Alexa Knierim & Brandon Frazier of The Rinks & Great Park Ice Win World Pairs Titles
Pairs made history at the 2022 ISU World Figure Skating Championships, earning the United States' first World pairs title since 1979
ANAHEIM, Calif. – The Rinks & Great Park Ice’s Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier won gold medals today at the 2022 ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Montpellier, France, earning the United States’ first World pairs title since 1979.
The duo became the first American pair to win a medal in the Pairs competition at a World Championships since 2002, marking the first gold medal in 43 years and overall medal in 20 years. Tai Babilonia and Randy Gardner won gold for the United States in 1979 in Vienna. Knierim and Frazier are just the third American pair ever to win gold in World pairs.
“I had so many emotions [at the end of the program], I can’t even explain it,” Knierim said. “It was so much gratitude, fulfillment, excitement and disbelief. It was magical.”
“This is very surreal,” Frazier said. “The result shows that Alexa and I have put in the work. We were ready for anything."
Knierim and Frazier executed a flawless side-by-side triple salchow in their free skate before completing a clean program to finish with 221.09 points. This put them far ahead of silver medalists Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara of Japan who had 199.55.
The pair’s gold medal comes after earning a silver medal in the Team Event, along with Olympic gold medalist and Great Park Ice skater Nathan Chen, at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. Frazier and Knierim placed sixth in the Pairs competition in Beijing, the best U.S. finish at an Olympic Winter Games in 20 years. The duo also won the 2021 U.S. Figure Skating title and are the 2020 Skate America Champions.
Knierim, Frazier, Chen and Mariah Bell take center ice at Honda Center when Stars on Ice brings the 2022 star-studded tour to Anaheim on Saturday, May 21. Tickets are available at www.starsonice.com and www.ticketmaster.com.
About Great Park Ice & FivePoint Arena
An affiliate of the Anaheim Ducks, Great Park Ice & FivePoint Arena is one of the nation’s largest public ice facilities, located at the Orange County Great Park. The facility is a part of a public-private partnership with the Irvine Ice Foundation. The $100 million, 280,000-square-foot facility has four sheets of ice and serves sports-related activities that include youth and adult hockey programs, regional and national tournaments, figure skating, and public skating hours. FivePoint Arena has space to seat 2,500 spectators. The complex includes administrative offices, dressing rooms, training facilities, retail space, and concession space. Great Park Ice is an official practice facility of the Anaheim Ducks. For information, visit www.GreatParkIce.com.
