Johnny Weir
2004, 2005 & 2006 U.S. National Champion

Johnny Weir

Johnny Weir is the 2004, 2005 and 2006 U.S. National Champion.

Johnny is featuring a new style for the 2006-2007 season and completely new programs. "I have always been known as a balletic or elongated skater, almost femine at times," said Johnny.

Johnny also has a new choregrapher in former Olympic gold medalist ice dancer Marina Anissina. "We spent a lot of time on Tour together and discussed skating. I loved working with her"

He finished fifth in the XX Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy. Johnny was second after the short program that saw him record a personal best in scoring.

Last season hit a few bumps on the way with two new programs and additional work on step sequences and adjusting spins to the federation's request.

That accomplished, Johnny kept growing as a skater, and added his third national championship in January.

He changed back to his original program, "Otonal" by Raul di Blasio, for the Olympic free skate. "The basic change of the program came because I got to see the video from Nationals, and I was bored watching my free program," Johnny said.

Johnny has gained inspiration from renowned Russian coach Tatiana Tarasova. He formed a formidable coaching team with long-time coach Priscilla Hill.

"It's great working with Tatiana. She finds different ways to push me and knows how I should look on the ice. And the training atmosphere is so different," Johnny said.

Hill and Weir have one of the longest coach-skater relationships in the sport.

For his short program for the 2005-2006 season, Johnny skated to "The Swan" by Camille Saint-Saens. He won the U.S. Championship with a program skated to "Amazonic", Hana's Eyes" and "Wonderland" by Maksim Mrvica.

Weir won the World Junior Championships in 2001. In the 2002 U.S. Nationals Weir was in second place after the short program but sustained a knee injury that forced him off the ice during his free skate. Tarasova gave Weir some inspirational advice when they first began working together. "Tatiana said people have three mistakes to make in their lives. That was just one of them for me."

Weir’s style of skating is classical and fits in well with Tarasova’s background of the Russian classics. By working with Tarasova, Weir also has the opportunity to work with other former Olympic skaters in Tarasova’s coaching camp including Evgeny Platov. Being around Alexei Yagudin during practice sessions also creates an environment unlike anything Weir experienced at previous practices.

"Last year if you didn't have a quad you didn't have a shot. Now with the new judging system you do have a shot if you do everything else well. I am very confident," said Johnny.

Johnny now calls the Skating Club of New York his training base.

Johnny didn't begin skating until he was 12 years old. As a youngster, he tried soccer and baseball, but those didn't work. Then, around the age of 9 or 10, he started to ride and show horses. He competed against both boys and girls in that sport. Johnny was still riding when he became interested in another sport after watching it on television: figure skating. There wasn't any one skater that inspired him -- he just loved watching the sport. He used to watch it on TV and then would try out the jumps on roller skates in his family's basement.

One winter Johnny got a second-hand pair of skates for Christmas. The cornfield behind his house was frozen over, so he was out on it skating in between the frozen corn stalks. After that, his parents decided that they would let him get group skating lessons at the University of Delaware. That was an excellent decision.

There’s more to Johnny than being a skater. "I don’t like to get hung up on just skating. It’s something I do and do well," he said.

Weir is also fluent in several languages. He is most proud of his French and says that he speaks it as well as English. Weir leaves voice mail greetings on his phone in English and French. He speaks some Russian and it serves him well when working with Tarasova. During his travels he tries to learn languages of other international countries.

Johnny also has a passion for fashion and hopes to one day own a fashion label. His favorite designers are a smorgasbord of who's who in the industry.

Personal

Name	Johnny Weir
Born	July 2, 1984
Birthplace	Coatesville, Pennsylvania
Hometown	Newark, Delaware
Training towns	Newark, Delaware and Simsbury, Connecticut
Home club	Skating Club of New York
Coaches	Priscilla Hill, Tatiana Tarasova
Choreographers	Marina Viacheslavovna Anissina and Johnny Weir
Short program	"King of Chess" by Silent Nick
Free skate	"Child of Nazareth" by Maxime Rodriguez
Exhibition	"Desert Rose" by Sting
Best total score	225.34 U.S. National Championships (2006)
Short program	83.28 U.S. Nationals (2006)
Free Skate	146.20 NHK Trophy (2004)