Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier during the pair skating free skating during the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 on Feb. 19, 2022 in Beijing.
BEIJING — When Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier had their tryout in March 2020, it took just one lap of crossovers for them to think, “Yeah, this is going to work.”
They were right. On Saturday at Beijing’s Capital Indoor Stadium — less than two years later — the duo placed sixth to record the best U.S. pairs finish at an Olympic Winter Games in 20 years.
“We just threw it all out there,” Frazier, 29, said. “We didn’t let nerves, or the competitive jitters, get the best of us. I felt the energy from Alexa, and I know she felt it from me. We attacked every part of that program.”
Skating to “Fix You,” Knierim and Frazier were exhilarating from start to finish, opening with a big triple twist and side-by-side triple toe loop combinations. Choreographed by three-time U.S. ice dance champion Renee Roca, the program built to a climatic final minute including a strong throw triple flip and two rousing lifts. The only noticeable error was Frazier’s doubling of an intended triple salchow.
Their 138.45 score — a new personal best — put them seventh in the free skate, and their overall score of 212.68 points was also a new high. They also notched the best U.S. pair result at an Olympics since 2002, when Kyoko Ina and John Zimmerman placed fifth.
“When Brandon and I are in sync with one another mentally and physically, we have some stellar pair elements that are top notch,” Knierim, 30, said. “Today we were able to execute them because we were so in sync. Sometimes it can be a little bit more challenging and that’s the struggle with pairs skating in general.”
“The result is a bonus,” Frazier said. “Being top six for a U.S. pair team is huge. I know our whole federation and our (coaching) team is going to keep moving and pushing U.S. pair skating to the next level.”
Before the skaters joined forces, both had long, successful careers with their previous partners. Frazier, who hails from Phoenix, won the 2017 U.S. title with Haven Denney. Knierim, from the Chicago area, won three U.S. titles (2015, 2018, 2020) and a team bronze medal in PyeongChang with her husband, Chris Knierim. Chris is now part of the skaters’ coaching staff in Irvine, California, along with three-time U.S. pair champions and two-time Olympians Jenni Meno and Todd Sand.
Reporters asked Alexa when she would call Chris.
“As soon as I’m done in the mixed zone,” she said. “I will ask him where we are going to dinner when I get home on Monday — husband-and-wife stuff.”
Knierim and Frazier had immediate success, winning the 2021 U.S. title and two medals on the Grand Prix circuit. Two weeks ago, they helped Team USA place second in the team figure skating event. Still, nothing compared to their performance on Saturday.
“That’s the best we skated a program since we teamed up,” Frazier said.
The skaters have yet to decide their competitive future. They are slated to compete at the world championships next month in Montpellier, France, and will take part in a post-Olympic “Stars on Ice” tour.
“The future is some KFC tonight and some ice cream later,” Knierim said.
China’s Sui Wenjing and Han Cong, silver medalists in PyeongChang, won gold with 239.88 points. Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov of the Russian Olympic Committee took silver with 239.25, while their teammates Anastasia Mishina and Aleksandr Galliamov claimed bronze with 237.71.