Chris and Alexa Knierim: A Winter Olympics love story
Winter Olympics stars Chris Knierim and Alex Scimeca Knierim captured the hearts of America but not before they stole each other’s.
If you were wondering why the only pairs couple representing Team USA seemed so close, cute and openly affectionate, well, it’s because they are actually husband and wife. The Knierims first teamed up in 2012, began dating shortly after and by June 2016 they were married.
While their love story is something out of a fairy tale their road to the Olympics was anything but.
In the spring of 2016 before the couple’s wedding, Alexa suffered from violent vomiting attacks that puzzled doctors. Eventually, Alexa was diagnosed with a rare and life-threatening gastrointestinal condition. The skater underwent three surgeries in hopes of correcting the problem, the last surgery taking place in November 2016 forcing them to withdraw from the majority of their competitions that year.
The illness and surgeries took a toll on Alexa, who became weak and frail as her weight dropped to 80 lbs. When she finally was able to return the ice, Chris had to hold her up and the pair could only skate for around 10 minutes at a time before becoming extremely exhausted.
Miraculously, Alexa made a full recovery and the two were competing by February 2017. Flash forward to the 2018 US Championship in January, the couple took home gold and punched their ticket to Pyeongchang.
The road to the Olympics for Chris and Alexa was anything but easy and at times seemed entirely out of reach.
“It has not gotten old yet when you introduce us as Olympians because it still feels like a dream it has not sunk in yet,” Alexa said.
And while spending every waking moment with your spouse could get old, the Knierims don’t seem to mind. It might even be an advantage in the Olympics.
“We are around each other 100 percent of the day, all the time so we know what each other needs and what works,” Chris said. “We know each other so well and it makes training go by a little easier. I think we train better now then we did when we first got together. We’ve learned what works and what doesn’t.”
The two are already bringing home an Olympic bronze medal for the figure skating team event and on Valentine’s Day they will perform in the pairs free skate.
Husband and wife skating on Valentine’s Day is a perfect end to their Winter Olympics love story.
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