The United States pairs figure skating team of Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier is currently in second place at the World Figure Skating Championships in Saitama, Japan.
Knierim and Frazier, the defending World Champions, are coached by retired U.S. pairs skaters Jenni Meno and Todd Sand.
Meno and Sand were at their side in late January when they won the U.S. Championships.
Since then, Sand suffered a major heart attack on March 2 in Calgary while at the World Junior Figure Skating Championships.
Choreographer Shae-Lynn Bourne, who has worked with Knierim and Frazier for the past two seasons, is serving as their interim coach.
After the short program, they are in second place, six points behind the Japanese pair of Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara who have 80.72 points to Knierim and Frazier’s 74.64 points.
Skating The Best They Can Under The Circumstances
Obviously, it has been a hard month for the American pair as they awaited news about Sand’s condition while trying to prepare for this competition.
Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier 🇺🇸 had to overcome a tough time as their coach Todd Sand has been recently hospitalized 😔
The Pairs skaters are trying to keep their focus and putting their hearts where they can control it – and that’s on the ice.#WorldFigure #FigureSkating pic.twitter.com/ZX6Mt5tDJL
— ISU Figure Skating (@ISU_Figure) March 22, 2023
“It’s been a more vulnerable time for us. We’ve been trying to keep our focus on our skating and putting our hearts where we can control it.”
In the meantime, Knierim and Frazier are there “to do what he [Sand] wants them to do: the best they can”.
Free Skate Is Coming Up
The 2023 World Champions will be crowned after the free skate which is set to occur on March 22 at 10:00 PM EDT.
Viewers can cheer on Knierim and Frazier by watching the free skate live on Peacock.
It will be re-aired at 8:00 AM EDT on March 23 on USA Network.
Update On Sand
On March 18, 2023, Sand was transferred to an ICU unit in a California hospital but has a long road to recovery ahead.
Update 3/18/23 from Jenni Meno: "We made it back to California safe and sound. All settled in at our new hospital! Thank you Canada for the amazing care and support."
A long rehabilitative road ahead for Todd, but he's fighting like the champ he is!💪 pic.twitter.com/o1rdiI1qps— Golden Skate (@goldenskate) March 19, 2023
A statement from Meno posted on social media said:
“We made it back to California safe and sound. All settled in at our new hospital! Thank you Canada for the amazing care and support. A long rehabilitative road ahead for Todd, but he’s fighting like the champ he is.”
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