By Liz Leamy
Maia and Alex Shibutani, the two-time 2018 Olympic bronze medalists, three-time World medalists and two-time U.S. champions who grew up in Old Greenwich, were inducted into the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame at the 2023 U.S. Championships in San Jose this past January in memorable style.
This talented and accomplished sister and brother dance duo, who spent a great deal of time at the Dorothy Hamill rink in town and at other nearby ice facilities during their younger years, reflected the heart and spirit of the Greenwich community when they were honored at the 2023 U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame ceremony at the SAP Center, expressing deep gratitude for this coveted honor in characteristic humble and heartfelt fashion.
“We’re so grateful to the inducting committee and just to think of joining all of the athletes who are in [the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame], as well as having this experience with Paul George [the other 2023 Hall of Fame honoree who is President and Trustee of the U.S. Figure Skating Foundation]. This is a really special day,” said Maia Shibutani. “We’ve had so many great people influence us at different points in our career and that’s really impacted our journey.”
Her brother agreed, citing the vital role his family has played in helping them reach this paramount juncture in their remarkable journey.
“From day one to now, we’ve stuck together and we’ve believed in each other, so that’s what makes something like today so much more meaningful to us,” said Alex Shibutani. “We’ve been so fortunate to cross paths with and walk alongside so many incredibly talented, but also kind and generous people.”
A remarkable competitive career
Maia, who attended Greenwich Academy and Alex, who was a student at Brunswick growing up, respectively, took to skating right from the moment they first got on the ice in group-lesson classes.
Shortly thereafter, they started pursuing the sport on a more serious level.
In addition to practicing regularly, Maia and Alex had started working on a private-lesson basis with Slavka Button, the decorated Greenwich-based Olympic coach and U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame member who taught Janet Lynn, the seven-time U.S. champion and 1972 Olympic bronze medalist.
At this point, the two started racking up stellar results at such renowned New York metro-area competitions as the Town of Greenwich Open and the Middle Atlantic Championships in New York City, among other events. (Maia, in fact, was awarded the Alis W. McCurdy award at the Town of Greenwich competition during this time, a citation given to a skater, 12 years or younger, who shows figure skating potential through the presentation of their program’s music and theme.)
“I’m very fortunate that I have some early videos from when I was first skating and I have to say I am extremely grateful to some of the earlier coaches we had because that’s your first experience with the sport and that sense of fun is what drew me in,” said Maia Shibutani.
During this time, Maia and Alex also made the game-changing decision to start pursuing competitive ice dancing together.
Remarkably, within a year, the two achieved astonishing success, scoring silver at the 2005 U.S. Junior Championships in the Juvenile division.
At this stage, they worked with Kathy Bird, Mary Marchiselli, Josh Babb and Susie Kelley and Andrew Stroukoff at rinks in and around the New York metropolitan area, including the Hamill Rink.
“Everyone asks if a coach can tell right from the beginning if someone is going to ‘make it,’” said Andrew Stroukoff, coach at the William G. Mennen Sports Arena in Morris Township, New Jersey and 1976 U.S. ice dance Olympian with Susie Kelley. “Alex and Maia were the one ones we ever saw that we knew from day one would be hugely successful. They just loved to perform and had a need to get better every day.”
In 2005, Maia and Alex decided relocate to Colorado Springs, along with their parents, in order to train with Patti Gottwein at the Broadmoor World Arena on an even more intensive basis.
This move proved to be fruitful, as they went on to claim their first U.S. title in the Intermediate division in 2006.
From there, Maia and Alex went on to score a second consecutive U.S. title in 2007 in the Novice division.
Later that year, Maia and Alex then made the decision to move to the Detroit suburbs with their family in order to train full time with Marina Zoueva and Igor Shpilband, coaches of the 2006 U.S. Olympic silver medalists, Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto, and other decorated ice dancers, a locale where they remained through to 2018.
“We were always seeking to grow and improve and learn from people who wanted to teach and they have made us the people we are today,” said Alex Shibutani. “We will always represent figure skating and the sport of ice dance in anything we do.”
As juniors, the Shibutanis had placed fourth at the 2008 U.S. Championships, second at the 2009 U.S. Championships and first at the 2010 U.S. Championships.
The next season, in 2011, at the ages of 16 and 19, respectively, Maia and Alex catapulted to the pinnacle of Championship ice dancing, claiming silver at that year’s U.S. Nationals in the senior division and bronze at the 2011 World Championships.
Over the next four years, the duo maintained a solid and steady momentum, medaling at the 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 U.S. Championships and finishing among the top 10 dance teams at the World Championships those same seasons.
In 2014, they earned an impressive ninth-place finish at the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi, an experience they said had affected and inspired them in a profound way.
“I think 2014 was really impactful because I think we dreamed of going to the Olympics since we were children,” said Maia Shibutani. “So joining Team USA as a greater whole was amazing and inspiring for the next four years.”
At this juncture, the two continued to work as hard as ever.
During this time, they faced various challenges, including trying to figure out new and innovative ways to creatively present themselves with their programs as well as dealing with the prospect of facing the ongoing slew of competition.
Choosing to view these situations as motivating factors, the two became even stronger and hit a whole new stride both artistically and technically in regard to their skating, something that was reflected in their results, especially at the global level.
At this juncture, Maia and Alex also had emerged as huge influencers on major social media platforms such as YouTube, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, having attracted legions of fans who enthusiastically followed their exciting journeys in figure skating and sports as well as in life itself. (Notably, to date, their ShibSibs YouTube channel has gotten more than 11 million total views.)
In 2016, the duo clinched their first U.S. title and a silver medal at that year’s World Championships in Boston, a city that means a great deal to both of them as it was the place where their parents, Naomi and Chris, had met when they were both attending college at Harvard University in Cambridge. (Alex, who was born in Boston, is also a devoted Boston Red Sox fan.)
“Having that home Worlds was very memorable and something I wish for every skater,” said Alex Shibutani. “The feeling of that boost of adrenaline and energy and the crowd support, that’s what makes the sport so special. It’s the fans, media, volunteers, officials, it’s everything.”
The following season, Alex and Maia went on to claim their second U.S. title at the 2017 U.S. Championships and a bronze medal at the 2017 World Championships.
In 2018, they then then scored silver at the U.S. Championships and two bronze medals at the 2018 Olympics in the ice dance and the team events, an event that marked another benchmark point for them.
“The Olympics and 2018 were an incredible experience for us,” said Alex Shibutani. “We’re so proud of those accomplishments and the 2018 Olympics was a pinnacle of a lifetime of work.”
A family affair
Maia and Alex, meanwhile, have been steadfast about the huge role their parents and family have played in their success over the years.
“We’re so grateful to have the parents we have because when we found skating when we were kids, they were so excited we found something we were passionate about,” said Maia Shibutani. “They’ve always been a really grounding presence and they’ve just continued to be able to provide a perspective and just thinking of all the sacrifices they’ve had to make along the way and us never feeling that additional pressure was so important in the way we were able to enjoy practice and the process.”
Alex agreed.
“Our parents never really wanted anything else then for us to be happy and we’re so privileged,” said Alex Shibutani.
A golden post-competitive journey
Since the Olympics, the Shibutanis have gone on to achieve a great deal of success in other realms while also maintaining a massive global following on all of the major social media platforms.
In 2018, Maia and Alex moved to Los Angeles in order to pursue a host of different various business and entertainment pursuits and opportunities, among other exciting things.
“We moved to L.A. in 2018 for our creative process and we had a lot of collaboration there,” said Maia Shibutani. “It’s a really inspiring place for us and for the work we’re doing now.”
Over the past several years, Maia and Alex have continued to do more incredible work through their off-ice ventures together.
In addition to serving as Sports Envoys for the U.S. State Department, they are also brand ambassadors for Tumi Holdings Inc., the high-end suitcase and travel bag manufacturer based in Edison, New Jersey and official-sponsored athletes for the Ralph Lauren Corporation, the iconic American publicly traded fashion company that was founded by Ralph Lauren.
In addition, they have worked with the Coca-Cola Corporation’s Minute Maid beverage brand, The Hershey Company’s Ice Breakers mints and chewing gum brand and Smucker’s Milk-Bone dog biscuit brand, among other ventures.
In 2020, Maia and Alex launched the first of their popular middle-grade ‘Kudo Kids’ book series titled ‘Kudo Kids: The Mystery of the Masked Medalist’ that was followed up by ‘Kudo Kids: The Mystery in Manhattan’ in 2021.
This coming April, the Shibutanis are planning to publish a children’s picture book as well.
“We’re really excited about [the books] because I think [they’re] in line with our experience with skating,” said Alex Shibutani.
His sister agreed.
“Creating books for children has been really rewarding,” said Maia Shibutani.
Greenwich a special place for the Shibutanis
Throughout their amazing life journeys, Maia and Alex have always maintained that Greenwich has always represented a special place for both of them.
“Greenwich is such a unique and dynamic place with such a wonderful community of people,” said Alex Shibutani. “We started skating here and the impact Greenwich and so many people from the town and the area have had on us and continue to have on us has been pretty incredible.”
Other than being the place where they both started skating, this town and so many people in the community hold a special place for them for many reasons.
“I remember John Pendergast [a history teacher, advisor and coach at Brunswick who is now teaching at the School of the Holy Child in Rye, New York] being so supportive and understanding in regard to my training and competitive schedule. If I needed to leave school early to practice, he would help me work things out schedule wise and was understanding,” said Alex, who still stays in touch with Pendergast, noting they the fact that they are both Boston Red Sox fan also means a lot. “Maia and I have such great memories of skating at the Dorothy Hamill Rink as well. I particularly remember how nice it was to sit under the ‘french fry’ heat lamps in the warming room after we had been practicing out on the ice.”
Clearly, the appreciation among so many people in town toward the Shibutanis is mutual.
“The Shibutanis are amazing to watch and in particular, I love to watch their twizzles. They are always so precise and synchronized,” said Caroline Hartch of Greenwich, a junior at Convent of the Sacred Heart on King Street and Assistant Coach at the Dorothy Hamill Rink Skating School who had competed at the Town of Greenwich competition. “Knowing they grew up in Greenwich is particularly inspiring to skaters in the area. I love how they really seem to enjoy the sport together.”
For Maia and Alex, it’s all about inspiring people as optimally as possible through their skating and off-ice endeavors.
“The more people get to experience this sport, the more people will represent it when they leave or if they never leave,” said Alex Shibutani. “That makes the world a better place because we all appreciate the beauty of this sport and how influential and amazing these special moments can be.”
Certainly, based upon their most recent honors, Maia and Alex have been effective in terms of their making a difference both on and off the ice, lifting those around them with their determination, integrity, hard work and heart while at the same time, reflecting the dynamic spirit of the Greenwich community itself.
This, in essence, is what defines them both as champions in skating and also in life.
