Maia and Alex Shibutani are getting amazing returns on competitive figure skating.

"Shib Sibs" announced Thursday morning that they will return to the game ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina, returning to the sport more than seven years after their last time playing Team USA. Maia Shibutani, 30, and Alex Shibutani, 34, left figure skating after winning Olympic bronze medals in Pyeongchang Games in 2018.

"Our experience and the new skills we developed during the game have brought us different perspectives and created some exciting new possibilities," Alex Shibutani said in a press release. "We won't take this for granted. We really like the process and look forward to performing and competing again."

The Shibutani siblings are one of the most outstanding ice dance teams in American history. After making their debut at the World Senior Championship in 2011, they went on to win three world medals, two national championships and two Olympic medals at the 2018 Olympic Games. They were inducted into the American Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 2023, their first year of qualification.

While Shibutanis has never officially announced their retirement, it is believed that they were completed after the 2018 Winter Olympics. After these competitions, they refused to participate in the 2018 World Championships and said they would take a year off. Maia Shibutani then underwent surgery in late 2019 to remove a tumor from one of her kidneys, which was found to be cancerous.

When she recovered, the siblings began to shift their focus to other efforts, writing four children’s books and playing new roles in choreography, photography and other creative alleys.

“For the past seven years, we have challenged and inspired us in ways we never thought,” Maia Shibutani said in a statement. “I am happy and grateful to be able to stay healthy and be able to decide to return to the sport I love in this way.”

Shibutanis announced they will train with two long-time coaches Marina Zoueva and Massimo Scali - presumably hoping to return to the Olympics for the third time. They finished ninth in the 2014 Sochi tournament.

"Shib Sibs" will join a competitive American ice dance ring, led by Madison Chock and Evan Bates, who finished third for the third consecutive time in Boston's latest World Figure Skating Championships. Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko came to the podium in fifth place, followed by Caroline Green and Michael Parsons in ninth place. Only three American ice dance teams will compete in Milan.

Please contact Tom Schad at tschad@usatoday.com or on social media at @tomschad.bsky.social.