Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibutani celebrate during the victory ceremony for the Figure Skating Ice Dance Free Dance at the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018 on Feb. 20, 2018 in Gangneung, South Korea.
As two-time Olympic medalists in ice dancing, siblings Maia and Alex Shibutani are used to telling a beautiful story on the ice.
With the release of their first book Sept. 8, they’ve transitioned their knack of storytelling to paper. “The Mystery of the Masked Medalist” is planned to be the first book in a series focusing on Mika and Andy Kudo, two Japanese American siblings, just like the Shibutanis. For middle grade audiences, “Mystery” follows the Kudos as they travel to Tokyo to attend the Olympic Games, solving a big mystery as they experience the Games and all that Japan has to offer.
The siblings shared the exciting news on their shared Twitter account, @ShibSibs.
“We’re so grateful to everyone who has helped us bring this story to life,” the thread of tweets said, “and we’re so excited for you to read it and share it with your loved ones!”
Authoring is just the latest venture for the accomplished skaters. Besides a career that has garnered two medals at the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018, the siblings are active on YouTube and social media, have made numerous television appearances, and have been active in philanthropy as well as helping bring the Olympic Games to Los Angeles in 2028.
Before winning bronze medals in both ice dancing and the team competition in PyeongChang, the Shibutanis made their Olympic debut in Sochi, Russia, in 2014, placing ninth. They won their first of back-to-back national championships in 2016, the same year they won a career-best silver medal at the world championships.
The siblings have been out of competition since 2018, during which time Maia has undergone surgery to remove a cancerous tumor. Since having surgery in December 2019, Maia returned to working out this past February on the two-year anniversary of winning her second Olympic medal.
