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<\/a>GREENSBORO, N.C. — Three-time U.S. pairs champions.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Up until recently, that accolade did not seem obtainable for the husband-and-wife team of Alexa Knierim and Chris Knierim<\/a><\/strong>. After accomplishing their lifelong dream of qualifying for the Olympics, and then winning an Olympic bronze medal in the team event, the Knierims experienced a year filled with countless changes, sacrifices, and questions of whether they had reached the zenith of their career.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Following their 15th-place finish at the 2018 World Championships, Alexa, 28, and Chris, 32, parted ways with long-time coach Dalilah Sappenfield in Colorado Springs to train with 2018 Olympic Champion Aljona Savchenko and her coaching staff in Germany.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cAfter the Olympics, we knew that we had to make a change,\u201d Chris explained. \u201cIt kind of worked out through everything to go with Aljona and move to Germany and make a big, huge change.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Alexa and Chris moved all of their belongings from Colorado Springs to Alexa\u2019s parents\u2019 garage in Addison, Illinois. Alexa\u2019s parents looked after the pair\u2019s two cats and two dogs while they were in Germany.\u00a0 <\/span>Alexa and Chris would travel back and forth to Oberstdorf to work with Savchenko for a few weeks at a time, and then would return to Illinois to continue training. <\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThat was very difficult, because we changed a lot when we went to Aljona and to Germany,\u201d Chris admitted. \u201cGoing to Germany for a few weeks and then back [to Chicago], it was a little crazy. There was no real routine.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n While in Germany, Chris said he and Alexa spent a considerable amount of time on the ice and learned a great deal from Savchenko and her team.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re grateful for the opportunity that we had there [in Germany] and I think it was good because we got a lot out of it,\u201d Chris recalled. <\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n But unfortunately, Chris said, as the season progressed, the situation in Oberstdorf started to change. In October, a week before they competed in Skate America in Everett, Washington, the Knierims quietly decided to leave Savchenko. They attended the event without a coach. <\/p>\n \u201cThat was really different for us, but it was also good because we had to rely on each other,\u201d Chris told Figure Skaters Online<\/i>. \u201cWe grew a lot in those few weeks [without a coach].\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Following their fourth-place finish in Everett, the Knierims flew out to Southern California and began working with three-time U.S. pairs champions and World medalists Jenni Meno and Todd Sand. Sand accompanied the team to their second Grand Prix event, NHK Trophy. <\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWe decided to try Jenni and Todd because we thought it would be best if we had a male and female as a coaching team because we\u2019re married,\u201d Chris explained. \u201cIt seemed right to go with a team that knows how that is on the day-to-day.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Knierims officially named Meno and Sand as their coaches following their third-place showing at NHK Trophy. Then at the U.S. Championships in Detroit in January 2019, the team finished in 7th place, their lowest score and placement of their partnership. Two weeks after Nationals, Alexa and Chris returned to Illinois to gather up their possessions and officially moved to California. Chris also had surgery to repair his torn wrist tendon.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n During the off-season, Alexa and Chris worked with Meno and Sand and established themselves at the new Great Park Ice Arena in Irvine, Calif. At the end of May, they also began working with Rafael Arutyunyan, coach of four-time U.S. champion and two-time World champion Nathan Chen. <\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cRaf is very blunt and honest. I think that is what is so great about him for me. He has been a huge help,\u201d Chris said, noting that they take Arutyunyan\u2019s stroking classes a couple times a week, and he has been working with them on their technique. <\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI love him [Raf] a lot. He has been a really big influence on me. I think that is where I got my confidence back. Todd and Jenni believe in us too, but knowing that he [Rafael] believed in us was kind of the only person I needed to hear it from besides myself, and I think that is what got my confidence back,\u201d Alexa added. <\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n While things were starting to turn around for them on the ice, the team struggled financially due to a decrease in funding and a loss of sponsorship right after their California move. To make ends meet, they started coaching between their training sessions at Great Park. Also, every Monday morning, Chris and Alexa would travel to San Diego to coach at a rink near La Mesa, where Chris used to skate when he was younger. Alexa and Chris also sold a lot of their possessions, including Chris\u2019s cars.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n<\/a>
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