Knierims take pairs short program at US Championships

Published Jan. 23, 2020 7:17 p.m. ET

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — Olympians Alexa and Chris Knierim, coming off a poor season, put that disappointment far behind them Thursday night in winning the pairs short program at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships.

The husband/wife couple that helped the United States win a bronze medal at the team event of the 2018 Games in South Korea, took a lead of nearly seven points with what they both said was a long-sought clean performance.

``It was nice to be comfortable on the ice and put out a great short program,'' he said. ``Nothing felt easy going through it, but regardless we know we can put out a program like that. For us, it's been a long road to get here.''

That road included a dismal 2018-19 campaign in which they changed coaches and locations, basically, Alexa said, living out of suitcases. It came a season after they won their second U.S. crown and was marked by a seventh-place finish at nationals last January.

They didn't have strong fall showings either, but they were ready Thursday. Their triple twist was huge, as was their throw triple flip. The Knierims cleanly landed their side-by-side triple toe loops, often a major obstacle for them.

``We've been driven to skate like this and it always seemed something would get in the way,'' Alexa Knierim said. ``It's been a while since we skated like that.''

Tarah Kayne and Danny O'Shea te 2016 national champs, were second at 70.35 points. Defending champion Ashley Cain-Gribble and Timothy LeDuc were third at 68.86.

The free skate is Saturday.

Later Thursday night was the women's short program.