'Shib Sibs' challenge conventional wisdom by capturing ice dance bronze

Conventional wisdom couldn't stop Maia and Alex Shibutani.

The American ice dancers knew all about the barriers that stood in their way as they prepared for their free skate in PyeongChang. Siblings, they've long been told, couldn't win an Olympic medal in an event that sees competitors attempt to sell finicky judges on stories of love or lust; skaters, usually showing plenty of skin in racy outfits, look longingly into each other's eyes as they caress one another all across the ice.

It's raw and sensual. And it's rife with sexual tension - Canadian icons Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, who claimed yet another gold medal and set a world record with a typically seductive performance on Day 11 in PyeongChang, had to modify an element from their "Moulin Rouge" routine before the Olympics because it was too risque.

That's the world of ice dance.

It's a world that had no place for a brother-sister duo, Maia, 23, and Alex, 26, were often told throughout their career.

"Because traditional ice dance is of course a romantic thing. A big part of the performance is romantic," their coach, Marina Zoueva, explained, per Martin Rogers from USA Today.

Well, even without the traditional romance, the sibling team found their place in South Korea: on the podium.

A brilliant free skate that totaled 192.59 points saw the pair, affectionately known as the "Shib Sibs," win bronze after leapfrogging compatriots Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue at the Gangneung Ice Arena.

Instead of holding them back, the Shibutanis are adamant their family bond is what fueled their success. It's "a strength that no other team in this event has," Alex said, according to Michael Rosenberg from Sports Illustrated.

It's the first time since 1992, when Isabelle and Paul Duchesnay of France won silver, that siblings have claimed an Olympic medal in ice dance.

"We actually broke the wall and opened a window for anyone to be on the podium and have success in ice dance," Zoueva said. "Even if you are brother and sister."

For Alex, it's time to ditch the unwritten laws of the sport for good.

"I think it is insulting to the discipline of ice dance where it's just generally grouped into, "Oh, it's romantic' or, 'oh, it's sensual,'" he told Dan Wetzel from Yahoo Sports. "That's not fair to ice dance ... We found ice dance and we're siblings and we are doing it the way we wanted to do it."

Maia sums it up nicely: "There shouldn't be just one path."