Johnny Weir
Johnny Weir | |
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Weir at the 2006 World Championships. | |
Height | 5 ft 9 in (172 cm) |
Figure skating career | |
Country | ![]() |
Coach | Priscilla Hill, Marina Anissina |
Skating club | SC of New York |
Most Recent Results: | |||
---|---|---|---|
Event | Points | Finish | Year |
World Championships | 206.97 | 8th | 2007 |
National Championships | 213.20 | 3rd | 2007 |
Cup of Russia | 196.28 | 2nd | 2006 |
Skate Canada | 198.70 | 3rd | 2006 |
John G. "Johnny" Weir (born July 2, 1984 in Coatesville, Pennsylvania) is an American figure skater. He is a three-time U.S. national champion (2004-2006) and the 2007 national bronze medalist. He is currently ranked 6th in the world. [1]
Biography
Weir originally competed as an equestrian. He became interested in figure skating while watching Oksana Baiul win her Olympic gold medal. He taught himself how to jump on roller skates in his basement. After his parents bought him figure skates, he practiced on a frozen corn field. His parents then bought him lessons and, after showing promise, Weir focused completely on becoming a skater. Although he began skating at the relatively late age of 12, he progressed quickly through the ranks. He performed an Axel jump in his first week on skates. He competed in pair skating with Jodi Rudden on the juvenile and intermediate levels, but gave it up to focus on single skating.
Early career
Weir's first major victory came in 2001 when, at the age of 16, he won the World Junior Championships. There he skated three clean programs and came in first ahead of fellow American Evan Lysacek. This was the first time since 1987 that the U.S. had placed first and second on the World Junior podium. Weir also placed sixth that year at the senior U.S. Figure Skating Championships.
At the 2003 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, he literally hit the wall during his long program. He restarted the program, but injured himself later on a failed triple axel landing. This time he was too injured to restart, so he withdrew from the competition.
Senior success
The 2003-2004 season was the turning point for Weir. He qualified for the U.S. Figure Skating Championships by winning his regional and sectional championships. He received his first 6.0 during his long program at 2004 U.S. Championships, winning the gold over Michael Weiss and Matthew Savoie. He then competed at the 2004 Worlds and placed fifth.
In the 2004-2005 season, Weir won his first two Grand Prix titles. He won the first at the NHK Trophy in Japan and the second at Trophée Eric Bompard in France. He came in second at Cup of Russia behind reigning world champion Evgeni Plushenko. At the 2005 U.S. Championships, he successfully defended his title. At Worlds the following month, he placed fourth.
The 2005-2006 Olympic season would prove difficult for Weir. He came in seventh at Skate Canada International after injuring his foot on a jump landing at the start of the free skate and struggling through the rest of the program, and third at Cup of Russia. He rallied at the 2006 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, winning his third consecutive title and was automatically named to the U.S. Olympic team.
At the Olympics, Weir skated a brilliant short program and was in second place behind Evgeni Plushenko in that segment. However, Weir omitted some of his planned jumps in the free skating, and fell to fifth in the final standings. At the 2006 World Championships, Weir finished seventh, fighting a nagging back injury. Weir also landed his first clean quadruple jump at the competition.
He began the 2006-2007 competitive season at Skate Canada International, where he placed third. He went on to Cup of Russia and won the silver medal, his third consecutive medal at that event. He withdrew from the Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final after the short program due to injury. In the 2007 National Championships, Weir was in second place after the short program, less than a point behind Evan Lysacek. In the free program, he did not have his best performance. He was unable to complete his triple axel combination, fell on a triple loop and doubled several of his planned combinations. He attempted a quadruple toe loop but it was heavily two-footed on the landing. Weir finished in third place behind Ryan Bradley and Evan Lysacek.
Weir trains at the Pond Ice Arena in Newark, Delaware, under long-time coach Priscilla Hill. Unlike most figure skaters, he is a clockwise spinner.
Off the Ice
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b7/Weir2004.jpg/220px-Weir2004.jpg)
Weir studied linguistics at the University of Delaware before dropping out in his second year to concentrate on his skating. He is interested in fashion design and is a self-proclaimed "Russiaphile" who admires the style of skating and language of Russia. He also speaks French.
Off the ice, he has appeared in a fashion spread in BlackBook Magazine and taught Kathy Griffin how to skate in the season two finale of Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List. Weir modeled for the Heatherette show during Olympus Fashion Week in the fall of 2006 and again in the spring of 2007. He is an avid collector of Russian Cheburashka memorabilia.
Programs
Short Program
- King of Chess by Silent Nick (Karl Jenkins - Palladio Suite)
Long Program
- Child of Nazareth by Maxime Rodriguez
Exhibition
- My Way by Frank Sinatra
- Yunona and Avos by Alexei Rybnikov
- The Swan by Camille Saint-Saëns
- Imagine by John Lennon
- All In Love Is Fair (Title: Painful Longing) by Stevie Wonder
- Sarabande Suite (Title: Fallen Angels) by Globus
Occation
- My Way in Skate Canada International & winter Marshalls Challenge
- Yunona and Avos in Cup of Russia
- The Swan in winter Marshalls Challenge
- Imagine in 2007 US Nationals
- All In Love Is Fair in spring Marshalls Showcase & on the Champions on Ice tour
- Fallen Angels in spring Marshalls Showcase & on the Champions on Ice tour
Fallen Angels Program
- The Fallen Angels program was the debut program in the spring Marshalls Showcase.
- It was a threesome program with Melissa Gregory & Denis Petukov.
- The theme is that they are fallen angels trying to figure out how to live on Earth.
- Producer: Denis Petukhov
- Choreographers: Denis Petukhov, Natalia Linichuk, Tatyana Tarasova
Short Program
Long Program
- Amazonic + Hana's Eyes + Wonderland by Maksim Mrvica
- Otonal by Raul DiBlasio
- Return to Otonal at the 2006 Winter Olympics and the 2006 World Figure Skating Championships
Exhibition
Short Program
- Rondo Capriccioso by Camille Saint-Saëns
Long Program
- Otonal by Raul DiBlasio
Exhibition
Short Program
Long Program
- Themes from "The Puppet Master," "Spirit of the Peacock," and "City of Sadness" by Zhao Jiping and Nic Rain
Exhibition
- Cinema Paradiso
Short Program
Long Program
- The Heart of Budapest by Mantovani
Exhibition
- What A Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong
- This I Promise You by NSync
Short Program
- Espana Cani by Erich Kunzel
Long Program
- "An American Tail" Soundtrack
Exhibition
- What A Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong
- She's All I Ever Had by Ricky Martin
Short Program
- Sabre Dance
Long Program
- Malaguena
Short Program
- Russian Folk Music by Svetit Masjaz
Long Program
- Malaguena
Juvenile Program
- "Rudy" Soundtrack
Choreography
Competitive Short Program
- King of Chess by Marina Anissina
- The Swan by Tatiana Tarasova, Shanette Folee, Evgeny Platov
- Rondo Capriccioso by Tatiana Tarasova, Evgeny Platov
- Valse Triste by Tatiana Tarasova, Maya Usova, Evgeny Platov
- "Innocence" and "Zydeko" by Michelle Poley
- Les Parapluies de Cherbourg by Yuri Sergeyev
Competitive Long Program
- Child of Nazareth by Marina Anissina
- Amazonic + Hana's Eyes + Wonderland by Tatiana Tarasova, Shanette Folee
- Otonal by Tatiana Tarasova, Evgeny Platov
- Dr. Zhivago by Giuseppe Arena, Anjelika Krylova
- The Heart of Budapest by Yuri Sergeyev
- Malaguena by Yuri Sergeyev
Exhibition
- Fallen Angels by Denis Petukhov, Natalia Linichuk, Tatiana Tarasova
- All In Love Is Fair by Johnny Weir
- My Way by Carolanne Leone, Johnny Weir
- Yunona and Avos by Oleg Ovsiannikov, Anjelika Krylova
- Unchained Melody by Carolanne Leone
- Imagine by Johnny Weir
- What A Wonderful World by Priscilla Hill, Johnny Weir
- This I Promise You by Priscilla Hill, Johnny Weir
Competitive highlights
Event | 1997-1998 | 1998-1999 | 1999-2000 | 2000-2001 | 2001-2002 | 2002-2003 | 2003-2004 | 2004-2005 | 2005-2006 | 2006-2007 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Winter Olympic Games | 5th | |||||||||
World Championships | 5th | 4th | 7th | 8th | ||||||
Four Continents Championships | 4th | |||||||||
United States Championships | 3rd N. | 4th J. | 5th J. | 6th | 5th | WD | 1st | 1st | 1st | 3rd |
Grand Prix Final | WD | |||||||||
Skate Canada International | 7th | 7th | 3rd | |||||||
Trophée Eric Bompard | 4th | 1st | ||||||||
Cup of Russia | WD | 2nd | 3rd | 2nd | ||||||
NHK Trophy | WD | 1st | ||||||||
Finlandia Trophy | 2nd | |||||||||
World Junior Championships | 1st | |||||||||
Junior Grand Prix, China | 2nd | |||||||||
Junior Grand Prix, France | 6th | |||||||||
Junior Grand Prix, Norway | 2nd | |||||||||
Junior Grand Prix, Czech Republic | 7th | |||||||||
Junior Grand Prix, Slovak Republic | 1st | |||||||||
Triglav Trophy | 2nd N. |
- N = Novice level; J = Junior level; WD = Withdrew
References
External links
- Johnny Weir Online - Official website
- Johnny Weir at the International Skating Union
- Johnny Weir at U.S. Figure Skating (archived)
- Michael Collins Enterprises
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)