A WINNING COMBINATION
They have been in the top echelons of the U.S. pairs program for many years. Competing with different partners, Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier had shared a long-time rivalry. All that changed a year ago when their respective partnerships came to an end.
Scimeca, as she was known at the time, joined forces with Chris Knierim in 2012.Married in 2016, the couple claimed three national titles (2015, 2018 and 2020) and were part of the bronze-medal team at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in South Korea.
Often struggling to find consistency, the duo finished 15th in the pairs event in PyeongChang and repeated the result a month later at the World Championships. In 2019, they finished seventh at the U.S. Championships before reclaiming their national title in 2020.
Frazier and his former pairs partner Haven Denney began their careers as roller skaters before switching to figure skating in 2004. They teamed up in 2005 but split three years later. Reunited in 2011, they claimed the World Junior title in 2013.
After missing the entire 2015-2016 season while Denney recovered from a knee injury, the duo captured the 2017 U.S. national title. They finished in 20th place in the short program at the subsequent World Championships and did not qualify for the free skate.
Both partnerships came to an end in early 2020. The Knierims withdrew from the long program at the Four Continents Championships, and on Feb. 26 Chris Knierim announced he was retiring from competitive skating. Alexa Knierim, however, wanted to continue and said she would look for a new partner.
On March 25, Denney and Frazier announced the end of their nine-year partnership. “Haven and I have known each
