Maia Shibutani facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Maia Shibutani
The Shibutanis in 2018
Personal information
Full name	Maia Harumi Shibutani
Country represented	United States
Born	(1994-07-20) July 20, 1994 (age 30) New York City, New York
Home town	Ann Arbor, Michigan
Height	1.60 m (5 ft 3 in)
Began skating	1998
Retired	2018

Maia Harumi Shibutani (born July 20, 1994) is a retired American ice dancer. Partnered with her brother Alex Shibutani, she is a two time 2018 Olympic bronze medalist, a three-time World medalist (silver in 2016, bronze in 2011 and 2017), the 2016 Four Continents champion, and a two-time U.S. national champion (2016, 2017). The siblings have won six titles on the Grand Prix series and stood on the podium at 14 consecutive U.S. Championships, at five levels including eight as seniors. They are two-time members of the US Olympic team, competing at the 2014 and 2018 Winter Olympics. In 2018, the siblings became the first ice dancers who are both of Asian descent to medal at the Olympics (winning bronze in both team figure skating and the individual ice dancing event). They are the second sibling duo to ever share an ice dancing Olympic medal, and the first from the United States. The Shibutani siblings are often referred to by their nickname the Shib Sibs.

Personal life

Maia Harumi Shibutani was born on July 20, 1994, in New York City. She is the daughter of Chris Shibutani and Naomi Uyemura, both of Japanese descent, who met as Harvard musicians. She has an older brother, Alex Shibutani, who competes with her as her partner in the discipline of Ice Dance. She started figure skating at the age of 4 in 1998 in Old Greenwich, Connecticut, where she was a student at Greenwich Academy in Greenwich, Connecticut.

Maia lived in Colorado Springs from 2005 through 2007 and was home-schooled. She moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan in 2007 and graduated from Huron High School in Ann Arbor in 2012. She enrolled at the University of Michigan in the fall of 2012.

In 2019, Shibutani was diagnosed with a malignant mass on her kidney. She began immediate treatment.

Career

Early career

Maia Shibutani began skating at age four. She originally trained as a single skater and was taught by Slavka Kohout Button, a coach best known for guiding US ladies' champion Janet Lynn. A key source of inspiration for Maia and her brother Alex to pursue ice dancing came in March 2003 when their family attended the World Championships in Washington D.C. Alex Shibutani recalled, "We were seated close to the ice in the second row, and when the ice dancers came out for their warm up, we could actually feel a gust of wind as the skaters flew by. We were so impressed with the artistry, skating quality, and speed of the top teams that we decided to give it a try."