About Opentopia
Opentopia Directory Encyclopedia Tools

Johnny Weir

Encyclopedia : J : JO : JOH : Johnny Weir

|residence= Newark, Delaware |height= 172 cm |weight= |partner= |coach= Priscilla Hill,
Tatiana Tarasova |skating club= SC of New York |turned pro= |combined total= 220.25 |combined date= 2004 NHK |SP score= 80.00 |SP date= 2006 XX Olympics |FS score= 146.20 |FS date= 2004 NHK }}

Most Recent Results:
Event Points Finish Year
Olympic Winter Games 216.63 5th 2006
World Championships 235.57 7th 2006
Four Continents - 4th 2002
National Championships 225.34 1st 2006

John G. "Johnny" Weir (born July 2, 1984, in Coatesville, Pennsylvania) is the reigning three-time US National Champion in figure skating. He began skating at the relatively late age of 12, but quickly progressed through the ranks.

Weir won the U.S. national men's title in January 2004 and placed fifth at the World Championships the following March. In 2005 and 2006 he successfully defended his U.S. title. He made his Olympic debut in the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. After a brilliant second-place performance in the short program, Weir skated below par in the long program and fell to fifth in the final standings. It should be noted that the mistake he made is not readily apparent to casual figure skating viewers. He left out a jumping pass, meaning that he did not complete as many jumps as he could have, and he did a single jump instead of a jump combination. It was far from a tragic performance, but it was not Weir at his best.

Weir trains at the Pond Ice Arena in Newark, Delaware, under long-time coach Priscilla Hill. He has become known for his colorful and outspoken personality off the ice as much as for his artistry and skating skills. In academics, he studied linguistics at the University of Delaware before dropping out in his second year to concentrate on his skating. In the future, he said, he plans to study fashion design at either the Fashion Institute of Technology or Parsons School of Design in New York City. He is a self-proclaimed "Russiaphile" who admires the style of skating and language of Russia. He also speaks French.

In the midst of Weir's 2006 Olympic experience, Rudy Galindo caused a stir by accusing Weir of copying his skating style, demanding that the media ask Weir about his sexual orientation, which they promptly did at the press conference following his short program. Weir declined to answer, stating that who he sleeps with has nothing to do with what he does on the ice. There was some speculation that the media uproar which followed regarding his personal life may have contributed to a loss of concentration on Weir's part in the free skate the next day.

Weir is known for his outstanding style and unique outfits. Figure skating commentators have noted that his style is intriguing to watch on the ice regardless of the technical quality of his skating performance because of his fluid movements and soft landings.

For the 2006-2007 season, Weir has been assigned to Cup of Russia and Skate Canada Grand Prix events. As the US National Champion, he would have an automatic invitation to Skate America. However, he and coach Priscilla Hill requested that he not be assigned there due to Hill's commitments to her other students who have to attend sectional and regional qualifying events which conflict with Skate America.

Competitive highlights

External links

 

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.

Search Titles
0123456789
ABCDEFGHIJ
KLMNOPQRST
UVWXYZ?

E-mail this article to:

Personal Message: