Chris Knierim

Christopher Knierim (born November 5, 1987) is an American former pair skater.

Christopher Knierim was born November 5, 1987, in Tucson, Arizona.

His biological father's name is Michael Brown.

When he was six months old, his mother DeeDee began dating her future husband, Jeffrey Knierim, who adopted Chris.

His family lived in Ramona, California, before moving to Colorado Springs, Colorado, in 2006 to focus on Knierim's skating career.

In addition to skating, Knierim worked as an auto mechanic.

He began a partnership with Brynn Carman in February 2006.

They were coached by Dalilah Sappenfield in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

The pair won the novice national title at the 2008 U.S. Championships and the junior silver medal at the 2009 U.S. Championships.

They announced the end of their partnership on April 9, 2009.

Knierim began skating with Carolyn-Ann Alba in 2009.

They won the junior pairs title at the 2010 Midwestern Sectional Championships and the junior pewter medal at the 2010 U.S. Championships, after which they parted ways.

Knierim began a partnership with Andrea Poapst in July 2010.

They won the junior title at the 2011 Midwestern Sectional Championships and the junior silver medal at the 2011 U.S. Championships.

Poapst/Knierim won the gold medal at the 2011 Ice Challenge, their first senior international together.

They parted ways at the end of the 2011–2012 season.

Coach Dalilah Sappenfield suggested that Knierim skate with Alexa Scimeca.

Knierim and Alexa Scimeca became skating partners in April 2012, and began dating about a month later.

They teamed up in April 2012.

They began training with Sappenfield, Larry Ibarra, and various other coaches at the Broadmoor World Arena in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Scimeca/Knierim won the gold medal in their first ever international event, the 2012 Coupe Internationale de Nice in October.

After a number of withdrawals by other teams, they received a Grand Prix assignment, the 2012 NHK Trophy in November, where they placed fourth.

The pair won the silver medal at the 2013 U.S. Championships in January.

They were assigned to the 2013 Four Continents Championships but withdrew just before the event when Scimeca injured her right foot in practice.

Scimeca/Knierim were named to the U.S. team for the 2013 World Championships after Caydee Denney / John Coughlin withdrew.

They placed ninth in their World Championships debut in March.

Scimeca/Knierim experienced a setback that hampered their season when Knierim broke his left fibula in July.

He underwent surgery that placed a metal plate and nine screws in his ankle.

While Knierim was able to heal relatively quickly, the team believed they rushed back to competition a bit too soon.

They became engaged on April 8, 2014, and married on June 26, 2016, in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

In January, they won the pewter medal at the 2014 U.S. Championships and were named second alternates to the 2014 Winter Olympic team.

They then won the bronze medal at the 2014 Four Continents Championships.

Their second place short program score of 66.04 set a new record for the highest score ever achieved by a U.S. pair team.

Knierim had additional surgery in March to remove the metal hardware in his leg, which had been causing discomfort.

Scimeca/Knierim won the gold medal in their first ISU Challenger series event, the 2014 U.S. International Classic, and won the bronze medal at 2014 Nebelhorn Trophy.

With his wife, Alexa Scimeca Knierim, he is a 2018 Olympic bronze medalist in the figure skating team event, a two-time Four Continents medalist (2016 silver, 2014 bronze), a three-time Grand Prix medalist (1 silver, 2 bronze), and a three-time U.S. National Champion (2015, 2018, 2020).

At the 2018 Winter Olympics, the Knierims became the first American pair, and the second pair ever in history, to perform a quad twist at the Olympic Games.

Their skating partnership ended in February 2020.

The couple lives in Irvine, California, where Alexa Scimeca Knierim trains with her current skating partner, Brandon Frazier, while Chris Knierim is a figure skating coach.

Knierim started skating at age 12.