Johnny Weir
Weir competing at the 2006 World Championships
Personal Info
Country:
United States
Date of birth:
July 02, 1984 (1984-07-02) (age 23)
Height:
5'9" (172 cm)
Coach:
Galina Zmievskaya, Nina Petrenko
Choreographer:
Faye Kitarieva
Skating Club:
SC of New York
ISU Personal Best Scores
Short + Free Total:
220.25
2004 NHK Trophy
Short Program:
80.00
2006 Olympics
Free Skate:
146.20
2004 NHK Trophy
Most Recent Results:
Event
Points
Finish
Year
World Championships
206.97
8th
National Championships
213.20
3rd
Cup of Russia
196.28
2nd
Skate Canada
198.70
3rd
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. Unlike most figure skaters, he is a clockwise spinner.
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.
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. Shortly after this competition, he switched club afiliation from the University of Delaware FSC to the Skating Club of New York, which he still represents.
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 of his career 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. Then he went to compete at Worlds with injury and placed fourth.
The 2005-2006 Olympic season proved 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, as the national champion, was automatically named to the U.S. Olympic and World teams.
At the Olympics, Weir skated a personal best 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 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 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. At the World Championships, Weir placed eighth.
Weir originally trained at the University of Delaware. He moved to the Pond Ice Arena in Newark, Delaware after the 2002/2003 season. From the beginning of his career, he trained under coach Priscilla Hill. He changed coaches in the spring of 2007 to Galina Zmievskaya, who previously coached Weir's idol Oksana Baiul, and Nina Petrenko in Wayne, New Jersey.
Weir also previously trained part time under Tatiana Tarasova.
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.
2006 – 2007 Season
Short Program
Long Program
Exhibition
Occasion
Fallen Angels Program
2005 – 2006 Season
Short Program
Long Program
Exhibition
2004 – 2005 Season
Short Program
Long Program
Exhibition
2003 – 2004 Season
Short Program
Long Program
Exhibition
2002 – 2003 Season
Short Program
Long Program
2001 – 2002 Season
Short Program
Long Program
Exhibition
2000 – 2001 Season
Short Program
Long Program
Exhibition
1999 – 2000 Season
Short Program
Long Program
Exhibition
1998 – 1999 Season
Short Program
Long Program
1997 – 1998 Season
Short Program
Long Program
1996 – 1997 Season
Juvenile Program
Competitive Short Program
Competitive Long Program
Exhibition
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
World Junior Championships
1st
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
Junior Grand Prix, China
2nd
Junior Grand Prix, France
6th
Junior Grand Prix, Norway
2nd
Junior Grand Prix, Czech Republic
7th
Junior Grand Prix, Slovakia
1st
Triglav Trophy
2nd N.
