training and 50 percent of our time coaching," said Alexa. "We are exhausted sometimes, but we're also fortunate because we've built a lot of great relationships with students and opened our eyes on how to explain things and see the passion and inspiration that our students carry."

Ashley Wagner
 
The only 2015 champion who won't be competing in Greensboro is three-time U.S. ladies champion Ashley Wagner, who has retired from competitive skating. As she said she would do, Wagner, 28, has moved back to the East Coast. She currently lives in Boston and travels the world skating in shows and doing television commentary.
 
"I'm so happy here; it's such a great city for me," said Wagner.
 
The 2015 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Greensboro marked Wagner's return to the top of the podium. With titles in 2012 and '13, she'd become the first U.S. woman to win back-to-back championships since Michelle Kwan, but she finished fourth in 2014. The pressure was on in 2015.
 
"Just being able to go in and take that title home, become a three-time U.S. champion, it made me feel really proud of my career and it established me historically as one of the U.S.'s top ladies," said Wagner. "It felt really big and I felt like I earned that title the way I wanted to."
 
The transition to life away from competition hasn't been easy. She greatly appreciated the advice that Meryl Davis gave her. Wagner's life today is busy and filled with new experiences.
 
"Can't complain," said Wagner, who spent December on tour in Spain with Javier Fernández. "I went to the Grand Prix Final twice in Barcelona. Now I'm finally getting to see the rest of Spain."
 
As she was living it, Wagner rarely gave herself credit for what she accomplished competitively. With perspective, she now appreciates everything. She does a bit of coaching, helping out Bobby Martin and giving seminars. She's also starting studies in psychology with the hopes of becoming a psychologist focused on trauma.
 
"I'm in a totally new chapter, almost a new book, of my life," she said. "It's a bit of a vagabond lifestyle, but I love it."

The 2020 TOYOTA U.S. Figure Skating Championships take place from Jan. 20-26 at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex in Greensboro, North Carolina. For event and ticket information, go to ncskate2020.com.