OSAKA, Japan (AP) — After a disappointing result in their comeback bid, US ice dancers Alex and Maia Shibutani said qualifying for next year’s Winter Olympics was not the main reason for their return to competitive skating.
In their return to the ice after a seven-year hiatus, the sibling duo finished in sixth place in ice dancing at the NHK Trophy on Saturday.
“We’re disappointed with the scores, for sure,” Alex said. “We’ve been in this sport for a long time so we’ll have to look at the protocols but we know what we did and what we came here to do.”
Once the dominant US ice dancers, the Shibutanis last competed at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang where they won bronze medals in both ice dancing and the team event.
They are three-time World medalists and two-time US champions.
They announced in May they are making a comeback before a video of Alex berating his sister in practice was leaked on social media in the build up to their return to the ice last month, which the siblings played down on Friday.
While they would love nothing more than to represent their country at the Milan-Cortina Games, the Shibutanis said it wasn’t the main motivating factor for their return.
“Our timing in our return is separate from what the timeline of the sport is,” Maia Shibutani said. “It’s truly about where we thought we were at in our lives, our ability to show up as athletes and people, that’s what inspired our return.”
“We’ve competed at two Olympics before, we loved those experiences, we know what it takes to compete at the highest level and we are fortunate to have done so,” Alex said. “When we ventured out on this journey there were goals but the goals and the instincts to return were less about the results, placement or any particular competition.”
The 34-year-old Alex and the 31-year-old Maia have skated together most of their lives.
The Shibutanis stepped away from skating after Pyeongchang to focus on school and other interests. They extended their hiatus when Maia was diagnosed with a malignant tumor on her kidney in 2019. She underwent surgery to remove the mass, and additional treatment resulted in a successful but long and painful recovery.
The Shibutanis are next scheduled to compete at the Nov. 21-23 Grand Prix Finlandia Trophy.
AP Winter Olympics at https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
Join us to meet Simi Monheit, the author of The Goldie Standard, and the 2024 Winner of the … Read moreMeet the Award-Winning Author of The Goldie Standard
All SMUHSD, staff, parents, and community members are invited to a panel discussion on dam r… Read moreWater is Life: Victories and Challenges in Water Equity in an Age of Climate Change
Mike Caggiano said:
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.