Alex Shibutani

Alex Hideo Shibutani (born April 25, 1991) is an American ice dancer. Partnered with his sister Maia Shibutani, he is a two-time Olympic bronze medalist (2018), a three-time World medalist (silver in 2016; bronze in 2011 and 2017), the 2016 Four Continents champion, and a two-time U.S. national champion (2016, 2017). The Shibutanis have also won six titles on the Grand Prix series. At the junior level, they are 2009 World Junior silver and 2009–10 JGP Final bronze medalists. They are two-time members of the US Olympic team, competing at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, and the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. In 2018, they became the first ice dancers who are both of Asian descent to medal at the Olympics (bronze in team figure skating and ice dancing). They are the second sibling duo to ever share an ice dancing Olympic medal, and the first from the United States.

Personal life

Alex Hideo Shibutani was born on April 25, 1991, in Boston. He is the son of Chris and Naomi Shibutani, both of Japanese descent, who met as Harvard musicians. He has a younger sister, Maia Shibutani, who competes with him as his partner for ice dancing. He attended the Brunswick School in Greenwich, Connecticut, during the late 1990s before relocating to Colorado Springs from 2005 through 2007 then Ann Arbor, Michigan in 2007.

While in Colorado Springs, Alex Shibutani attended Cheyenne Mountain High School and finished his sophomore year there. He completed his junior and senior years of high school at Huron High School and entered the University of Michigan in the fall semester of 2009.

Career

Alex Shibutani began skating at age seven. He originally trained as a single skater and competed up to the juvenile level in singles. In March 2003, he and his family attended the World Championships in Washington D.C. He said, "We were seated close to the ice in the second row, and when the ice dancers came out for their warm up, we could actually feel a gust of wind as the skaters flew by. We were so impressed with the artistry, skating quality, and speed of the top teams that we decided to give it a try."

Programs

Competitive highlights

Detailed results

Social media presence and television appearances

Maia and Alex Shibutani are amongst the most active Olympic sports athletes engaged across several social media platforms. Their YouTube channel @ShibSibs, established in 2012, includes 95 videos which have been viewed almost nine million times by over 157,000 subscribers, as of April 2018. Videos consist a range of formats including behind-the-scenes montages from their travels throughout the world for training, exhibition shows and competitions. Amongst the popular are lip synch music videos with casts which include popular Olympic figure skaters and gymnasts from all over the world, including Yuzuru Hanyu and Mao Asada, Michelle Kwan, Kristi Yamaguchi, Brian Boitano, Javier Fernandez, Adam Rippon, Meryl Davis and Charlie White. Videos are created (including filming, editing) entirely by the Shibutanis.

Their respective Instagram and Twitter accounts (@maiashibutani, @alexshibutani) have been tagged as accounts to follow by various media accounts including global media publications such as the New York Times as "Olympian Instagram Accounts to follow".

The Shibutanis were guests on the Nickelodeon television show, ''Nicky Ricky Dicky & Dawn'' appearing as themselves during episode 304 broadcast in 2017. They have made several appearances on NBC's ''The Today Show'', including to skate performance on the Rockefeller Center rink and to introduce Ralph Lauren designed outfits for the 2018 US Olympic team.

Awards and honors

* The siblings are two-time winners of the Edi Award from the Professional Skaters Association for outstanding ice dance performance at US Nationals
* The Shibutanis are several times winners of the US Olympic Committee "Team of the Month" award (including in October 2017 and December 2017) for their competitive achievements while representing Team USA internationally.
* Maia and Alex were nominated and elected as Finalists for the 2018 James E. Sullivan Award, awarded annually since 1930 by the AAU honoring the best amateur athlete in America across all sports.

Brand partnerships and sponsors

* Tumi Inc. - brand ambassadors
* Ralph Lauren Corporation - official sponsored athletes along with fellow Olympians Gus Kenworthy, Aja Evans, Jamie Anderson and Paralympian Rico Roman.
* Intel - Global Team Intel Athletes for the 2018 Winter Olympic Games
* Coca-Cola Corporation's Minute Maid brand
* The Hershey Company's Ice Breakers brand
* Smucker's Milk-Bone brand

References

External links

*
*

Maia Shibutani & Alex Shibutani
at SkatingScores.com
*
*
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shibutani, Alex
American male ice dancers
1991 births
Figure skaters from Boston
Sportspeople from Greenwich, Connecticut
Living people
American sportspeople of Japanese descent
World Figure Skating Championships medalists
Four Continents Figure Skating Championships medalists
World Junior Figure Skating Championships medalists
Figure skaters at the 2014 Winter Olympics
Figure skaters at the 2018 Winter Olympics
Medalists at the 2018 Winter Olympics
Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in figure skating
Brunswick School alumni
University of Michigan alumni
American dancers of Asian descent
21st-century American sportsmen