Knierim and Frazier Return to Top of the Podium, Chock and Bates Collect Title Number Four

Two more champions were crowned today at the 2023 Toyota U.S. Figure Skating Championships in San Jose, California. World Champions Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier ran away with the U.S. Championships pairs title, outdistancing the silver medalists by more than 30 points, regaining the title that they had to forgo last season after Frazier was diagnosed with COVID-19. World bronze medalists Madison Chock and Evan Bates won the fourth U.S. Championships ice dance title of their career in a similarly dominant performance, outclassing the silver medalists by more than 20 points, and breaking the U.S. Championships record for the best-ever free skate and overall score in the process.
 
Joining Knierim and Frazier on the pairs podium were silver medalists Emily Chan and Spencer Howe, who won pewter a year ago. Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea finished with the bronze medal at their first U.S. Championships, while 2022 U.S. junior champions Sonia Baram and Daniel Tioumentsev moved up from fifth place after the short program to pick up the pewter medal.
 
Caroline Green and Michael Parsons stepped up to win the silver medal in the ice dance competition, improving from the pewter medal position a year ago while Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko moved up from fourth after the rhythm dance to claim the bronze medal. Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik secured the final spot on the podium and earned the pewter medal in their debut performance at the U.S. Championships.
 
Championship Free Dance 
 

Chock and Bates were magnificent in their portrayal of the spirit of fire and air in their free dance. Set to "Souffrance" by Orange Blossom and "Tectoniques" by Jorane, the program started as a flicker and gradually grew in intensity, captivating the audience and keeping them on the edge of their seats.
 
The champions found a way to balance high-scoring technical elements with passionate storytelling, which resulted in the judging panel issuing the highest free dance and total score in U.S. Championships history.
 
"I think that because these Championships hold such a special place in our hearts, at least I felt nervous today," Bates admitted. "Regardless of what the results might be or the outcome, we were compelled to skate well because of the significance of what U.S. Championships means to us as well as the people who are here — friends, family, and fans that we got to know over the years."
 
Chock added, "It is always an incredible honor to be able to perform at the U.S. Championships and this year is no different. Evan and I have made some of the fondest memories of our career at this event and this one is definitely atop that list as well. We had a wonderful time performing to the audience today, and we are just so grateful."
 
After an extended Olympic season, Chock and Bates got a late start on their preparations for this year's competitions, but that was not evident in the free dance. The betrothed couple, who first competed together at the U.S. Championships in 2012 in San Jose, were awarded the coveted Level Four designation on all but one technical element — the one-foot turns, for which they earned a Level Three, and also earned near-perfect program component scores from the judging panel.
 
"I believe that we are right on track and exactly where we need to be to accomplish our goals," Chock said. "We have a good amount of time before the World Championships and do a lot of great work which we look forward to doing."
 
In addition to their record-breaking free dance score of 137.85 points, Chock and Bates also earned a U.S. Championships record 229.75 points overall.
 
Earlier this season, Green and Parsons relocated to start working with Charlie White, Greg Zuerlein and Tanith White at the Michigan Ice Dance Academy in Canton, Michigan, and it appears that the move paid off. The reigning Four Continents champions eclipsed their personal best score in both phases of the competition as well as for total score here in San Jose.
 
"I think what this coaching change kind of confronted us with was just to home in on what we needed to do as people and not just as skaters," Green said. "We're really challenging ourselves each day to show up for each other and to put in the work together. I think our entire approach to training has changed and how we look at competition has evolved and that has really helped us."
  
Skating to Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue," the silver medalists charmed the audience with their refined choreography and charming presentation style. Green and Parsons made easy work of the technical elements, earning the Level Four designation on each element save for the diagonal steps and a Level 3 by Green on the one-foot turns.
 
"Every national championship is very significant, but this one was especially significant for us because of how we've been approaching this season and how we wanted to develop ourselves as a team," Parsons shared. "We put a great skate out today, and I am so proud of the work that we have put out over the last several months. I am happy to be here and couldn't be more honored to be in this position today."
 
Green and Parsons garnered 126.06 points in the free dance and 207.46 points overall.
 
Carreira and Ponomarenko made their return to the podium at the U.S. Championships after a two-year absence and finished in third place, the best finish so far in their career. Two seasons ago, the duo was forced to withdraw from this competition due to a COVID-19 exposure and last season Ponomarenko was struggling with an injury that led to a post-competition surgery.
 
"I'm really proud of the work that we put in over the year," he said. "This time last year I was going on to the surgery table, so it was a lot of work from the both of us to get to where we are now and we're looking to capitalize on that and improve more."
 
Skating to "Summertime," another Gershwin piece, the duo also logged new career bests in each phase of the competition.  
 
"We are really happy with the results," Carreira shared. "We are mostly happy with how we skated today — that's closer to what we've been doing at home and practice. It's a big step up from what we did two days ago so we're happy we could do solid program."
 
Carreira and Ponomarenko earned a free skate total of 121.28 points and a total of 198.45 points in the competition.
 
Less than a year ago, Zingas had never worked with a partner on the ice, but now she and Kolesnik are on the podium at the U.S. Championships. The duo skated a solid free dance to music by Phillip Glass, finishing the competition just .32 points behind the bronze medalists.
 
"I think I knew our potential just because our coaches have always encouraged us and told us how much we can have if we work for it," Zingas said after the competition. "But I didn't expect this experience to go the way it has. I think we're blessed to have the best coaching team that prepared us really well for the event."
 
Zingas and Kolesnik amassed a career high 119.95 points in the free dance and earned a new personal best of 198.13 points overall.
 
Championship Pairs Free Skate

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Knierim and Frazier dominated this competition from start to finish, showing why they are the first U.S. team to wear the world crown in more than 40 years. Other than a small mistake on an early program triple toe loop combination in the free skate, the duo was the picture of perfection.
 
"It means the world for me, and I think I can speak for Alexa, too, especially after missing last year to (come back) and to return to the top of the podium is a great achievement," Frazier said. "More importantly for us of we've been reflecting a lot throughout the season on our personal journeys and our partnership. There are so many emotions at the U.S. Championships every time you come, and this was a week filled with emotions and that was all heart tonight."
 
Skating to Harry Styles' "Sign of the Times," the gold medalists opened with a high-flying triple twist that set a high bar for the rest of the program, and Knierim and Frazier did not disappoint. The duo nailed both of their throw jumps — a loop and flip and added five Level Four elements in capturing their second U.S. Championships title as a team. This win marks Knierim's fifth overall title and Frazier's third.
 
"I'm just trying to get through today and do my best today," Knierim shared. "I think I'm just so wrapped up in doing what I love that the number of championship gold medals for me here will never amount to how much I just love skating. I could have no medals and I would probably feel the same way about it. I'm pretty proud of having five but, I think maybe the younger me would have been like 'Oh my God, I think that would be so cool to do,' but now it's more of just about the artistry and the movement on the ice that I care about most."
 
Knierim and Frazier earned 146.01 points in the free skate and 227.97 points overall.
 
Chan and Howe continue their to rise up the figure skating ranks, finishing in second place in just their third U.S. Championships as a team, their best-ever result. The duo skated with confidence in their "Unchained Melody" free skate, earning a career best 130.00 points for the program.
 
The silver medalists earned Level Four on two elements — the pairs combination spin and their closing lift, and logged Level Three marks on the death spiral and three of their lifts. A fall on a mid-program throw triple loop was the only glaring error in an otherwise strong program.
 
"Putting out the performance that we did today for us meant a lot to us," Chan shared. "Being here on the podium also means a lot just because we've been through a lot this season in terms of just getting experience and going through the ups and downs of training. I feel like we're both really grateful to be on the podium and to be able go through this this experience together as a team."
 
Chan and Howe finished the competition with 196.86 points, which marked the first time the duo eclipsed the 190-point threshold.
 
Kam and O'Shea have made incredible progress after teaming up late in the summer. With these Championships as just their third competitive experience as a duo, the bronze medalists have had little time to gel as a team. Despite some errors in their "Nocturnal Animals" soundtrack free skate, Kam and O'Shea were relatively pleased with how this competition unfolded.
 
"It's quite the whirlwind but it's all very exciting," Kam said. "I'm super grateful for all these experiences. It's kind of hard for me to believe that I'm here right now, but what I get to do with this partner it's has been a lot of fun."
 
The twosome opened with a fall on their strongest element, the triple twist, but recovered swiftly and reeled off a nice set of triple Salchows. Kam and O'Shea showed flashes of brilliance on their Level Four lifts, but the duo intentionally doubled both of their throw jumps, which put them at a disadvantage against the more experienced teams in the field who add a third rotation.
 
"It's been a crazy quick season," O'Shea noted. "We started mid-September, and this is our third competition as a team and to be third the Nationals in our first season together is amazing. There's so much room for us to grow and improve from where we're at and we know that."
 
Baram and Tioumentsev made an impressive debut in the competition, and finished with the pewter medal. Despite a partially abandoned lift late in the program, the reigning Junior Grand Prix silver medalists executed a Level Four triple twist and a triple Salchow-double Axel-double Axel combination in their "Pilgrims on a Journey" (Coeur de Pirate) and "Primavera" (Ludovico Einaudi) free skate.
 
"It was such a great feeling," Baram said. "On the first double Axel we heard the whole crowd yelling and they're like 'Go! Go! Go!', and we were like, 'Yes, we will!'"
 
Tioumentsev added, "I've never had that happen before. It was awesome!"
 
The pewter medalists earned 115.96 points in the free skate and 179.08 points overall.