ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Known as the "Shib Sibs," Maia and Alex Shibutani will be competing in their second Winter Olympics.
The Shibutanis were national champions in 2016 and 2017 and placed second in 2018.
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The Shibutanis say with the help of their amazing training environment in Canton and strong support of coaches, the team plans to improve their ninth place position at the Sochi Winter Olympics, and develop their best work for this year.
The ice dance duo finished ninth during the Winter Games in Sochi, Russia. Maia, 23 and Alex, 26. are two-time U.S. National champion figure skaters (2016 and 2017), 2017 and 2011 world bronze medalists, and 2016 world silver medalists. The Shibutanis are one of three top teams representing ice dance in the United States.
Event: Ice Dance
Hometown: Ann Arbor
Training Center: Arctic Edge of Canton
Olympics: Sochi 2014 and PyeongChang 2018
The brother-sister team initially began their career at very early ages as singles skaters; however, after attending the 2003 World Championships in Washington, D.C., they were inspired to officially team up in 2004. Since their debut, the pair has won medals at the U.S. National Championships at every level in addition to winning a medal at every national championship at the senior level since 2011.
The Shib Sibs attend the University of Michigan, but are taking the year off to focus on the Olympics. They are also known for their success on social medial including a YouTube channel where they vlog. Maia and Alex are also sports envoys for the U.S. State Department.
The state of Michigan will be represented by 14 athletes including:
- Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibutani -- Event: Ice Dance
- Madison Chock and Evan Bates -- Event: Ice Dance
- Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue -- Event: Ice Dance
- Jessica Kooreman -- Event: Short Track Speed Skating -- 1,000m race and 1,500 meter race
- Megan Keller -- Event: Defender for Women's Ice Hockey
- James Wisniewski -- Event: Defender for Men's Hockey
- Chad Billins -- Event: Defender for Men's Hockey Team
- Jim Slater -- Event: Forward for Men's Hockey Team
- Kyle Mack -- Event: Snowboarding Slopestyle and Big Air
- Ryan Pivirotto -- Event: Short Track Speed Skating
- Nick Baumgartner -- Event: Snowboardcross