The pairs team is Alexa Scimeca-Knierim and Chris Knierim.
Alexa Scimeca-Knierim and Chris Knierim are the 2018 U.S. champions. They won their first U.S. title in 2015, and are the only U.S. pair to compete a quadruple twist. In 2015, they were the first U.S. pair to qualify for the Grand Prix Final since 2007. Although they missed the 2016-17 season due to illness, they have earned the highest U.S. finish at each of their international assignments since their return to competition at the 2017 ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships.
Alternates for the 2018 Olympic Team have been named as Tarah Kayne and Danny O’Shea (first alternate), Deanna Stellato and Nathan Bartholomay (second alternate), and Ashley Cain and Timothy LeDuc (third alternate).
Scimeca-Knierim and Knierim join previously nominated athletes Bradie Tennell, Mirai Nagasu, Karen Chen, Nathan Chen, Adam Rippon and Vincent Zhou on the 2018 U.S. Olympic Figure Skating Team.
U.S. Figure Skating will announce the ice dance athletes selected to compete at the Olympic Winter Games, along with the United States’ World, World Junior and Four Continents teams for ice dance at 8:55 p.m. ET on Sunday, January 7.
The 2018 Olympic Winter Games will take place Feb. 9-25, in PyeongChang, South Korea.
U.S. Figure Skating also confirmed that each member of the U.S. Olympic Figure Skating Team is eligible to compete in the Olympic team event. U.S. Figure Skating will work with athletes and their coaches to determine if the athlete will participate in the event.
Each team in the event will consist of one lady, one man, one pairs team and one ice dance team to be selected from athletes who have qualified in their individual disciplines. Each team, however, will be allowed to make up to two exchanges after the short program/dance. Selected athletes named to the U.S. Olympic Figure Skating Team will compete in their respective disciplines in the team event. The team event will consist of the 10 best national teams from NOCs/ISU members. The five teams with the highest number of points after the short program/dance will qualify for the free skate/dance. In the team event, athletes will receive points based on their finishes in each segment of competition.
All U.S. Olympic Team nominations are subject to approval by the United States Olympic Committee (USOC).
