U.S. announces figure skating squad for Beijing 2022

WASHINGTON, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Figure Skating announced their squad for the upcoming Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games.

On the men's side, three-time world champion Nathan Chen and veteran Vincent Zhou will return to the Olympics, joined by Jason Brown who missed the 2018 Pyeongchang Games after finishing ninth at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi.

The two pairs spots went to the newly crowned national champions Ashley Cain-Gribble/Timothy LeDuc, along with Alexa Knierim/Brandon Frazier.

The selection of Knierim/Frazier brought a little drama because Frazier had tested positive for COVID-19 before the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, forcing the pair to withdraw from the event.

Knierim/Frazier petitioned for one of the two spots, and the selection committee chose them over nationals runner-ups Jessica Calalang/Brian Johnson.

In ice dance, three pairs on the podium of the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Madison Chock /Evan Bates, Madison Hubbell/Zachary Donohue and Kaitlin Hawayek/Jean Luc Baker, were all included.

On the women's side, Alysa Liu joined U.S. champion Mariah Bell and runner-up Karen Chen to make the three-woman squad, even though she was forced to withdraw from the nationals following a positive COVID-19 test.

The Beijing Winter Olympics will kick off on February 4.