There are regular group selfie pics, and then there are Team USA selfie pics and the US Figure Skating Olympic team has one of the best!
Ice dancer Alex Shibutani snapped the epic shot of the (almost the) whole team after winning the bronze medal at the team event over the weekend in South Korea at the Olympics — and it was quickly shared by the entire team on social media.
Bradie Tennell captioned it, “Squad goals”, and we definitely have to agree.
Nathan Chen, Adam Rippon, Mirai Nagasu, pairs skaters Alexa Scimeca Knierim and Chris Knierim, and Alex‘s sis and ice dance partner Maia Shibutani are all featured in the photo.
“I’m just so proud of this entire team,” Maia shared afterwards. “It was so special for us. This is the first team event that Alex and I were a part of. To have this experience at the Olympic Games, to come away with a medal for our country and for each other, I think we’ll come into the individual event with so much more confidence.”
Tonight, the first figure skating event will kick off at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games with the team event.
Team USA has chosen Nathan Chen and married pairs skaters Alexa Scimeca Knierim and Chris Knierim to rep them on the ice for the event.
So, what exactly is the team event? It’s kind of like the team event in gymnastics at the Summer Olympics.
There will be a short program and free skate is held in each of the four disciplines: men’s, women’s, pairs and ice dance. Skaters are judged as usual, but teams are scored based on placements within their discipline.
So, if a first-place performance would earn a country 10 points, a second-place performance would earn nine points, and so on.
Team USA still has to choose a rep for the ladies and ice dance sections. However, countries are allowed two substitutions, meaning that for two of those three disciplines a different skater or team can be used in the short and free.
After each of the short programs, the top five highest-scoring teams advance to the free program round. At the 2014 Sochi Olympics, Team USA earned a bronze medal for the inaugural event.
You can watch it TONIGHT, starting @ 8PM on NBC.
A congrats is in order for U.S. Figure Skating Champions Alexa Scimeca and Chris Knierim!
The 25-year-old and 28-year-old skating pair got married over the weekend in Colorado!
Several members of the U.S. team were in attendance, including Ashley Wagner, Madison Chock, and Max Aaron.
In case you didn’t know, Alexa and Chris won the silver medal at the 2016 Four Continents, the bronze in the 2014 Four Continents, and the gold in pairs for the 2015 U.S. Figure Skating Championships.
Congrats to the happy couple on the exciting news!
Ashley Wagner looks likes she’s having major fun on the ice during her performance at the 2016 Team Challenge Cup held at Spokane Arena on Friday (April 22) and Saturday (April 23) in Spokane, Wash.
The 24-year-old World Silver Medalist skater joined Team North America for the first ever challenge, leading them to the first place spot over Team Asia and Team Europe.
Men’s skaters Jason Brown, Nam Nguyen, Adam Rippon, women’s Gracie Gold and Gabrielle Daleman, pairs Alexa Scimeca and Chris Knierim, and Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford; and ice dancers Madison Chock and Evan Bates, and Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje all performed in the challenge.
Team North America split the $210,000 prize.
25+ pics inside from the Team Challenge Cup…
Tarah Kayne whirls around in partner Daniel O’Shea‘s arms during the Pairs Short Program at the 2016 World Figure Skating Championships held at TD Garden on Friday (April 1) in Boston, Mass.
The team placed 14th after the event was done, behind teammates Alexa Scimeca and Chris Knierim, who secured the 7th spot.
China’s Wenjing Sui and Cong Han are in 1st, Canada’s Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford in 2nd, Russia’s Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Tranov in 3rd, Ksenia Stobova and Fedor Klimov in 5th, and Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov in 6th. Lubov Iliushechkina and Dylan Moscovitch of Canada placed in 8th while China’s Cheng Peng and Hao Zhang are in 12th.
The Pairs Free Program will be held Saturday, April 2nd @ 12:54PM ET/PT. Check your local listings for the channel.
15+ pics inside from the Pairs Short Program at Worlds 2016…
Team USA celebrates with Gracie Gold after the ladies free skate during the ISU World Team Trophy held at Yoyogi National Gymnasium late last week in Tokyo, Japan.
Gracie, 19, pushed Team USA’s lead over Russia and Japan securing the title once again. Team USA won the title in 2009 and 2013.
“Today was a really great day for Team USA,” team captain Evan Bates shared afterwards. “It was a group effort. I thought everyone skated really well and we’re really happy. But at the same time we know that the competition is far from over.”
Evan and partner Madison Chock headed to Hawaii after the competition.
“don’t worry about us,” Evan captioned with a cute Instagram from the tropical islands.
Ashley Wagner, Jason Brown, Max Aaron and pairs skaters Alexa Scimeca and Chris Knierim are also picture below.
10+ pics inside…
Polina Edmunds stands on the top of the podium after winning the gold medal at the 2015 ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships held at the Mokdong Ice Rink on Sunday afternoon (February 15) in Seoul, South Korea.
The 16-year-old figure skater topped Satoka Miyahara and Rika Hongo, both of Japan, as well as teammate Gracie Gold (4th), for the top place over the weekend.
“I knew if I relaxed and skated like I knew I could, it was possible,” Polina shared after the free skate. “I expected myself to skate well and I did. I’m happy I was awarded the gold medal for it.”
Joshua Farris took the silver medal for the men’s competition, with Jason Brown in 6th.
Ice Dancers and current U.S. Champs Madison Chock and Evans Bates, placed 2nd, with Maia and Alex Shibutani in 3rd. Pairs skaters and U.S. Champs Alexa Scimeca and Chris Knierim placed 5th.
20+ pics inside from the 2015 ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships…
