Jeremy Abbott

For the Canadian canoer, see Jeremy Abbott (canoer).

Jeremy Abbott
Abbott at the 2008-2009 Grand Prix Final.
Full name	Jeremy Abbott
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Figure skating career
Country	United States
Coach	Yuka Sato Jason Dungjen
Skating club	Detroit SC

Jeremy Abbott (born June 5, 1985) is an American figure skater. He is the 2009 & 2010 U.S. national champion, the 2007 Four Continents bronze medalist and the 2008 Grand Prix Final Champion.

As of April 2010, he is ranked 2nd in the world by the International Skating Union (ISU).

At the 2010 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, he was nominated to represent the United States at the 2010 Winter Olympics. He placed 9th in the men's event.

Personal life

Jeremy Abbott was born in Aspen, Colorado. He began skating at age two. He began competing at age four after seeing and becoming inspired by Robin Cousins.

Following his win on the junior level at 2005 US nationals, Abbott established a fund in Aspen, Colorado, to help up-and-coming skaters to pay for training. In 2006, he established a second fund for skaters in the surrounding area.

Abbott attended Cheyenne Mountain High School for five years, stretching his high school career out one year longer than the usual, so he could concentrate on both skating and getting good grades. He graduated in 2004. His older sister Gwen Abbott was a nationally-ranked downhill skier who competed in the X Games as a ski racer. In addition to his coaches past and present, Jeremy often cites his family—mother Allison Scott, stepfather Allen Scott, father Danny Abbott and sister Gwen Abbott—as the pillars of his success.

Jeremy Abbott is known for his excellent jump technique, his ability to execute intricate choreography, and the difficult transitions between elements. He is also known for his musicality and his artistry in his programs. He is very popular in Japan and Korea and is beloved by his fans throughout the world.

Jeremy Abbott currently enjoys the internet in his off time, particularly Tweeting on Twitter, a form of near instantaneous web communication in 140 characters or less. His favorite person to "tweet" with is Meryl Davis, an American ice dancer that he has been friends with for an extremely long period of time. Abbott's tweets usually include many exclamation points, inside jokes, smiley faces, or song lyrics.

Skating career

Early career

Abbott has competed in three figure skating disciplines. As a juvenile, he competed in ice dancing with Amanda Cunningham from 1995-1996 and with Katie Hoffmaster from 1997-1998. He competed as a pair skater with Brittany Vise in 1998-1999 and Krystal Sorenson from 2001-2002.

In 1999, Abbott moved from Aspen to Colorado Springs, Colorado and began representing the Broadmoor Skating Club. From 1999 till May 2009, Abbott was coached by Tom Zakrajsek. He was previously coached by Peggy Behr in Aspen.

Abbott began competing in singles at the novice level in the 2000-2001 season, but failed to make it out of sectionals. The next year he made it to Nationals, where he placed 6th at the novice level.

For the 2002-2003 and 2004-2005 seasons, Abbott competed on the junior level nationally, though he did not make it to 2003 nationals at the junior level. He fractured his L5 vertebra in 2003, which kept him off the ice for fifteen weeks leading up to Regionals, yet he was able to win Regionals, and go on to place 7th at the 2004 U.S. Figure Skating Championships.

He won the Junior national title at the 2005 U.S. Figure Skating Championships. A remark he made during this competition led him to adopt, as his mascot, a pig with wings: a flying pig.

Senior career

Abbott was given his first senior international assignment in the 2005-2006 Olympic season. He placed 18th at the 2005 Nebelhorn Trophy. Abbott, then, placed fifth at the very competitive Midwestern Sectionals, and just missed a chance to go on to Nationals and compete for an Olympic berth. Abbott later blamed his performance on his poor training habits, and said that he had become lazy after winning the junior national title; failing to make it out of sectionals gave him the motivation he needed.

In the 2006-2007 season, Abbott was given another international assignment, this time to the 2006 Finlandia Trophy, which he won, beating a strong field. He won sectionals and advanced to Nationals. There, he won the pewter medal, the highest placement for a first-timer in the senior men's event at nationals in twenty years. Abbott was named the first alternate to the World and Four Continents teams, and given a bye to Nationals for the 2007-2008 season, meaning he would not have to compete at the 2008 sectionals in order to qualify for 2008 national championships. When Johnny Weir withdrew from Four Continents, Abbott was put on the team as a replacement.

The 2007 Four Continents Championships were held at the World Arena, Colorado Springs, Abbott's home ice. He beat out U.S. silver medalist and training mate Ryan Bradley for the bronze medal.

In the 2007-2008 season, Abbott debuted on the Grand Prix circuit, placing 8th at the 2007 Skate Canada and 4th at the 2007 NHK Trophy. At the 2008 United States Figure Skating Championships, he won the pewter medal. He placed 5th at the 2008 Four Continents Championships. He was sent to the 2008 World Figure Skating Championships after Evan Lysacek withdrew with injury, and placed 11th.

In the 2008-2009 season, Abbott competed again on the Grand Prix circuit. He won the 2008 Cup of China and placed fourth at the 2008 Cup of Russia to qualify for the 2008-2009 Grand Prix Final. He won the Grand Prix Final, becoming the first American man to do so, and achieved the highest total free skate score for an American man. At the 2009 United States Figure Skating Championships in Cleveland, Abbott won both the short program and the free skate to win the gold medal. At the 2009 World Figure Skating Championships, Abbot placed 10th in both the short and long programs and 11th overall.

In the off-season, Abbott has performed at the Festa On Ice, which was the show headlined by Kim Yu-Na. [8] This is his first ice show in foreign country.

In the 2009-2010 season, Abbott began with a 5th place finish at the 2009 NHK Trophy. He then won Skate Canada to qualify once again for the grand prix final, where he placed fourth.

At the 2010 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Abbott won both segments of the competition to win the title overall, placing 25 points ahead of the second place Evan Lysacek. He was named to the Olympic team.

At the Figure skating at the 2010 Winter Olympics – Men's singles, Abbott placed 15th place in the short program, with a score of 69.40. Abbott earned a score of 149.56 in the free skate, placing 9th in that segment of the competition and moving up to place 9th overall.

At 2010 World Figure Skating Championships, he skated a clean short and placed 6th in the short program. In the long program, he fell on the quad and 2A and placed 5th overall.

Abbott is currently performing on the Stars on Ice tour.

Coaching changes

Abbott was coached by Tom Zakrajsek in Colorado Springs, Colorado between 1999 and the end of the 2008-2009 season. In May, 2009 he changed coaches to Yuka Sato in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.

Programs

Abbott performs his exhibition at the 2008 U.S. Figure Skating Championships.

Season	Short Program	Free Skating	Exhibition
2009 - 2010	A Day in the Life by Jeff Beck choreographed by Shae Lynn Bourne	Symphony No. 3 Organ Symphony by Camille Saint-Saens choreographed by Pasquale Camerlengo	Gotta Get thru This by Daniel Bedingfield Choreographed by Tom Dickson At this moment by Buble Choreographed by Yuka Sato
2008 - 2009	Adagio in G Minor by Tomaso Giovanni Albinoni choreographed by Catarina Lindgren	Eight Seasons by Astor Piazzolla performed by Gidon Kremer and Kremerata Baltica choreographed by Tom Dickson	Treat by Carlos Santana choreographed by Kurt Browning Faith by George Michael Choreographed by Damon Allen, Caroline Miller and Jeremy Abbott
2007 - 2008	Treat by Carlos Santana choreographed by Kurt Browning	Ghost Waltz from Mistletoe Bride ballet by Paul Chihara Waltz No. 2 from Suite for Variety Orchestra (Shostakovich) by Dmitri Shostakovich River Waltz from The Painted Veil soundtrack Masquerade Waltz by Aram Khachaturian choreographed by Tom Dickson	Faith by George Michael Choreographed by Damon Allen, Caroline Miller and Jeremy Abbott
2006 - 2007	Dead Already from American Beauty by Thomas Newman Choreographed by Damon Allen and Jeremy Abbott	Symphony No. 25 in G minor by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Praeludium and Allegro by Fritz Kreisler choreographed by Tom Dickson	Save the Last Dance for Me by Michael Buble Choreographed by Damon Allen and Jeremy Abbott
2005 - 2006	I'm A-Doun by Vanessa Mae Choreographed by Christopher Dean	Selections by William Joseph Choreographed by Damon Allen Selections by Safri Duo Choreographed by Damon Allen and Jeremy Abbott
2004 - 2005	Concierto de Aranjuez by Joaquín Rodrigo Choreographed by Damon Allen	Selections by Safri Duo Choreographed by Damon Allen and Jeremy Abbott

Competitive highlights

Event	2001-2002	2002-2003	2003-2004	2004-2005	2005-2006	2006-2007	2007-2008	2008-2009	2009-2010
Winter Olympic Games									9th
World Championships							11th	11th	5th
Four Continents Championships						3rd	5th	5th
U.S. Championships	6th N.		7th J.	1st J.		4th	4th	1st	1st
Grand Prix Final								1st	4th
Skate Canada International							8th		1st
NHK Trophy							4th		5th
Cup of Russia								4th
Cup of China								1st
World Team Trophy								1st
Finlandia Trophy						1st
Nebelhorn Trophy					18th
Copenhagen Trophy		3rd J.
Midwestern Sectionals	3rd N.	9th J.	2nd J.	1st J.	5th	1st
Southwestern Regionals	1st N.	3rd J.	1st J.	1st J.

• N = Novice level; J = Junior level

External links

• Official Site
• Jeremy Abbott at the International Skating Union
• Jeremy Abbott at U.S. Figure Skating (archived)
• USA Fan Site