Knierim, Frazier savor short program effort
SAN JOSE, Calif. — They held their on-ice embrace a little longer this time, kneeling in an end pose moments after a near-flawless short program.
Overwhelming favorite and reigning world champions Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier scored a personalbest 81.96 on Thursday for a commanding lead in the first day of the U.S. Figure Skating Championships.
With Knierim fighting her nerves, though you’d never have known it, the pair took the ice in sparkling silver costumes for their much-anticipated nationals return after missing the event a year ago when Frazier tested positive for COVID-19. On Thursday, they delivered an awe-inspiring routine to Journey’s “Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)” from Stranger Things.
“I wanted to take a little bit longer when the music ended to kind of absorb that moment because I’ve learned throughout this long career that I’ve had that the most special times are usually the ones that go by too fast,” Knierim said.
The tandem’s score was three points higher than their previous best and also less than three points shy of the world-record 84.41 set by Sui Wenjing and Han Cong at last year’s Beijing Olympics.
Knierim and Frazier led secondplace pair Emily Chan and Spencer Howe by more than 15 points.
More departures for U.S. soccer
NEW YORK — U.S. Soccer Federation sporting director Earnie Stewart is leaving to join PSV Eindhoven following the departure of American general manager Brian Mcbride. The management shakeup leaves men’s coach Gregg Berhalter in uncertainty. Berhalter and Mcbride were hired by Stewart, and the coach’s contract expired Dec. 31. Three days later, the USSF announced Berhalter was under investigation for a 1991 domestic violence incident. Anthony Hudson was then appointed interim coach. USSF president Cindy Parlow Cone said Berhalter remained a contender to stay on for the next World Cup cycle.
AUSTIN, Texas — Claudio Reyna was moved out of his leadership role as sporting director of Austin FC on Thursday, the latest job change that followed the Reyna family’s spat with U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter.
The 49-year-old Reyna was shifted to a title of technical adviser.
Russia may be cleared for Games
LAUSANNE, Switzerland — Russia’s path to sending a team to the Paris Olympics next year has become clearer amid fierce objections from Ukraine. The International Olympic Committee indicated it favors officially neutral teams from Russia and its ally Belarus at the 2024 Olympics despite a plea from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to exclude them entirely.
Former Tigers pitcher dies
Ray Herbert, a 1962 All-star Game winning pitcher who threw batting practice for his hometown Detroit Tigers for decades after retiring, died in Plymouth, Mich., at 93.