Maia Shibutani & Alex Shibutani

I am so happy for the Shibs right now. They showed so much perseverance through the years when many others thought they were finished. They kept being themselves. AND NOW THEY HAVE AN INDIVIDUAL OLYMPIC MEDAL!!!!!!! :hap93:

so happy they reached the podium yet again! my mother and sister were a bit disappointed in their heading but just think of it this way, their last olympics, they only had a small taste of what was happening. now not only are they at the olympics again but they reached the podium - twice! although they are not in first as i said before i'm extremely eager to see what new styles they have to bring to the table, that will make their 1st place journey that much more satisfying. i know they are filled with pride for their country and most importantly theirselves. well done my fellow siblings, well done.

also that moment when they were preparing for their dance, and someone had gotten their attention, that was so cute! i wish i could have video of that

They did it y'all!!! Maia and Alex are officially 2x Olympic Medalists!!! So proud of their performance and their results. Love them so much!!!

Congrats to Maia and Alex for an absolutely gorgeous free dance today! They were beautiful.

Congrats to the Shibs on their amazing performance and second Olys medal! Ah I'm still emotional :')

I could not be happier, amazing how good a bronze can feel https://kitwithak.tumblr.com/post/171078784373 their reaction after finish their performance, they knew regardless the placement, they did their dream performance
https://twitter.com/honeycassette/status/965794889530306560
http://olympicsdaily.tumblr.com/post/171080038257/the-shib-sibs-win-ice-dancing-bronze

Jackie Wong twitter: https://twitter.com/rockerskating/status/965833233647656960
-Shibutanis: Ever since we start skating together, competing at Oly was a huge goal and dream; after 2011, the future looked exceptionally bright, but we had adversity in the next few yrs. We came in 9th in 2014 but we gained so much from being part of theOlympics
-Maia Shibutani: Skating was originally my dream, and going to the Olympics was what I wanted, but to skate with Alex has helped me get to that dream.
-Alex Shibutani: If there's something that we love more than skating is each other and our family
-Shibutanis: The 4 skates that we had was the goal that we've worked toward in the season. In the past 3 years, our process has changed. It's trusting our guts and trying to work with people that inspire us. It's been about finding the best version of ourselves
-Shibutanis [about how they get to how they skated today]: It's sport where you're looking at the final product - there's a reason why we are all so secretive. It's b/c people expect to see a finished product that is polished ... the best that it possibly can be
-Shibs: Middle section is to a piece of music that Stephane Lambiel gave to us. We thought it was the perfect harmony - title of the song "Flight from the City" - it was symbolic of us flying from the city, where there's a lot of congestion. We had to leave that

Alex: "Diversity is important and telling the same story all over again is not good for the sport. All I can say right now is that we persevered and we did it our way." https://twitter.com/ISU_Figure/status/965820463506104321

CBC FD https://streamable.com/rjytq
FD No commentary https://rutube.ru/video/1bd46946e6e2a7c936f78fd0400dc561/
Plushie (victory) ceremony:https://rutube.ru/video/520fb6ac6f193f54479e2f9fb5ca2d40/?ref=logo&bmstart=0 You must watch this!!, they looked soooo happy :luv17:.

LyMi said:

They should have been sitting in 2nd place or at least 3rd. Why are the judges marking them down. Commentators on Eurosport said H|D had no emotion or sizzle yet the got SB.

Click to expand...

British? Ugh I was going to watch back my fave teams (which is of course Maia and Alex!) with British but I don't want to hear downer commentary like that.

As I said in the general FS thread, I am so happy and proud of them. Maybe even a slight t*ar came down my face as they completed their FS because..... this hasn't really been the easiest season for them, even here at the Olympics there have been small issues here and there, and yet.... when it came to their last performance here, they went out and did THAT and I knew it would be their SB - and I suck badly at predicting scores but I just knew it.

Not to be too personal or anything, but one of the (many) reasons why I love these two is that the romantic/hetero love thing just isn't for me. Ice dance often thrives on themes like that, and for me to see these two succeed in their own way has been truly moving. It feels like their programs "represent" my preferences in a way no other couples could so far. I appreciate them so much

#doublepower #ShibsSquad #twobroznestastelikegold #nevergiveup #alwaysbelieve #bronzesinParadise

I mean - how fantastic they were today?!?!

I just knew that starting order would have nothing to do with their mind-set and excellence they are focused on. The performance just grabbed everyone by emotional package, weight of their feelings expressed that loud, probably for the first time ever I saw them that 'vulnerable' emotionally, that open and raw with their bodies. But I think their experience and control/precision over their material/execution played huge factor in today's event - I felt that genuine, fresh feel about the program as a whole and readiness in them for discovering it for the new - and for the best; they emitted the message soundly and engaged people into their performance, but managed to control it out evenly, unlike other two US teams in my opinion. You've got to attack, but balance out all measures while doing it, mind especially.

There was a great spring in their step, a freedom and sense of unity in this very moment between them - it just made up to a perfect Olympic moment, how people cheered, cared for them, how they responded after finishing notes. I've got to say that this ending rework, along with step sequences gave incredible effect, additional power and exuberance into the material, reflecting even more the youthful energy Shibutanis represent for me. And there was their signature sharpness, precision, flow and DEM TWIZZLES that should go viral and be their trademark forever. One of few teams for me that actually managed today to 'build' atmosphere about this particular performance, not only a hype for the program/team in general - them, Tessa/Scott and Gilles/Poirier really stood out for me in terms of freshness factor and renewed energy radiating from every move.

I cried for the second time at this Olympics after they finished (first ugly cry was for Aljona and Bruno) - I was just so deeply invested in the moment they created together, this affection clear on both their faces, the will, strength of it, something more than just skating we've seen so far. I really was able to connect and feel the collective emotion with other people I think (it may be strange, but this was probably the most 'uniting' performance of the day in my opinion). It was just the right time and the right place. Their smiles after, joy being on the podium, Maia's brightness, Alex's look of shock...What an experience. And yeah, judges tried - boy, they tried sooo hard and like Virtue/Moir, Shibutanis raised above it all by their execution and performance quality.

They believed. They were strong and focused. And we believed in their strength, too.

I'm in such festive mood, can't help it

Sports illustrated https://www.si.com/olympics/2018/02/20/alex-maia-shibutani-shib-sibs-olympic-medal-ice-dance :sad21:

“Maia did this really awesome thing where she just pulled out her computer,” Alex said, describing the events of the night before. “And we started watching these old family videos that we had of us when we were little kids, off the ice, dancing around together and having a good time.…”

His voice caught. He was fighting back tears. Next to him, Maia wasn’t fighting anything back: the tears dripped down her cheeks, two decades in the making.

“Uh …” Alex said, trying to continue.

Was this the Shibutanis? Really? Usually, they are so smooth and so composed that it can be hard to elicit genuine emotions from them. Usually, they don’t want you to know that ice dancing can be physically painful, or that they push each other so hard that they fight with each other, or that ….

“Uh …” Alex said again.

Usually, they choose their words carefully, so nobody thinks they are complaining. Usually, they want you to think that they are just happy to be there, and that they aren’t too concerned with medals.

“It’s been such an amazing …” Alex said.

But usually, they have not just reached the podium at the Olympic Games.

“Our life together has been so amazing,” he said. “We are so lucky to have amazing parents.”

------------

¨ Alex said he cried on the athletes' bus on the journey to the stadium. They had both been in a highly 'emotional' state when they performed their medal routine.¨

I'm not surprised that their performance was so incredible. Under that apparent calm, they were struggling with all those emotions and nerves, they gave everything and it was reflected in their performance.

Maia and Alex were breathtaking, we were cheering so hard for them at home and we were beyond excited to see them get that FD score and that bronze medal. Their smiles when they saw it were so genuine and beautiful, particulalry fulfilling after how they were a bit unsatisfied with their SD score.
Congrats to Maia, Alex, their parents and their team, Marina, Massi and everyone who has helped them grow! Their progress in the past 4 years it's unbelievable

I'm so happy for the Shibs, that I cannot control the tears even as I type this out while at work. I was in such a state after their skate last night, that I couldn't sleep at all! Seven years after I first saw them at 2011 Nationals and fell in love with them right then and there, seven years of these lovely young people being suppressed by the judging, seven years of competitors fans throwing shade on them, seven years of trolls slighting them for not having intimacy on the ice (Does it state in the rule book that all ice dancers have to be intimate on the ice?), all came to an end last night with their performance. That skate was so beautiful and free...and from the fancam videos, it seems the crowd was exactly where I was. Not going to lie, I had an ugly cry afterwards and then downed a couple glasses of wine to try to help make me sleep...didn't work.

I was so nervous before all 4 of their skates that I thought I would vomit, and couldn't watch live. Had to set the DVR and then go back and watch a few minutes after their program was over. We are so fortunate that their parents had two wonderful children with huge talent and raised them to be such wonderful people, which in the end gifted us with this Olympic skate. Yay Maia and Alex! :hap57:

I am thrilled for the Shibs. What a beautifully skated FD! There was so much emotions in their dance they went all out
and were rewarded. Even though I thought both scores in the SD and FD were stingy. Congrats to them on winning the Bronze Medal!
They did a wonderful job at the Olympics with their 4 wonderfully skated programs.

maia and alex in CBSSports article:
https://www.cbssports.com/olympics/...-alex-shibutani-take-bronze-in-ice-dance/amp/

Congratulations to Maia and Alex for their bronze medal What an achievement!

I'm so happy for the Shibs! I'm so glad they could pull out that bronze medal, after all the comments from the naysayers.

So many congratulations...
Nate Bartholomay - https://twitter.com/NateBartholomay/status/965797085105852416
Golden Tate - https://twitter.com/ShowtimeTate/status/965993327169478656
Eugene Lee Yang - https://twitter.com/EugeneLeeYang/status/966020364990951424
Arden Cho - https://twitter.com/arden_cho/status/966001118957441026
Dante Basco - https://twitter.com/dantebasco/status/965797326173347841
Coach Tony Granato - https://twitter.com/TonyGranato/status/965914683390783488
Eric Nam - https://twitter.com/ericnamofficial/status/965838627451289600
Charlie White - https://twitter.com/CharlieaWhite/status/965843552512159744
Meryl White - https://twitter.com/Meryl_Davis/status/966061403252682753
Ben Agosto - https://twitter.com/Ben_Agosto/status/966056178815066112
Jim Slater - https://twitter.com/slaterjim/status/965834418161041408
Polina Edmunds - https://twitter.com/PolinaEdmunds/status/965812733823262720
Julie Chu - https://twitter.com/juliechu13/status/965808315799429120
Lea Salonga - https://twitter.com/MsLeaSalonga/status/965807564398133248
Janet Evans - https://twitter.com/janetevans/status/965805560061870082

They did it! I didn't always believe they would, but yesterday I had a feeling it would happen for them. They did it, you guys. Beyond proud to be their fan and to have experienced their journey over the last few years