Alex Shibutani

Personal life

Alex Shibutani was born on April 25, 1991, in Boston. He is the son of Chris and Naomi Shibutani, both of Japanese descent, who met as Harvard musicians. He attended the prestigious Brunswick School in Greenwich, Connecticut, during the late 1990s before relocating to Colorado Springs from 2005 through 2007 then Ann Arbor, Michigan in 2007.

While in Colorado Springs, Alex Shibutani attended Cheyenne Mountain High School and finished his sophomore year there. He completed his junior and senior years of high school at Huron High School and entered the University of Michigan in the fall semester of 2009.

Early career

Alex Shibutani began skating at age seven. He originally trained as a single skater and competed up to the juvenile level in singles. In March 2003, he and his family attended the World Championships in Washington D.C. He said, "We were seated close to the ice in the second row, and when the ice dancers came out for their warm up, we could actually feel a gust of wind as the skaters flew by. We were so impressed with the artistry, skating quality, and speed of the top teams that we decided to give it a try."

Maia and Alex Shibutani teamed up to compete in ice dancing in the spring of 2004. Their singles coach, Kathy Bird, arranged for them to work with their first dancing coaches Andy Stroukoff and Susie Kelley. The Shibutanis also worked with Mary Marchiselli. During their juvenile season, their programs were choreographed by Josh Babb.

2004–05 season

During the 2004–05 season, their first season of competition, they competed on the juvenile level, which is the lowest competitive level in the U.S. Figure Skating testing structure. During that season, Alex Shibutani represented the Hickory Hill Figure Skating Club in competition. They competed at the 2005 North Atlantic Regional Championships, the qualifying competition for the U.S. Junior Championships, and won the competition. The win qualified them for the 2005 U.S. Junior Championships. At that competition, they placed second in the first compulsory dance, fourth in the second compulsory dance, and third in the free dance. They won the silver medal overall.

2005–06 season

After moving up to the intermediate level and performing well at the non-qualifying competitions, the Shibutanis went to Colorado Springs, Colorado to work with choreographer Tom Dickson. During that off-season, they were being coached by Judy Blumberg on the east coast. After doing better than expected at the Lake Placid Ice Dance Competition in the summer of 2005, the Shibutanis decided to move coaching centers to a better training environment and so moved to train in Colorado Springs under head coach Patti Gottwein. During that time, they also worked with Rich Griffin, Damon Allen and Eric Schulz.

Alex Shibutani changed his club representation to the Broadmoor Skating Club, where he and his sister trained. The Shibutanis won the Southwestern Regional Championships, their qualifying competition for the 2006 U.S Junior Championships. At the 2006 U.S. Junior Championships, they placed second in the first compulsory dance and then won the second compulsory and free dances to win the title overall. They worked as guest bloggers and aides for the media staff for U.S. Figure Skating at the 2006 U.S. Championships, and again at the 2006 Four Continents, which were held in Colorado Springs.

2006–07 season

In the 2006–07 season, they moved up to the novice level, which is the first and lowest of three levels that compete at the U.S. Championships. At the 2007 Midwestern Sectional Championships, their qualifying competition for the national championships, the Shibutanis competed under the ISU Judging System for the first time. They placed second in the first compulsory dance and then won the second compulsory and the free dances to win the competition overall and qualify for the 2007 U.S. Championships. At Nationals, the Shibutanis placed second in both compulsory dances and then won the free dance to win the novice gold medal by a margin of victory of 2.06 points ahead of silver medalists Sara Bailey & Kyle Herring. This was their second consecutive national title.

Following the 2007 U.S. Championships, the Shibutanis changed coaches to Igor Shpilband and Marina Zueva in Canton, Michigan. One factor in the decision to change coaches was the issue of university for Alex Shibutani, who at the time of the coaching change, had two years left of high school and was considering his university options.

2007–08 season

In the 2007–08 season, the Shibutanis moved up to the junior level nationally. However, they were unable to compete internationally on the junior level because Maia was not yet old enough. At the 2008 Midwestern Sectionals, the Shibutanis placed fourth in the compulsory dance and then third in the original and free dances to win the bronze medal overall. This medal qualified them for the 2008 U.S. Championships. At Nationals, they placed 7th in the compulsory dance, 2nd in the original dance, and 4th in the free dance. They placed 4th overall, winning the pewter medal.

2008–09 season: Silver at World Junior Championships

In the 2008–09 season, Maia became age-eligible to compete on the international junior circuit. The Shibutanis made their junior international debut on the ISU Junior Grand Prix (JGP). At their first event, the 2008–09 ISU Junior Grand Prix event in Courchevel, France, they placed second in the compulsory dance and then won the original and free dances to win the gold medal overall by a margin of victory of 11.00 points over silver medalists Kharis Ralph and Asher Hill. They were then assigned to their second event, the event in Madrid, Spain. At this event, they placed second in all three segments of the competition and won the silver medal. These two medals qualified them for the 2008–2009 ISU Junior Grand Prix Final, for which they were the third-ranked qualifiers. Qualifying for the event had also qualified them for the 2009 U.S. Championships.

The Junior Grand Prix Final was held concurrently with the senior final for the first time and so did not have a compulsory dance segment. The Shibutanis placed 7th in the original dance and 3rd in the free dance, finishing in 4th place overall.

The Shibutanis went on to the 2009 U.S. Championships, where they competed on the junior level for the second consecutive year. At the event, the Shibutanis placed second in the compulsory dance, the original dance, and the free dance. They won the silver medal overall marking their fifth consecutive podium finish at a national-level competition. Following the competition, the Shibutanis were named to the team to the 2009 World Junior Championships.

At Junior Worlds, the Shibutanis placed 5th in the compulsory dance, 4th in the original dance, and 2nd in the free dance. At the ages of 14 and 17, they won the silver medal.

2009–10 season

In the 2009–10 season, the Shibutanis won both their JGP events and won the bronze medal at the JGP Final. They again skated at the junior level at US Nationals, which they won. At 2010 Junior Worlds, they finished off the podium in fourth place. This was their final junior event.

2010–11 season: World bronze medal

In the 2010–11 season, the Shibutanis moved to the senior level. They finished fifth at the 2010 Nebelhorn Trophy, moving up from eighth after the short dance with a strong free dance showing. They won the bronze medal at both the 2010 NHK Trophy and the 2010 Skate America, making them the first dance team to medal at both Grand Prix events in its first senior season. They were the first alternates for the Grand Prix final.

The Shibutanis finished second at U.S. Nationals and were chosen to compete at the Four Continents and World Championships. They won the silver medal at Four Continents. At the World Championships, they were in fourth after the short dance, 4.09 points behind third-placed Nathalie Péchalat / Fabian Bourzat. In the free dance, they scored 4.34 ahead of Pechalat and Bourzat, both of whom had fallen. The Shibutanis finished third overall by 0.25 points and won a bronze in their World Championships debut, a feat not even Virtue and Moir, the current Olympic Champions had accomplished.

2011–12 season

The Shibutanis started their 2011–12 season with a silver medal at the 2011 Finlandia Trophy.

For the Grand Prix season, the Shibutanis were assigned to the 2011 Cup of China and 2011 NHK Trophy. They placed 2nd at the Cup of China. A week later they placed 1st at the NHK Trophy, edging Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje for gold by .09 points. It was the Shibutanis' first senior Grand Prix title. Their combined results qualified them for the Grand Prix Final.

The Shibutanis finished 4th at the 2012 Four Continents and 8th at the 2012 World Championships.

Invited by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the Shibutanis attended a dinner in honor of Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda on May 1, 2012 in Washington, D.C.

Following Igor Shpilband's dismissal from the Arctic Edge Arena in June 2012, the Shibutanis decided to remain at the rink with Marina Zoueva and ended their collaboration with Shpilband.

2012–13 season

The Shibutanis started their season at the 2012 Rostelecom Cup where they were 3rd in the short dance. They paused their free dance for half a minute due to Alex pulling a muscle in his thigh. They were allowed to continue from the point of interruption and finished 4th overall behind Russian ice dancers Victoria Sinitsina / Ruslan Zhiganshin. They won the bronze medal at their next event, the 2012 NHK Trophy. The Shibutanis also took bronze at the 2013 U.S. Championships. They then competed at the 2013 Four Continents and finished 4th behind Madison Chock / Evan Bates. At the 2013 World Championships, the Shibutanis finished 8th.

2013–14 season

The Shibutanis began their season by winning bronze medals at 2013 Skate America and 2013 NHK Trophy. They then went on to win the bronze medal at the 2014 U.S. Championships and were named in the U.S. team to the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. They placed 9th at the Olympics. The Shibutanis also competed at the 2014 World Championships, where they placed 6th.

2014–15 season

The Shibutanis started their season by winning 2014 Ondrej Nepela Trophy. They then won the silver medal at 2014 Skate America. At 2014 Ice Challenge, the Shibutanis won the gold medal. They then went on to compete at their second Grand Prix event, 2014 Cup of China, where they won silver. Their results on the Grand Prix series qualified them for the 2015–16 Grand Prix Final, where they placed 4th.

At the 2015 U.S. Championships, the duo won the silver medal behind Madison Chock / Evan Bates. They then went on to compete at the 2015 Four Continents Championships and the 2015 World Championships where they placed 3rd and 5th, respectively.

2015–16 season: Return to World podium

The Shibutanis began their season by winning bronze at 2015 Ondrej Nepela Trophy. On the Grand Prix circuit, they earned standing ovations for Fix You, their Coldplay free dance. They won silver at 2015 Skate Canada International and gold at the 2015 NHK Trophy, for their second career Grand Prix event title.

They qualified for the 2015–16 Grand Prix Final as the fourth ranked team based on qualification criteria that had been modified in an attempt to account for the partially cancelled Trophee Bompard event. Their combined short dance and free dance score from NHK Trophy of 174.43 points was the highest total score amongst all competitors during the Grand Prix season. At the Grand Prix Final event, they placed 4th in the short dance. The night before the free dance, Alex became severely ill with food poisoning. They chose to compete nonetheless, and managed to get another standing ovation for their free dance. They finished 4th in the free dance and 4th overall. They withdrew from the exhibition so that Alex could recover.

At the 2016 U.S. Championships, the Shibutanis placed second behind Madison Chock and Evan Bates during the short dance, but moved up following the free dance to win their first senior US title. They earned standing ovations from the audience at both segments of the competition.

The Shibutanis next competed at the 2016 Four Continents Championships. They set personal bests and finished first in both segments of the competition for their first ISU Championship title.

The Shibutanis ended their season at the 2016 World Figure Skating Championships. There, they set new personal bests and finished second in both segments of the competition for their second world medal.

Competitive highlights

GP: Grand Prix; CS: Challenger Series; JGP: Junior Grand Prix

(with Maia Shibutani)

Detailed results

(with Maia Shibutani)