US pairs team withdraws from 2 Grand Prix events

Posted September 28, 2016 7:00 am

The Associated Press

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) - U.S. pairs team Alexa Scimeca Knierim and Chris Knierim have withdrawn from two Grand Prix events as Scimeca Knierim recovers from an unspecified medical procedure.

The 2015 national champions got married in June. Scimeca Knierim said in a release from U.S. Figure Skating on Wednesday that "in the weeks leading up to our big day I was privately battling a series of internal ailments that left doctors baffled and my body in overwhelming pain."

The release said that after months of tests, her doctors diagnosed the problem and she recently underwent a medical procedure. The pair has resumed light training and plans to be back on the ice before the end of the year.

The team was initially scheduled to compete at the Rostelecom Cup and Cup of China in November.

Last year, the two became the first U.S. pairs team to qualify for the Grand Prix Final since 2007. But they struggled there, then failed to defend their national title before finishing ninth at the world championships in Boston.

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