‘I always tried to ground myself’

While Shibutani mentions toying with the idea of a return to competitive skating (“there’s definitely the possibility that we will return”), he appears firmly planted in “the life after” for an Olympic medallist, but still feels as though he and Maia are reaping the benefits of their experiences as world-class ice dancers.

“I always tried to ground myself in the present moment because it’s easy to get stuck in the future and start thinking about your goals,” Shibutani, now 32, says. “Every athlete has very specific situations; each person is different.

He continues: “But I think to start with, just on a very simple level, breath and the ability to control one’s energy, especially when there might be a heightened level of intensity, [that] is something that definitely required years of experience to be able to – I wouldn’t even say master – but to have more awareness of that.”

Shibutani participated in the IOC’s International Athletes’ Forum in October, a gathering aimed to “empower, excite and unite the global athlete community” that included a mix of current and former athletes, as well as leaders within a host of Olympic sports.

The forum represents another pillar of Shibutani’s varied CV, as he also serves on the Athletes’ Commission for the coming Olympic Summer Games LA 2028, set to be the first Olympics in the U.S. since Salt Lake 2002.  

“The job of the Athletes’ Commission is to be a voice for the athlete globally: Not just the U.S. team, not just the L.A.-based athlete, but we are trying to craft and form the Games to the best of our ability that will positively impact the athletes that compete in L.A., but also the future,” he says.

“[Our aim is] to create a defining legacy – for both Games and the city.”