Figure skating is a very difficult and dangerous sport when doing it alone but imagine having to put all of your trust and faith into a partner. Although the professionals make figure skating seem easy and effortless it is a very hard and stressful activity, but at the end sticking the landing can be very rewarding. In the 2018 Winter Olympics Alexa Scimeca Knierim and Chris Knierim will represent the U.S as our competing figure skating team. As you watch them perform their spectacular moves on the ice, it may be a little hard to tell the difference between each trick that they pull off but if you look closer you can find some variation. The history behind figure skating is also important to know and understand because when viewing this magical …show more content…
Her husband and skating partner, Chris Knierim was born November 5, 1987 in Tucson Arizona. They are the second skating team in the U.S to have a relationship on and off of the ice. Building trust in one another is very important when having to leap into the air and rely on your partner to catch you. Although they have chemistry when they aren’t skating together, coaches Dalilah Sappenfield and Laureano Ibarra help to bring their connection out on the ice so the audience can feel it while watching them perform. Sappenfield and Ibarra have put in a lot of time and hard work into creating this teams stunning tricks and moves, while training them in Colorado Springs. When it was announced that they would be the team representing the U.S at the 2018 Winter Olympics for team figure skating, people weren’t shocked. Alexa and Chris Knierim have won many titles. For example, they won the Coupe de Nice in France, they placed 4th at NHK Trophy in Japan, and they also won silver at the 2013 U.S championships. This accomplishment led them to a berth at the 2013 Four Continents Championship and also to the World Championships. Hopefully this amazing team places 1st in gold at the 2018 Winter Olympics, as they represent the United States mixed figure skating …show more content…
Each one of these men brought forth many important qualities when it comes to the foundation of figure skating. Louis Rubenstein was the first American man who laid the groundwork for uniform competitions, he held skating tests, and he was also the first founder of a future governing body. Rubenstein was also the starter of the Amateur Skating Association of Canada. (Now known as Skate Canada). Even though Louis Rubenstein was a big influence on figure skating, George Browne was the man who made this sport become a lot easier for newcomers. Browne was an author of many books and reports on How-to-figure skate and his books were the first in America on this sport. He was also very into studying european skaters and watching their footwork and skates. One thing he noticed was how hard it was to do turns and jumps in the skates that all figure skaters wore so, Browne came up with a new style of skate that would help figure skaters stick their landing and turns more smoothly. This product called “the figure skate” also helped to promote this unique sport. George Browne was also said to be the instructor of a man named Irving Brokaw, the first American to participate in international competition figure skating. Irving Brokaw is not only important because he helped Browne with his reports but he is also known for being the first American