Going into the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier are the top pairs team from the United States. The U.S. is not very competitive internationally in major pairs skating competitions like the World Championships and the Olympics. The last time the U.S. was on the Worlds Podium was in 2002, and the country has not had a pairs team on the Olympic Podium since 1988. While it is unlikely that Knierim and Frazier will top either of those podiums in early 2022, it is still likely they are the best chance for the U.S. This is an amazing feat in and of itself because Knierim and Frazier only started competing together last season. Before that, Knierim skated with her husband Chris, and Frazier skated with Haven Denney. In order to better understand the leading pairs couple from the U.S., here is the skating history of the two.
Pre-2018 Winter Olympic Season
Brandon Frazier started skating with Haven Denney in the 2011-12 season. The pair took first place at the World Junior Championships in 2013, winning by just over a point. The next season they moved onto the senior circuit. The pair could not reclaim the top of any major podium over the next couple of seasons, besides one gold at the Lombardia Trophy in 2014. Then, they had to completely sit out of the 2015-16 season due to Denney suffering a knee injury. Frazier and Denney then burst back onto the scene the next season, claiming the 2017 National Title. This put the pair in a good position going into the 2017-18 Olympic season.
Alexa Scimeca-Knierim, at this time Alexa Scimeca, started skating with Chris Knierim in 2012. The pair got off to moderate success their first season competing, taking second at Nationals and ninth at the World Championships. They finished third at Four Continents in 2014, just above Frazier and Denney. In 2015, Scimeca and Knierim saw success, winning the U.S. National Championships and taking seventh at Worlds. The pair also had a successful 2015-16 season. They landed on the podium at several international events and took ninth at Worlds for the second time. Alexa and Chris Knierim got married in June of 2016, then had to sit out of the first half of the 2016-17 skating season due to Alexa going undergoing abdominal surgeries for a rare, life-threatening condition. They had to miss the US Championships but took tenth at World’s that season. Despite Alexa’s condition and surgeries, Alexa and Chris Knierim were still one of the favorites for the U.S. going into the Olympic season.
2017-18 Olympic Season
Denney and Frazier entered this season as the U.S. Champions, while the Knierims entered after having a short season the year before. The Knierims had more success on the Grand Prix circuit than Denney and Frazier, but neither pair saw the podium. The Knierims took fifth at both of their Grand Prix assignments, while Denney and Frazier took seventh at both of theirs.
At the U.S. Championships, the Knierims got off to a great start. They were in first after the short program with a score of 71.10. Denney and Frazier found themselves in fourth after the short program with a score of 63.63. At this point, Denney and Frazier were only a little over four points off the podium, but defending their gold medal seemed out of reach. Denney and Frazier moved down a spot after the free program to finish fifth at Nationals. While the free program for the Knierims was not perfect, their more difficult elements were enough to easily put them in first. With the win, the Knierims took the only U.S. spot for pairs in the Olympics.
The Knierims participated in two competitions for the U.S. at the 2018 Olympics. They helped America earn a bronze medal in the team competition before they took part in the individual pairs competition. The pair did not have any major mistakes in their short program and qualified to skate in the free. However, they were over 15 points out of first place and were basically out of competition for a podium spot at that point. The free program is where things fell apart for the pair. There were both small and major mistakes in the program that led to the Knierims scoring 15 points less in this free program than they did at the U.S. Championships just a little earlier in the year. The two major mistakes came on the side-by-side triple salchow that Chris did not properly land and the side-by-side triple toe where Chris fell. The Knierims ended up fifteenth at the Olympics and finished in the same spot at Worlds that season.
2018-19 Season
The first half of the 2018-19 season saw both pairs on podiums. Denney and Frazier earned a bronze medal at the Autumn Classic International as part of the ISU Challenger Series, before taking sixth at their only Grand Prix competition, Skate Canada. The Knierims earned two medals in the Challenger Series at the Nebelhorn Trophy and Golden Spin of Zagreb. They also took the bronze at their second Grand Prix assignment, the NHK Trophy, after they just missed the podium at Skate America.
The pairs met head-to-head at the 2019 U.S. Championships. The Knierims were looking to defend their title, and Denney and Frazier were looking to reclaim the title from two years before. The short program fared better for Denney and Frazier, who were in third with a score of 68.32. The Knierims sat in seventh after the short, receiving a negative grade of execution on their triple twist lift and side-by-side triple salchows. They earned a score of 61.56. The Knierims were not able to put down the skate they needed in the free program to put themselves back in contention for the podium. They had several mistakes at the top of their program, as their troubles with the jumps continued. Denney and Frazier had a much better outcome. Despite a couple of mistakes, the pair was able to find themselves back on the U.S. Championships podium. They earned the silver medal with a score of 201.64.
2019-20 Season
The 2019-20 was not a typical season. However, it started out with normal competition and both teams were off to a good start. The pairs faced off at the Nebelhorn Trophy, where the Knierims came out on top. Denney and Frazier placed sixth and the Knierims earned a silver medal. During the Grand Prix, Denney and Frazier missed the Grand Prix Finals despite earning bronze medals at both of their assignments. The Knierims finished just off the podium at their first assignment, Skate Canada, and seventh at the NHK Trophy.
The pairs got their second head-to-head competition at the 2020 U.S. National Championships. A couple of mistakes and a one-point deduction in the short program for Denney and Frazier put them way behind in the podium race. The Knierims, however, had a stellar short program that earned them first place, seven points ahead of the second-place pair. The struggles for Denney and Frazier continued in the free program and they finished in fifth place. Meanwhile, the race for the gold became closer than expected after Calalang and Johnson laid down a clean free skate. The Knierims were able to hold on to the gold thanks to their short program performance and only one major mistake in the free program.
Chris Knierim announced at the end of February 2020 that he was retiring from figure skating. He cited mental health issues and ongoing injuries as his reason for leaving the sport. The Knierims withdrew from the World Championships, which ended up being canceled due to COVID-19. When his retirement was announced, it was also announced that Alexa planned to continue competing. Alexa planned to find a new partner and was still hoping to compete in the Beijing Olympics. Less than a month later, in March 2020, Denney and Frazier announced that they would be ending their skating partnership. It was announced at the time that Frazier would be looking for a new partner to continue his competitive skating career.
Shortly after, Frazier and Knierim announced that they were beginning a skating partnership. Frazier had reached out to Knierim and they had a tryout together. They skated together for a few days and decided to move forward with the partnership. However, they were unable to skate together for a while because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
2020-21 Season
The 2020 season started for Knierim and Frazier with Skate America. Skate America was competed as a domestic competition due to the pandemic, with all but one team representing the United States. Figure skating fans were closely watching Knierim and Frazier to see how they would do in their new partnership. The pair surprised everyone by winning the gold, their first competition of their partnership.
The success for the new pair continued when they competed at the U.S. Championships. Knierim and Frazier set the Nationals short program record with a clean skate. A strong free skate earned the pair record scores in the free skate and overall score as well. They earned the gold medal with a score of 228.10. Knieriem and Frazier’s score was over 20 points higher than Calalang and Johnson who won the silver. It takes time to build chemistry in pairs skating and make a pair work, but Knierim and Frazier were able to win in record fashion in their first season together. This performance earned the pair one of the U.S. spots at the World Championships. Knierim and Frazier earned seventh at Worlds with a score of 192.10. It matched Knierim’s highest finish at Worlds in her career and was Frazier’s best finish. Their score at the U.S. Championships could have won them the World title. Mishina and Galliamov of Russia took the gold with a score of 227.59.
2021-22 Olympic Season
For Knierim and Frazier, this season started out with the Cranberry Cup where they earned the silver medal, and the John Nicks Pairs Challenge, which they won. The pair was assigned to Skate America and the Internationaux de France for the Grand Prix. At Skate America, the pair landed just off the podium, earning a score of 202.97. They then earned the bronze at their second Grand Prix assignment and were named second alternates to the Grand Prix Final. The pair then competed at the Golden Spin of Zagreb. They were in second place after the short program, but finished fifth after the free. They scored 186.69 points overall. Lu and Mitrofanov of the U.S. won that competition.
Next up for Knierim and Frazier is the U.S. Championships. The United States has two pairs spots in the 2022 Olympics and the results of Nationals will play a role in the selection of athletes. If Knierim and Frazier skate up to potential, they should guarantee themselves a spot at the Olympics in only their second season competing together. If they skate how they did at the 2021 U.S. Championships, they could find themselves as the first U.S. pairs team on an Olympic podium since 1988. Knierim and Frazier are still a new team, but they have the experience and the skills to put U.S. pairs skating back on the map.