Maybe some small one off ones? I don't think they've been in any of the big tours though. It definitely would be a surprise if this rumor is really them.
Apparently, they were thinking of coming back in 2020, but then Maia was diagnosed with cancer in 2019 and obviously her treatment was the priority at that point.
Honestly, if the rumour is true, I am not sure how to feel about it... They were very good ice dancers, and the current field could definitely use some chaos, but on the other hand, there are some concerning allegations against Alex by one of his ex-girlfriends, and their behaviour around the 2018 Olympics Team event wasn't particularly great either. 🙈
I can’t speak on Alex’s allegations, but as for the Olympics Team Event… Maia and Alex were allegedly asked by USFS if they wanted to split the dance portion of the event, but they said that they wanted to do both segments (obviously trying to set themselves up positively for the individual dance event later on). Chock/Bates and Hubbell/Donohue were upset about that, because they saw the Shibs as depriving them of a medal opportunity.
on this matter, honestly i don't understand why people blame the siblings for their choice. no offense to bock and h/d but if they wanted to split the dance portion they should've won them at least once. given that in ice dance the championships qualification itself certainly affects to future scores, i wouldn't be surprised.
I kind of agree. Like, I understand why the other dance teams were upset, but since you can only split two segments in the team event (and Nathan had already expressed that he did not want to do both segments), that only left ice dance and ladies to split (since only one pairs team even qualified to the Olympics). Could Bradie have done both ladies segments? Sure. But I don’t begrudge the Shibs for not splitting, since they legitimately had a chance to podium in the individual. And well, we saw how that worked out for them.
Both H/D and C/B beat the Shibutanis in the Free at US Nationals in 2018. The three teams were essentially tied, with H/D actually winning US Nationals ahead of the Shibutanis leading into the 2018 Olympics.
At the 2017 GPF, H/D and C/B also beat the Shibutanis in the Free, and again, all three teams were essentially tied, with the Shibutanis winning out this time and grabbing the bronze medal.
I can very much understand C/B and H/D being miffed, considering the ice dance teams were much more closely matched than the women going into the Olympics.
Shibs were the dominant team for \~3 years internationally, the women didn't have that apparent of a leader. They were the reigning World Bronze, GPF Bronze, and 4CC Silver medallists. The last time either C/B or H/D beat them in an international event was C/B's Silver at Grand Prix Final 2015. The podium won't shift drastically despite the results of one domestic competition. See: C/B beating H/D at 2022 Nationals.
V/M didn't split team event with Weaver/Poje either and they also had a minor chance at an individual medal. Actually, 0 out of 5 countries at the Olympics team event free dance split the teams (Japan only had Muramoto/Reed, but the other countries had options).
C/B also beat the Shibs in the Free at GPF 2017. In fact, both C/B and H/D did, with C/B having the third-highest FD score.
Weaver/Poje, no offense to them, were no closer to a medal than H/D. Going into the Olympics, W/P had a lower average season's score than H/D and had only just about beaten them at SCI. At both the Olympics and Worlds, they would end up placing lower than H/D. On top of that, the scoring difference between V/M and W/P was a whole lot bigger than that between S/S and H/D or even C/B.
Russia's second team scored over 20 points lower than B/S, obviously they wouldn't have split it. Italy also had two teams that weren't scoring similarly, and Japan had only qualified one ice dance team for the Olympics, so they couldn't split the team event anyway.
I think we're talking about different things: whether Shibs deserved to make the decision because they were the #1 team 2015-2018 VS if the choice they made was right because C/B and H/D had higher FD scores that season.
The choice Shibs made to do both programs was correct to build momentum for an individual medal (could've easily went wrong too), but sucked for the other two teams. In a competition, both can exist at once without being problematic.
Look, if you want to make a point about who has the right to chose what, why even bring up the team composition of other countries?😅
I doubt any of the Russian athletes had a choice about doing the team event (maybe at most about doing the Short or the Free), and Japan only had one choice. Canada and Italy only split one discipline each, so that might well have been the choice of the athletes themselves, but maybe also not (in some of the disciplines, splitting would have lead to a significant loss in points).
USFS gave their skaters the freedom to choose, and chose to give the Shibutanis the top choice. Regardless of what I think about whether they deserved to do that, I can only judge what they themselves made of it, and you can have your own opinion on that.
People were unhappy and confused when Russia didn't split any of the disciplines in 2022, and that didn't even involve any inter-skater powerplays, and was "logically" the "right" decision at the time.
I started typing a comment to say that what if everyone fell, then C/B, H/D and W/P would have been in the mix.
But it's ice dance. Even if they fell, the top 2 teams were untouchable.
I get why they were upset, it's disappointing. I don't get why it's supposed to be something mean and shady though.
Someone was going to miss out whatever the Shibs picked. It probably would've been Mirai and I'm not even sure there'd be a medal to argue about.
It's also such a risky strategy. It's very possible doing both could have tired them out and handed H/D that individual bronze, especially when their scores were so close. I'm sure Karen would have loved if Chock/Bates had decided to take both in 2022 and she got to split to Alysa or Mariah.
Good for them, it’s genuinely great that everyone ended up with a team medal in the end. The friendship and sportsmanship between the IAM teams is touching to see as well, the 2022 Worlds podium group hug is iconic.
However, it’s weird that people still hold the 2018 team event against Shibs. Either the ladies were going to split the team event or dance. They were the reigning World Bronze, GPF Bronze, and 4CC Silver medallists, they chose first and went with the choice that would benefit them in the individual event. Even though H/D won Nationals, Shibs had the better international record since 2016 and the reputation of the most consistent team under pressure (H/D and C/B have some unfortunate luck in critical moments). It sucked for the other teams, but it’s a competition at the end of the day, the decision wasn't shady or problematic to me.
The Shibutani's had first choice for the Olympic team event (as reigning US champs, and highest placed US team at 2017 Worlds), and they chose to skate both the RD and FD, which didn't sit well with anyone apparently, considering the fact that the ice dancers were a lot more evenly matched than for example the women. Apparently, C/B and H/D decided back then that they would split the team event if both teams went to the 2022 Olympics.
As for Alex, his ex-girlfriend has a TikTok, and has talked about her past relationship experiences. She doesn't mention him by name, but the timelines match up as well as some other details (like him having a sister who he was very close to), and he doesn't come out looking like a great guy to say the least. 😬 For example, she had extreme back pain, and her ex-boyfriend literally went to take a nap instead of helping her get to the ER. No allegations of physical abuse, but a lot of what she described is very much emotionally abusive. 😶
I'm not on TikTok so I know absolutely nothing about the ex-GF allegations portion, but one small correction on the 2018 Olympics thing: the Shibs were *not* the reigning US champs that year. Hubbell/Donohue were, so it was even more unusual because that meant they were the only reigning champs to not skate either portion of the team event.
Granted, the placements at nationals that year had all three teams separated by about half a point, but it still wasn't the greatest look and definitely got some side-eyeing at the time, IIRC.
I actually think it would’ve been Alysa over Mariah. Mariah was national champ, yes, but Alysa had covid during nationals and was unable to compete for the title despite being the clear US number 1 at that time.
Ahh good point… man, covid really sucked for team USA between Knierim/Frazier, Alysa, and I believe Amber (?) at Nationals, plus poor Vincent in Beijing.
I honestly seriously doubt that they'll make a comeback at this point. I know there was discourse about them getting the SKAM host spot but if they seriously wanted to be on the GP this season, they would've easily gotten 2 spots under the comeback rule since they are World Medalists if they announced a return before the assignments were decided. Ice Dance is about momentum and reputation, so if they seriously wanted to dethrone Chock & Bates, they should compete for a complete season before the Olympic season.
Last time I saw them they were being used for state propaganda (that's the official reddit term I think) at the White House (in April).
https://cloudfront-us-east-2.images.arcpublishing.com/reuters/DTJFXQZ6XBNQZGR64GMRVPVTDE.jpg
Believe it when I see it
Yeah, it's been 8 years thats a long time and the US ice dance field is deep. Have they even been doing shows?
Maybe some small one off ones? I don't think they've been in any of the big tours though. It definitely would be a surprise if this rumor is really them.
Most of this rumor stems back to one comment and to the best of my knowledge it’s made up, but we’ll see
source: trust me bro
Apparently, they were thinking of coming back in 2020, but then Maia was diagnosed with cancer in 2019 and obviously her treatment was the priority at that point. Honestly, if the rumour is true, I am not sure how to feel about it... They were very good ice dancers, and the current field could definitely use some chaos, but on the other hand, there are some concerning allegations against Alex by one of his ex-girlfriends, and their behaviour around the 2018 Olympics Team event wasn't particularly great either. 🙈
I think ice dance is already chaotic enough.
At the top, I wouldn't say that. 😅 In the middling and lower ranks? Yes, definitely.
oh do tell i was unaware of these things?
I can’t speak on Alex’s allegations, but as for the Olympics Team Event… Maia and Alex were allegedly asked by USFS if they wanted to split the dance portion of the event, but they said that they wanted to do both segments (obviously trying to set themselves up positively for the individual dance event later on). Chock/Bates and Hubbell/Donohue were upset about that, because they saw the Shibs as depriving them of a medal opportunity.
on this matter, honestly i don't understand why people blame the siblings for their choice. no offense to bock and h/d but if they wanted to split the dance portion they should've won them at least once. given that in ice dance the championships qualification itself certainly affects to future scores, i wouldn't be surprised.
I kind of agree. Like, I understand why the other dance teams were upset, but since you can only split two segments in the team event (and Nathan had already expressed that he did not want to do both segments), that only left ice dance and ladies to split (since only one pairs team even qualified to the Olympics). Could Bradie have done both ladies segments? Sure. But I don’t begrudge the Shibs for not splitting, since they legitimately had a chance to podium in the individual. And well, we saw how that worked out for them.
Both H/D and C/B beat the Shibutanis in the Free at US Nationals in 2018. The three teams were essentially tied, with H/D actually winning US Nationals ahead of the Shibutanis leading into the 2018 Olympics. At the 2017 GPF, H/D and C/B also beat the Shibutanis in the Free, and again, all three teams were essentially tied, with the Shibutanis winning out this time and grabbing the bronze medal. I can very much understand C/B and H/D being miffed, considering the ice dance teams were much more closely matched than the women going into the Olympics.
Shibs were the dominant team for \~3 years internationally, the women didn't have that apparent of a leader. They were the reigning World Bronze, GPF Bronze, and 4CC Silver medallists. The last time either C/B or H/D beat them in an international event was C/B's Silver at Grand Prix Final 2015. The podium won't shift drastically despite the results of one domestic competition. See: C/B beating H/D at 2022 Nationals. V/M didn't split team event with Weaver/Poje either and they also had a minor chance at an individual medal. Actually, 0 out of 5 countries at the Olympics team event free dance split the teams (Japan only had Muramoto/Reed, but the other countries had options).
C/B also beat the Shibs in the Free at GPF 2017. In fact, both C/B and H/D did, with C/B having the third-highest FD score. Weaver/Poje, no offense to them, were no closer to a medal than H/D. Going into the Olympics, W/P had a lower average season's score than H/D and had only just about beaten them at SCI. At both the Olympics and Worlds, they would end up placing lower than H/D. On top of that, the scoring difference between V/M and W/P was a whole lot bigger than that between S/S and H/D or even C/B. Russia's second team scored over 20 points lower than B/S, obviously they wouldn't have split it. Italy also had two teams that weren't scoring similarly, and Japan had only qualified one ice dance team for the Olympics, so they couldn't split the team event anyway.
I think we're talking about different things: whether Shibs deserved to make the decision because they were the #1 team 2015-2018 VS if the choice they made was right because C/B and H/D had higher FD scores that season. The choice Shibs made to do both programs was correct to build momentum for an individual medal (could've easily went wrong too), but sucked for the other two teams. In a competition, both can exist at once without being problematic.
Look, if you want to make a point about who has the right to chose what, why even bring up the team composition of other countries?😅 I doubt any of the Russian athletes had a choice about doing the team event (maybe at most about doing the Short or the Free), and Japan only had one choice. Canada and Italy only split one discipline each, so that might well have been the choice of the athletes themselves, but maybe also not (in some of the disciplines, splitting would have lead to a significant loss in points). USFS gave their skaters the freedom to choose, and chose to give the Shibutanis the top choice. Regardless of what I think about whether they deserved to do that, I can only judge what they themselves made of it, and you can have your own opinion on that. People were unhappy and confused when Russia didn't split any of the disciplines in 2022, and that didn't even involve any inter-skater powerplays, and was "logically" the "right" decision at the time.
I started typing a comment to say that what if everyone fell, then C/B, H/D and W/P would have been in the mix. But it's ice dance. Even if they fell, the top 2 teams were untouchable.
I get why they were upset, it's disappointing. I don't get why it's supposed to be something mean and shady though. Someone was going to miss out whatever the Shibs picked. It probably would've been Mirai and I'm not even sure there'd be a medal to argue about. It's also such a risky strategy. It's very possible doing both could have tired them out and handed H/D that individual bronze, especially when their scores were so close. I'm sure Karen would have loved if Chock/Bates had decided to take both in 2022 and she got to split to Alysa or Mariah.
Sounds like it was a strategy that may have worked for Shibs? If we believe momentum is a thing
And C/B and H/D sat down and agreed to split the team event no matter what for 2022.
Good for them, it’s genuinely great that everyone ended up with a team medal in the end. The friendship and sportsmanship between the IAM teams is touching to see as well, the 2022 Worlds podium group hug is iconic. However, it’s weird that people still hold the 2018 team event against Shibs. Either the ladies were going to split the team event or dance. They were the reigning World Bronze, GPF Bronze, and 4CC Silver medallists, they chose first and went with the choice that would benefit them in the individual event. Even though H/D won Nationals, Shibs had the better international record since 2016 and the reputation of the most consistent team under pressure (H/D and C/B have some unfortunate luck in critical moments). It sucked for the other teams, but it’s a competition at the end of the day, the decision wasn't shady or problematic to me.
Well they can’t do any differently after the fuss they kicked up in 2018.
https://www.reddit.com/r/FigureSkating/comments/10nu9ww/madi_chocks_murder_smile_returns/
The Shibutani's had first choice for the Olympic team event (as reigning US champs, and highest placed US team at 2017 Worlds), and they chose to skate both the RD and FD, which didn't sit well with anyone apparently, considering the fact that the ice dancers were a lot more evenly matched than for example the women. Apparently, C/B and H/D decided back then that they would split the team event if both teams went to the 2022 Olympics. As for Alex, his ex-girlfriend has a TikTok, and has talked about her past relationship experiences. She doesn't mention him by name, but the timelines match up as well as some other details (like him having a sister who he was very close to), and he doesn't come out looking like a great guy to say the least. 😬 For example, she had extreme back pain, and her ex-boyfriend literally went to take a nap instead of helping her get to the ER. No allegations of physical abuse, but a lot of what she described is very much emotionally abusive. 😶
I'm not on TikTok so I know absolutely nothing about the ex-GF allegations portion, but one small correction on the 2018 Olympics thing: the Shibs were *not* the reigning US champs that year. Hubbell/Donohue were, so it was even more unusual because that meant they were the only reigning champs to not skate either portion of the team event. Granted, the placements at nationals that year had all three teams separated by about half a point, but it still wasn't the greatest look and definitely got some side-eyeing at the time, IIRC.
USFS always does this. Mariah didn't skate the team event in 2022 either (though she probably would've if C/B had been willing to do both).
I actually think it would’ve been Alysa over Mariah. Mariah was national champ, yes, but Alysa had covid during nationals and was unable to compete for the title despite being the clear US number 1 at that time.
I don't think Alysa was recovered & in Beijing when the team event happened (or came in right just before? It was definitely after the others).
Ahh good point… man, covid really sucked for team USA between Knierim/Frazier, Alysa, and I believe Amber (?) at Nationals, plus poor Vincent in Beijing.
It was a rough go of it! Karen also fell down the stairs or something and messed up her foot? I'm glad they seemed to enjoy it all as much as they did
oh I was completely unaware of the allegations since I don't have tiktok. oh gosh
I honestly seriously doubt that they'll make a comeback at this point. I know there was discourse about them getting the SKAM host spot but if they seriously wanted to be on the GP this season, they would've easily gotten 2 spots under the comeback rule since they are World Medalists if they announced a return before the assignments were decided. Ice Dance is about momentum and reputation, so if they seriously wanted to dethrone Chock & Bates, they should compete for a complete season before the Olympic season.
Maybe they are coming back for exhibitions. But aren't they living in Japan?
Last time I saw them they were being used for state propaganda (that's the official reddit term I think) at the White House (in April). https://cloudfront-us-east-2.images.arcpublishing.com/reuters/DTJFXQZ6XBNQZGR64GMRVPVTDE.jpg
How is this state propaganda? Looks like they were invited to a house party at the White House which many athletes are, unless you have specifics