Shibutani siblings finish sixth in ice dancing return at NHK Trophy

OSAKA, Japan (AP) — After a disappointing result in their comeback bid, US ice dancers Alex and Maia Shibutani said qualifying for next year’s Winter Olympics was not the main reason for their return to competitive skating.

In their return to the ice after a seven-year hiatus, the sibling duo finished in sixth place in ice dancing at the NHK Trophy on Saturday.

“We’re disappointed with the scores, for sure,” Alex said. “We’ve been in this sport for a long time so we’ll have to look at the protocols but we know what we did and what we came here to do.”

Once the dominant US ice dancers, the Shibutanis last competed at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang where they won bronze medals in both ice dancing and the team event.

They are three-time World medalists and two-time US champions.

They announced in May they are making a comeback before a video of Alex berating his sister in practice was leaked on social media in the build up to their return to the ice last month, which the siblings played down on Friday.

While they would love nothing more than to represent their country at the Milan-Cortina Games, the Shibutanis said it wasn’t the main motivating factor for their return.

“Our timing in our return is separate from what the timeline of the sport is,” Maia Shibutani said. “It’s truly about where we thought we were at in our lives, our ability to show up as athletes and people, that’s what inspired our return.”

“We’ve competed at two Olympics before, we loved those experiences, we know what it takes to compete at the highest level and we are fortunate to have done so,” Alex said. “When we ventured out on this journey there were goals but the goals and the instincts to return were less about the results, placement or any particular competition.”

The 34-year-old Alex and the 31-year-old Maia have skated together most of their lives.

The Shibutanis stepped away from skating after Pyeongchang to focus on school and other interests. They extended their hiatus when Maia was diagnosed with a malignant tumor on her kidney in 2019. She underwent surgery to remove the mass, and additional treatment resulted in a successful but long and painful recovery.

The Shibutanis are next scheduled to compete at the Nov. 21-23 Grand Prix Finlandia Trophy.

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AP Winter Olympics at https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics