Addison native Alexa Scimeca Knierim was selected Sunday morning to the U.S. pairs figure skating team for the Pyeongchang Olympics.
Scimeca Knierim took home the gold at the U.S. championships Saturday alongside partner and husband Christopher Knierim.
U.S. Figure Skating uses a committee to nominate the team, choosing to stick with the results of the previous afternoon's competition. The duo scored a huge win in the event, with a 206.60 combined score. [[468062393, C]]
The victory and spot on the Olympic team was also the culmination of a long and hard-fought journey back to the top, as Scimeca Knierim spent much of 2016 battling illness. She underwent three abdominal surgeries, and was off the ice for months as she battled her way back to health.
"It was horrifying," Scimeca Knierim's mom Tina said. "I wanted to be there and just hold her and make it all go away. Hopefully we are past (the illness) and heading into something terrific this year."
A dazzling free skate helped Scimeca-Knierim and Knierim beat out Danny O’Shea, who grew up in Gurnee, and Tarah Kayne for the title. O'Shea and Kayne combined for a 200.80 to grab the silver medal.
The pair joins Carpentersville native Bradie Tennell, as well as Mirai Nagasu and Karen Chen of the U.S. women's team, plus Nathan Chen, Vincent Zhou and Adam Rippon on the men's team.
Local
Three ice dance couples were expected to be nominated late Sunday to round out the U.S. figure skating team headed to chase their dreams in Pyeongchang.
