Knierim and Frazier Close Out Season with World Silver and Big Plans

When Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier made the decision to compete in the 2022-23 season, the duo seemingly had nothing to prove.
 
Bathed in the afterglow of capturing the 2022 World Championships pairs title — the first by an American team in more than 40 years — Knierim and Frazier could have easily skated off into retirement and nobody would have blamed them.
 
But both Knierim and Frazier were hungry for more. Perhaps it was to test their competitive mettle — to experience the weight of competing as global champions against a sea of ambitious international competitors. Or maybe it was to seek out the title that they had to forgo a year earlier when Frazier was forced out of the 2022 Toyota U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Nashville with a COVID-19 diagnosis.
 
No matter the why, the pair had the kind of season that can only make one smile — continuing to rack up firsts for Team USA and all the while demonstrating to a new generation of U.S. pairs teams that anything is achievable.
 
"I think we influenced some of the younger teams on a greater scale than we had ever imagined," Knierim said. "I think that is part of what we have shown some of the younger teams is that you should always approach competition as an opportunity to show your best and to stay focused on yourself."
 
Frazier added, "I think after last season there was so much to celebrate with our work ethic and what we were able to accomplish. When we both made the decision that we were not done yet, that we definitely wanted to do at least one more season, we both had the same familiar feeling that we just wanted to skate with joy and freedom. What motivated us was just the passion and love for the sport that we have, and that we acknowledge the hard journeys we both have been on and celebrate our accomplishments."
 
Though the work on the ice was just as challenging as ever, Knierim and Frazier never doubted that either partner would lack for motivation. In fact, the duo considers their philosophical approach to skating to be in complete harmony.
 
"When we first teamed up, I figured that we were probably going to get along because we share a similar perspective on the sport and work ethic," Frazier shared. "Every time we came in to train for this past season, we were on the same page, which made it easy to get through the gritty days. It was fun to see how hard we could push ourselves."
 
Knierim agreed, and shared that she and Frazier share a friendship that has served their partnership well.
 
"I really classify Brandon as a best friend," she revealed. "There is that unconditional respect, forgiveness and just pure acceptance of each another that has made the relationship on the ice so easy. I think what happened naturally was that we cared for each other more as like human beings first and the skating came second."
 
Last season started out with a bang with wins at Skate America and the MK John Wilson Trophy, earning the California-trained team a place in the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final for the first time. Along with becoming the only American pairs team to win two Grand Prix events in a single season, Knierim and Frazier also added another first to their resume — a silver medal at the Final in Torino, Italy, another first for a U.S. team.
 
Up next was the 2023 Toyota U.S. Figure Skating Championships in San Jose, California, where Knierim and Frazier captured their second domestic title in three seasons, outdistancing themselves from rest of the field by more than 30 points. The win earned the pair a World Championships berth and the opportunity to defend their title against Grand Prix Final champions Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara from Japan, who would be seeking to create a bit of history for themselves on home ice in Saitama as the first World pairs champions from Japan.
 
In the short program at the World Championships, Frazier fell on a triple toe loop attempt, which relegated the Olympians to second place and left the duo with more than a six-point deficit heading into the free skate. Knierim and Frazier rebounded in the free skate, overtaking Miura and Kihara in that portion of the competition but earning silver overall.
 
"We are very pleased with our placement and there was no disappointment in silver," Knierim said.
 
Immediately following the World Championships, Knierim and Frazier set off on the Stars on Ice Japan tour for two weeks, celebrating a successful season with some of the warmest crowds in figure skating.
 
"We did the tour last year and we had the great opportunity to do it again," Frazier said. "Japan does an incredible job and are incredible hosts. They take very good care of us. The audiences are so appreciative, so it gives us a burst of energy after the biggest event of the season."
 
While touring in Japan, the two-time World medalists also had to keep a peripheral eye on training for the World Team Trophy, so that they were in peak shape to compete for that title in Tokyo.
 
"When we arrived for rehearsals for the show, it was the only two days between the World Championships and the World Team Trophy where we had a full-sized sheet of ice," Knierim shared. "We looked at each other and agreed that this may be the only time we have open ice, so we ran long programs. We didn't know if we would have another opportunity to train in a larger rink, so we might as well do what we can today. When we went to the first city of the three, the rink was so small that we couldn't do a few of our long program elements like the throw loop because we didn't have enough room. But we committed to training an hour every day after the shows to do what we could to stay prepared for the Team Trophy."
 
In Tokyo, Knierim and Frazier realized that their approach had worked, and they were ready to take on the World Champions in a head-to-head match-up. At the conclusion of the event, Team USA reigned supreme, and Knierim and Frazier swept the top place in the pairs competition with the best scores of their career.
 
"There's always a little pressure, of course, but I felt like there was just a chemistry with our teammates," Frazier said. "At the beginning of the week you can tell everyone is eager and you just kind of want to do your part to perform well … Our best skating just kind of emerged — that is how Alexa and I trained for the majority of the year, and it was nice to finish out the season on such a high note."
 
Before the free skate, Knierim shared that she was a feeling a bit nervous and tight, which led to an unsatisfying warm up. When she and Frazier got off the ice to wait for their turn to compete, Knierim focused on calming herself down.
 
"I've learned that it doesn't matter what you do on the ice – that it doesn't define your career or who you are as a person," she explained. "But if that were to be my final skate at a competition setting, I didn't want it to be a mess. I knew that this performance was never going to change the legacy that we've built, but I would have hated to walk off that ice feeling crappy. Having it be a possibility of my last performance in a competition setting so I think subconsciously those thoughts were really bothering me before I skated because I just wanted so badly to walk off being proud and we did that."
 
Just weeks before Knierim and Frazier traveled to Japan, their coach Todd Sand experienced a heart attack while coaching at the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships 2023 in Calgary, Canada. Choreographer Shae-Lynn Bourne filled in as coach at the World Championships while Knierim's husband, Chris, was at the boards with the duo at the World Team Trophy.
 
"It was challenging to not have our main coach there because you don't really know what feels normal until you don't have it anymore," Knierim admitted. "Having Shae and Chris there was absolutely wonderful, but we couldn't help but kind of notice and think that Todd was not there. This was kind of hard, but I think all things considered we rallied together and put out some great skates."

In Tokyo at the close of the World Team Trophy, the six teams all came together in support of Sand, holding signs and posing for a large group photo in solidarity for a full and complete recovery for the universally beloved coach.
 
"It very heartwarming to see athletes from other countries come together and pose for that photo and ask about him," Knierim said. "Todd has made a huge impact in the skating world for years and he's loved by so many. There are times where we all get wrapped up in our day-to-day lives and we forget how many people we actually have supporting us and in our corner. Skating is its own world and its own family, but watching that come together at World Team Trophy for a man like him, it really was an incredible moment."
 
Knierim and Frazier and currently performing in the Canadian Stars on Ice tour through the middle of the month and close out the season with the U.S. Stars on Ice tour, which concludes at the beginning of June. When they return, Knierim will head back to Illinois where she will join her husband and pets.
 
"I definitely don't know my full plan yet, but I do have a passion for coaching, and I want to work with all ages and levels," Knierim said. "I want to take the summer to settle down and breathe and just be in the rink for the enjoyment and to inspire the kids that I work with there. I'm just going to go with the flow of life and focus on my family life and marriage and kind of just quiet down a bit."
 
Frazier, a student at the University of California, Irvine, has an internship at the investment banking giant Goldman Sachs when he finishes out the tour.
 
"I'm off school until September, where I will continue with my last year of my bachelor's degree," he said. "I'm studying to get degrees in finance and accounting and hope to go into investment banking eventually. Ultimately, I want to pursue an MBA, but I am not sure if that will be right away or take a couple of years where I work first."
 
Though it may appear that Knierim and Frazier have closed the chapter in their competitive skating careers, they both have said that they are open to returning for another season but have not had time to give that serious thought. They expect that their time away from training after the tours will help reveal what is in store for them in the future.