The following article is from the October issue of SKATING magazine. Check your mailboxes for the full issue!
Fresh off an historic Olympic season and hectic offseason, World pairs champions
Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier are getting dialed in for the start of the 28th ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series, which gets underway this month at Skate America near Boston.
The team, based in Irvine, California, placed sixth at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing — the best finish by a U.S. team in 20 years — and were silver medalists in the team event before securing the first World pairs title for a U.S. team since Tai Babilonia and Randy Gardner in 1979.
Their whirlwind season culminated with them performing in the six-week-long, 24-city Stars on Ice tour, which concluded on May 29 in Portland, Oregon.
"We just finished our programs last week," Knierim, 31, said on Aug. 17. "Last season we already had a competition under our belts by now, so definitely behind our comfortable training schedule in terms of preparation. However, because we were so trained and prepared last season, we feel confident with the late start and beginning at Skate America; we will be ready and in shape, for sure.
"While our timeline is a little bit different this season, it's good because I think our mentality will be just a little bit stronger later in the season because we started a little bit later."
Knierim and Frazier, who became a pairs team in March 2020, finished fourth at 2021 Skate America in Las Vegas before earning the bronze medal at Internationaux de France in Grenoble. They return, for the third consecutive season, to Skate America, which will be held in Norwood, Massachusetts, Oct. 21–23.
"We've been at that rink (Skating Club of Boston) before for a senior B, so we are excited to return," Knierim said. "But we are also curious to be going to the Grand Prix in Sheffield (England). It's the first time going there, a new opportunity. Of course, our eyes are on trying to make the Grand Prix Final (Dec. 8–11 in Torino, Italy). We think we have a great opportunity to do so."
'Happiest day of my life'
While they have already turned the page to a new season, Knierim and Frazier's memories of last season and the moment they realized they had won the World title in Montpellier, France, in late March, remain vivid.
Leading Team USA's
Ashley Cain and Timothy LeDuc by a point after the short program at Worlds, Knierim and Frazier delivered an emotionally charged and errorless free skate to a deeply meaningful song for them, "Fix You." They won the event by more than 21 points (Cain sustained an injury in the free skate, forcing the team to withdraw), marking the first time a U.S. pairs team had stood on a Worlds podium since Kyoko Ina and John Zimmerman in 2002 (bronze).
The two veteran skaters, who had experienced their share of ups and downs as a team and prior to their partnership, melted on the ice together in sheer joy.
"That moment was something that will be in my memory forever," Frazier, who turns 30 next month, said. "It was an incredible program that we skated. It was from the heart. … It will forever be probably the happiest day of my life."
Frazier, who won the 2017 U.S. title with Haven Denney, overcame a major setback at the 2022 U.S. Championships in Nashville where he tested positive for COVID before the event. That forced the defending champions to withdraw from the competition, leaving their Olympic and World dreams in the hands of a committee. As expected, however, with their body of work, they successfully petitioned to be on the Olympic and World teams.
"I was fortunate to have Alexa and the team I had around me to just put everything in perspective and fight that battle with me," Frazier said. "I don't think I could have bounced back and showed up at the Olympic Games at my peak of the season mentally and physically without her. I think it was a good example of what our partnership stands for."
Knierim, who has won three U.S. titles with her husband, Chris Knierim, as well as the 2021 U.S. title with Frazier, also knows all too well about overcoming adversity and disappointment. Health issues several years ago, coaching changes, the retirement of Chris from competitive skating after winning the 2020 U.S. Championships and the pandemic tested her mettle.
Winning the World title, however, put everything into focus.
"I remember after the throw triple flip in the free program, already knowing that we had won," Knierim said. "There was just this sense of disbelief that I had never really felt on the ice before. And then I remember just laughing and crying when the music ended. And feeling Brandon breathing heavy, like a moment of all the highs and lows all in one breath — everything it had taken for Brandon and me to get here individually in that moment."
'My World champion'
That moment on the ice was shared around the world on NBC, including with those friends and family members who had supported their two-decade-long skating careers. Dozens of people sent their love and congratulations over the phone. Knierim immediately called Chris on FaceTime.
But one FaceTime call was truly unforgettable.
"I will say the memory I have of seeing my mom on FaceTime, watching her sobbing, because she always called me her champion," Knierim said. "And that makes sense; I'm her daughter so of course I'm going to be the best in her eyes, but to actually be able to give back to my mom the World title … she was just so overjoyed and for days and days, she just kept texting me: 'My World champion — with emojis.' It was so sweet. And the funny thing is, I could have gotten last place and she still would have sent me the same amount of love."
Like Knierim, Frazier shared the special moment with his biggest supporter, his mother.
"I felt like if anyone deserves that medal, it was definitely my mom," he said.
Frazier also heard from others who did not necessarily think he would ever reach the pinnacle of the sport.
"It wasn't that they didn't believe in me, but I think I'm the last person they would ever expect to go win a World title," Frazier said. … "It felt very reassuring that I trusted myself and trusted the path I chose and worked as hard as I did."
A new season dawns
During the Stars on Ice tour, Knierim and Frazier got to enjoy being introduced as World champions.
"It was very cool, very personal, too," Frazier said.
With the Grand Prix Series starting soon, they know they can expect to hear those accolades more and more.
"I don't think it changes our mindset too much," Frazier said. "No matter what our victories are in the past, I think we are always so focused on bringing out our best skating and trying to improve.
"I just know it will always be a title to validate the hard work that Alexa and I put in."
