Skater johnny weir performances. Johnny Weir - Dare to be different

tall and handsome Johnny Weir- former American figure skater-single skater, winner of various championships in figure skating. At present, he is not engaged in amateur figure skating, but his further activities are connected with the creation sports shows. About his sporting achievements and hobbies will be discussed in the article.

Biography of Johnny Weir

John Garvin Weir is the full name given to him by his parents, John and Patty. Johnny was born in Coatesville, Pennsylvania on July 2, 1984. He is of Norwegian ethnicity and American citizenship. Weir grew up with his four-year-old younger brother Brian. As a child, like his brother, he was fond of football, baseball, skiing and horseback riding. When he started skating, the family moved to New York. Here, the guy studied in high school and university. He left the university to focus on figure skating.

The beginning of a sports career

Skater Johnny Weir's athletic career didn't start out like all kids brought to the ice by their parents between the ages of three and six. It so happened that Weir started skating at the age of almost twelve. He decided to start figure skating after seeing a broadcast on TV. Olympic Games 1994. He liked the skating of the one who received the highest award - a gold medal. He began training on his own on roller skates. Realizing his son's desire to figure skating, his parents bought him skates and sent him to a paid school at the University of Delaware. Coach Priscilla Hill drew attention to the talented boy and offered to train him. Jumps and turns were easy for the guy, in a week he learned one of the most difficult jumps in figure skating - the axel.

The perseverance and work of a talented young man led him to the first gold medal four years later. He won it at the age of 16. This first medal paved the way for countless victories, including triumphs in America at the figure skating championships in 2004-2006.

Rise and end of career

In the 2003-2004 season, he won regional championships as well as a gold medal, defeating Michael Weiss and Matthew Savoy in 2004 at the US Championships. In competitions at the World Championships, he took fifth place.

The 2004-2005 season brings him two Grand Prix titles. In addition, Johnny Meir is first in the 2004 NHK Trophy in Japan, and second in the 2004 Trophée Eric Bompard in France. At the 2005 American Championship, he successfully defended his national title. In the 2006-2007 season, he takes third place at Skate Canada. Pictured above is the awards ceremony. The picture in the article shows Daisuke Takahashi, Johnny Weir.

New coach - new goals

After Skate Canada, Johnny Meir starts training with Ukrainian coach Galina Zmievskaya (pictured below). What explains the change in coach? Meir chose not to train with Priscilla Hill. Friendship, according to Johnny, prevents "work and be the best." And Galina Zmievskaya was once the mentor of Oksana Baiul, who once played leading role in figure skating choice Johnny Meyrom. The 2007-2008 season brings the gold medal in the Russian Cup competition. In the fall of 2008, Meir won a silver medal at Skate America, after which he went to South Korea for Christmas to perform brilliantly at a charity skating show.

At the US Championships, Weir takes third place. At the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, Johnny Weir finished sixth overall in two programs.

Well, Johnny did one of the the best programs life. If this is the end, he can leave the sport with his head held high, but… connecting elements, ribs, turns and footwork… were not as good as Lysacek or Takahashi.

This is how the well-known American figure skater Carol Heiss assessed Weir's skating.

In the fall of 2013, Johnny tells the press in an interview that he has decided to end his sports career, but joins the NBC Olympics as a figure skating analyst at winter games 2014 in Sochi.

Awards and achievements

During his sports career From 1996 to 2010, Johnny won 27 medals. He took part in 51 competitions.

About the true king of the ice, Johnny Weir, the documentary "Popstar on Ice" was filmed by filmmakers James Pellerito and David Barba. The film premiered at the Seattle International Film Festival. A series called Be Good Johnny Weir was made about Johnny, dedicated to training, life at home and performances in competitions. He was remembered by figure skating fans for his smooth, graceful skating and inimitable artistry, as well as bizarre costumes.

Weir took part in the variety show - My Life on the D-List. His career success has given him a good financial backing of $2 million.

Johnny has repeatedly been awarded all sorts of titles in America. Considering sports achivments Johnny Weira, he was announced as the 2008 Readers' Choice Skater of the Year winner. In 2010, Johnny receives the Visibility Award from the Campaign for Human Rights. In the same year, he also receives the NewNowNext "Most Exciting Reality Star" award for documentaries. Be Good Johnny Weir And Pop Star On Ice.

Johnny Weir, acting on behalf of Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, represented America in 2012 as Japan's Goodwill Envoy. He was honored as a 2013 National Hero by the non-profit Delaware Valley Heritage Foundation.

In 2014, Weir and Tara Lipinski at the Winter Olympics in Sochi covered the Olympic competitions in speed skating for the famous NBC channel. The number of extravagant outfits in which Johnny reported on the competition, and simply appeared on the streets of the capital of the Olympic Games Sochi, could be the envy of socialites. As he said later, it was a test of tolerance.

Former Olympians have commentated on the latest Pyeongchang Olympics. Their extravagant outfits reminded many people on Instagram of the characters from the Capitol in The Hunger Games.

Johnny Weir Projects

Having completed his career in figure skating, Johnny took up many projects that were ripe for him, but during sports there was not enough time for this. Now he has decided to express himself through these projects. They are all artistic: designing costumes and fashion lines, creating songs, writing a book.

Weir says that through this activity he can express different aspects of his character, and therefore this period can be called a special time in life. When he skated, he had to train a lot to have the strength that is necessary for an athlete. Therefore, now the skater is resting, dissolving in other worries. He enjoys life, looking for new ways to express himself. For example, Weir began to sing. Takes part in photo shoots. He says he wants to immortalize himself so that when he gets old, these photos will remind him of what he looked like when he was young.

Personal life

Weir is a versatile person. At one time, being carried away by the Russian school of figure skating and Russian culture, he independently learned the Russian language. In addition, he is fluent in French and Japanese. He is interested in fashion design. Johnny's wardrobe contains unique collectibles. The skater invented his own costumes for performances. His advice in this area was used by many skaters. According to his sketches, costumes for ice dancers Denis Petukhov and Melissa Gregory were sewn. John is Oksana Baiul's costume designer ice show.

Weir's marital status

The former American figure skater does not hide his unconventional views, considering this a personal choice and the right of every person. He had a relationship with a Russian guy of Jewish origin. Victor Voronov, Weir's chosen one, has a law degree. Weir announced his intentions to officially register the marriage in an interview with an American tabloid. On New Year's Eve, December 30, 2011, Johnny Weir and Viktor Voronov officially married in New York, and lived there for a long time. The couple divorced in 2015. The reason for the divorce was due to personal misunderstandings.

Weir previously had a relationship with Adam Lambert in 2010. Being a celebrity, his fans are always curious to know more about him. However, this does not mean that his personal life is in the center of attention of Americans. Therefore, thinking about personal life Johnny Weira, don't speculate about romantic relationships. If they are, he talks about them without hiding.

Born in Coatsville, Pennsylvania to John and Patty Weir, Johnny Weir graduated with honors from Newark High School and studied linguistics at the University of Delaware by correspondence. As a child, he went in for equestrian sports and participated in horse riding competitions, and became interested in figure skating only at the age of 11, extremely late by modern standards (usually athletes begin to ride at 3-4 years old). In 1994, Weir saw on TV the performance of figure skater Oksana Baiul at the 17th Winter Olympics. The skating of Oksana Baiul, who then received a gold medal, made a great impression on the boy, and he decided to try jumping on his own, doing roller-skating in the basement. When his parents bought Johnny Weir figure skates, he began training on the frozen field behind his house. In the end, he was sent to paid classes in a group at the University of Delaware. The parents secretly hoped that a local would be interested in their son. hockey team, but Johnny skated alone and drew figures on the ice. Coach Priscilla Hill noticed his talent and began to train personally, and within a week Weir learned to jump the Axel, the most difficult jump in figure skating. Johnny's family soon moved to Newark, Delaware to live closer to the coach and the rink.

Parents could not afford to spend money on figure skating, and riding, so Weir decided to leave his pony and concentrate on figure skating. He originally skated with Jodi Rudden, but eventually switched to singles. He also dropped out of university to devote himself to sports.

2001-2004: Early career

Weir won his first World Junior Championships in 2001: having skated cleanly in all three programs (qualifying, short and free), he won the gold medal from another American, Evan Lysacek. Technically, both athletes showed about the same level, but of all the skaters who competed, Weir received the highest marks for artistry. Thus, for the first time since 1987, the USA took the first two places on the junior podium. In the same season, Weir finished sixth at the US Championships and fourth at the Four Continents Championships, the equivalent of the European Championships for non-European countries (he lost to Canadian Jeffrey Battle, Japanese figure skater Takeshi Honda and Chinese Gao Song). This was the first and only time in Weir's career that he competed in this competition. Almost the entire next season (2002-2003) the athlete missed due to injury. At the 2003 National Championships, during the free program, Weir hit the side of the rink, started the performance again, but immediately injured his knee due to an unsuccessful landing after a triple Axel, after which he withdrew from the competition.

The 2003-2004 season, when Weir turned 19, was a turning point in his career. He qualified for the US Championships (2004), where he received his first 6.0 in the free skate and took first place, becoming the youngest champion since Todd Eldridge. At the World Championships, Weir finished fifth, losing to such rivals as Evgeni Plushenko, Brian Joubert, Stefan Lindemann and Stephane Lambiel. All this time he continued to train with Priscilla Hill, first at the University of Delaware in Newark, then they moved to the Pond Ice arena in the same city. In addition, from 2003 to 2005, Weir consulted every summer with Russian coach Tatyana Tarasova, visiting her at the International Skating Center of Connecticut in Simsbury, Connecticut. Tarasova helped direct the short program Valse Triste ("Sad Waltz") to music by Jean Sibelius; short and free programs of the 2004-2005 season Rondo Capriccioso (“Rondo Capriccioso”) to the music of Camille Saint-Saens and Otonal Raul li Blasio; programs of the 2005-2006 season Amazonic + Hana's Eyes + Wonderland by Maxim Mrvitsa and the famous The Swan ("Swan") Camille Saint-Saens, which the skater called his favorite program.

2004-2007: Three times US Champion

The next season (2004-2005) Weir successfully performed in the Grand Prix series in figure skating, which consists of several stages in different countries. He won the Japanese NHK Trophy and finished second at the Trophée Eric Bompard in France. According to ISU rules, the skaters who score the most points in the two stages of the Grand Prix are selected for the final, but they also receive points only for two stages. Nevertheless, Weir went to the third stage of the "Russian Cup" for himself and took second place behind the Russian Evgeni Plushenko. At the 2005 U.S. Championships, the figure skater, who competed for a medal with Olympic bronze medalist Timothy Gable and his peer Evan Lysacek, skated the free skate almost flawlessly and received five 6.0 marks for artistry, winning gold for the second time in the United States. Technical marks were also high - 5.8 and 5.9. Evan Lysacek took "silver", but in subsequent years it is on Weir's rivalry with this skater that the main intrigue of the national championships will be built. At the World Championships in Moscow, he became the fourth, still not performing a four-turn jump. “Quadruple in our time is an integral part of men's figure skating, and I understand that I must do it,” the skater explained. "I'll include it [in the program] when I'm ready."

The next few seasons branded Weir as a “short program skater”: it repeatedly turned out that after an excellent performance in the short program, he nullified all the advantage over his rivals with numerous mistakes in the free program, and lost the opportunity to take high place on a pedestal.

The 2005-2006 season was not easy for Weir. At the Skate Canada Grand Prix stage (2005), he took only seventh place, since at the very beginning of the short program he sprained his ankle, and at the Russian Cup he became third after Plushenko and Stefan Lambiel. At the US Championships, he again became the first, despite a miscalculation in the free program: Weir made four combinations of jumps, while only three are allowed under the new rules (this season the old system of scoring on a six-point scale was abolished and a new judging system came into effect ). Nevertheless, good performance in the short program and a significant lead over the opponents on points compensated for this tactical miscalculation and mistake on the triple axel. Thanks to the victory at the national championship, he automatically entered the national team for the Winter Olympic Games in Turin and the World Championships in Calgary. At the Olympics, the Americans had high hopes for him. The skater was second after the short program and followed Evgeni Plushenko, but due to the lack of a quadruple jump, and also due to missing one of the jumps in the free program, he ended up only fifth. At the World Championships, in the absence of Plushenko, Weir had a chance to win a medal, but finished seventh, making a large number of errors in the free program - in particular, after a quad, he landed on two feet and then fell from a triple flip. The skater explained that all week he was tormented by "spasms in the back" and although he "really wanted to do a quadruple, but [his] body simply did not obey."

In the 2006-2007 season, Olympic ice dancing champion Marina Anisina worked as choreographer for Johnny Weir. She helped direct the short program King of Chess and the free program Child of Nazareth to music by Maxim Rodriguez. In the Grand Prix series in figure skating, Weir was the winner at the stages in Canada and Russia, but in the final in St. Petersburg he was forced to withdraw from the competition as a result of a hip injury after a fall. At the US Championships, after a successful performance in the short program, he became the second, although he was slightly behind Evan Lysacek on points. In the free program, he unsuccessfully performed a triple Axel, fell from a triple loop, and after a quadruple toe loop, he landed on two feet and, ultimately, took third place. Weir later explained that he was very upset with his second place after the short program: “It was my best skate of the season, and I was still ranked below Lysacek. It became clear that I could not win, even if I skated cleanly in the free program. So the mood for the free program was not the best, because I was not sure of winning even with a 100% clean performance. At the World Championships, the skater took only eighth place.

Best of the day

Change of coach and new goals

After last season's failures, Weir decided to leave coach Priscilla Hill. In the summer of 2007, he moved from Newark to Lyndhurst, New Jersey and began training under Galina Zmievskaya, Oksana Baiul's former mentor. Zmievskaya is assisted by Viktor Petrenko, who also works as an ISU technical controller.

Weir, whose style of riding was often described as feminine, decided to make his image more masculine. She and Galina Zmievskaya completely changed the regime, the image of the skater and the approach to training, in particular, they decided to include in the programs quadruple jump.

"In my new program there will be a quadruple jump,” Weir commented, “although I… do it only because it is considered almost the norm for men's figure skating. As for me, the quadruple is a very difficult jump, many people often make mistakes when performing it. And a fall can ruin a program that is perfect in every way.”

After the athlete began training with Zmievskaya and moved Lyndhurst, he lives separately from his parents. In an interview, he said that at first he was very nervous and put a kitchen knife near the bed before going to bed, but over time, life away from home benefited him and made him more disciplined.

2007-2009: Fight for medals

The new season (2007-2008) he spent very well. At the 2007 Cup of China Grand Prix, Weir defeated Lysacek with eight jumps in the free program, including a triple Axel combo. He raised his own personal record, set three years ago, by almost 6 points. In an interview after the performance, Weir said that he had never felt so comfortable on the ice. At the Cup of Russia, he also won gold, ahead of Stefan Lambiel and Russian Andrey Gryazev. Two gold medals at the Grand Prix stages ensured Weir a place in the final, but an old leg injury aggravated during the performances, so the skater fell in the short and then in the free program, and took fourth place.

At the 2008 US Nationals, Weir had a 1.35 lead over Lysacek after the short program. In the free program, he performed a quadruple sheepskin coat with a small mistake and scored more points for jumps and program components, while Lysacek turned out to be better in spins and skating, so in the free program he outperformed his opponent by exactly the same number of points (1.35). It was a draw by points, but according to ISU rules Golden medal in this case, it goes to the skater who won the free skate, so Lysacek became the US champion, and Weir came second. At the World Championships in Gothenburg, where Lysacek missed due to an injury, Weir skated one of the best short programs of his career, improved his personal best and finished second behind Jeffrey Battle. In the free program, he performed less confidently (in his own words, he was nervous) and was only fifth, but in terms of the total results he became third and won his first world championship medal - bronze. Gold was taken by Geoffrey Battle, who completed after this season amateur career, and silver - Brian Joubert.

Weir started the 2008-2009 season by winning a silver medal at Skate America in October 2008. Despite a bad cold and a constant cough, the athlete also finished second at the NHK Trophy, so he qualified for the Grand Prix final, where he won a bronze medal in December 2008. Gold went to his peer and teammate, American Jeremy Abbott, and silver went to young Japanese figure skater Takahiko Kozuke. In winter, Weir, along with Korean figure skater Kim Young Ah, participated in a charity ice show in Korea. Due to a gastrointestinal infection, he ended up in the hospital and spent several days on a drip, so preparations for the US Championships were disrupted. In the competition, Weir only landed a triple Axel once, fell off a triple flip in the free skate, and only finished in fifth place, the lowest since 2002. Thus, he did not get into the US team for the 2009 World Cup, although he hoped that the national federation would make an exception for him as for the winner of the last championship. The athlete nevertheless attended the tournament as a fan, as he decided that watching rivals from the side would help him next season. In addition, at the invitation of NBC, he commentated on the women's short program.

Weir worked with choreographer David Wilson to direct the programs for the next season. He will take part in the Grand Prix stages in Russia and Japan.

Personal life

In addition to Russian, Weir knows French and Japanese. He is interested in fashion design and has modeled and appeared in fashion magazines. The figure skater designed costumes not only for his performances, but also for dancers Melissa Gregory and Denis Petukhov, as well as for Oksana Baiul, who skated in the ice show. He has admitted that he loves designing because, in his opinion, historically figure skating costumes are "crazy, over the top, pompous and sparkling."

There are rumors about Weir's possible homosexual orientation, which he does not confirm, but partly provokes himself, for example, calling himself a "princess" or being photographed in a miniskirt and high-heeled shoes for BlackBook magazine. According to Weir himself, the rumors were born because of his short program The Swan to the music of Camille Saint-Saens "The Swan", which he skated in the 2005-2006 season, music that is traditionally used in women's ballet. The swan Weyr costume and bright red gauntlet were later parodied in Blades of Glory: Stars on Ice (2007), where one of the main characters appears as a peacock.

Documentary film company Idea Factory filmed documentary dedicated to this skater - "Pop Star on Ice" (eng. Pop Star on Ice), which was filmed from 2006 to the spring of 2008. It premiered on May 24, 2009 at the Seattle International Film Festival. In December of the same year, the film was shown on the Sundance Channel. Its creators are filming a television series about Weir, which is scheduled to air on the Sundance Channel in 2010. Weir has previously appeared on television: he participated in the reality show Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List, where he taught the main character how to skate.

The skater usually spends his free time with his family - his parents and brother Brian, who is four years younger than him.

Johnny Weir is a three-time US figure skating champion in singles. To fans of this sport, he is known primarily for his outrageous costumes, artistry and style that is different from other skaters.

Not only is his style so graceful and plastic that any girl would envy, but Johnny Weir also, contrary to most of his colleagues, jumps and rotates clockwise. The American Figure Skating Association and Skating Magazine have twice declared him the winner of Readers' Choice Skater of the Year. However, this title is nothing compared to the fact that in 2010 the International Astronomical Union assigned the name of this athlete to the minor planet 12413 Johnnyweir.

Once he admitted that, while riding, he was leaving for his own dream world. And in his world there are only clouds, sparkles and the smell of French perfume Chanel No. 5. His world, perhaps, is the same as himself: brilliant, airy, fragrant. Weir's relationship with the world of sports developed in some magical way, which, however, is not at all surprising for such an airy-unpredictably-sudden person like Johnny.

John Garvin Weir was born on July 2, 1984 in the small American town of Coatesville, Pennsylvania. I became interested in figure skating at the age of eleven, which is quite late for those who want to practice, and even more so, devote their lives to this sport. Before that, little Johnny was quite successfully involved in equestrian sports, participated in various competitions, in a word, rode horses well. And in 1994, I suddenly decided that it would be nice to try skating. The inspiration came to Weir after the performance of Oksana Baiul, which the boy saw during the broadcast of the figure skating tournament at the Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway. Inspired by the performance of the Ukrainian athlete, Johnny decided that mastering this most beautiful sport is urgent. But the future champion did not have skates.

Ingenuity and resourcefulness are the main difference between children and adults. These are the very qualities that sometimes make a very young person successful and successful, and provide him with a bright life and a bright future. Neither a pragmatic mind nor a rational approach can sometimes cope with such complex tasks as building one's own happiness and creating inner harmony.

Nimble Johnny decided to master the jumps, training in the basement of his house on roller skates. When the young Weir received long-awaited skates as a gift from his parents, the field behind the house became a training ground for him, frozen in winter. Thus began the career of perhaps the most unusual skater of our time.

Horses, of course, had to be forgotten. The parents of a promising athlete could not pay for both equestrian sports and figure skating at the same time. Later, Johnny had to not only leave his partner Jody Rudden and go to single skating but also drop out of university.

As it turned out, all the sacrifices were not in vain. Within a week of training under the guidance of coach Priscilla Hill, Weir learned to jump the Axel, which is considered to be the most difficult jump in figure skating.

The sports career of John Garvin Weir can be graphically depicted as the drawing for the paragraph "Harmonic vibrations" in the textbook " Physical foundations mechanics". Victories were followed by defeats, successes by failures, injuries by recovery; and the bronze medal of the World Championship for today remains highest achievement Johnny on ice arena. However, Weir constantly aspired to be not only an athlete, but also an actor. At the same time, being an artist is much more important for Weir than a figure skater. Yes, in sports he is ambitious, but at the same time, he treats any injury and failure as an opportunity to take a sabbatical and rediscover himself. What he did after the Olympic Games in Vancouver, where he became only the sixth. Johnny skipped the next season after the Olympics, spending it writing his memoir Welcome to My World and recording the single Dirty Love.

Weir is an avid Russophile. Johnny never tires of repeating that he admires and idolizes Russian culture and art. He studied with a teacher in order to learn to speak and read in Russian. From the age of five he has been in love with Russia. He always carries with him a small collection of Pushkin's poems, revises the masterpiece of Soviet cinema "Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears", listens to songs performed by Alla Pugacheva, is not indifferent to the work of Sergei Lazarev. He loves chicken pies, black caviar, and often discusses bags and fur coats with his elderly girlfriends, as well as how to properly prepare Olivier salad.

Yes, the skater's girlfriends are elderly Russian ladies. Why are they his best friends? Yes, because Johnny, by his own admission, is an elderly Russian woman at heart. This "woman" idolizes Evgeni Plushenko, Irina Slutskaya, Svetlana Khorkina, collects Cheburashki and calls Moscow her favorite city, without being cunning at all. After all, it is unlikely that the deceiver will be awarded the “For Love of Russia” award. Weir confirms his bright feeling for our country not only in conversations with journalists and fans, but also during performances.

Not only does the athlete try not to miss a single stage of the Grand Prix in Russia, but he also wins the audience's appreciation by performing to the romance "I will never forget you!" After all of the above, it is not difficult to guess that John Weir trained under the guidance of Galina Zmievskaya, the former mentor of Oksana Baiul, who at one time became a guiding star for Weir.

Zmievskaya completely changed the regime and image of the skater, his approach to training, and the style of skating, which many spectators, colleagues, judges and other experts called feminine. However, not only his behavior on the ice, but also his "unsportsmanlike" manners are very elegant and refined. In figure skating, he loves shiny, sparkling, extravagant costumes, and in his free time from training and performances, he is fond of clothing design: he makes sketches and patterns of outfits that only a daredevil like Johnny himself can wear (Melissa Gregory, Denis Petukhov wore them , and Weir's muse is Oksana Baiul).

The American loves to demonstrate his beauty by participating in photo shoots for fashion magazines, the most famous of which was the one where Johnny stood in front of the camera lenses in a miniskirt and elegant women's high-heeled shoes. That issue of BlackBook magazine instantly disappeared from store shelves and newsstands.

Such a versatile person: an athlete by profession, a part-time model and designer, a Russophile who also speaks French and Japanese, must be different from others to the very end.

In December 2011, Johnny Weir married an American lawyer of Russian origin, Viktor Voronov. Despite the fact that Weir's homosexuality was so obvious for quite some time, the athlete carefully denied rumors about it. In this case, for the most part, the audience, cruel and loving to criticize earthly stars, can be justified, given the famous photos in the BlackBook and the no less famous short program to the music of Camille Saint-Saens "The Swan" - perhaps one of the most popular compositions used in women's ballet.

Outrageous athlete and his chosen one tied the knot on New Year's Eve. The three-time US champion shared such good news with the general public on his Twitter. “Finally married!” Weir was laconic, but definitely happy.

Young people met about five years ago in New York. Victor had no idea about his new acquaintance, and after separation due to the forced departure of Voronov to Atlanta, the young people realized that, contrary to all existing norms, they were far from each other - they were not subject to them.

“Victor embodies everything that I was looking for in a person with whom I would always like to be close,” Johnny wrote in his microblog a few days after the magical New Year's Eve, “I am now married, I am very happy! Life in sin is over."

Victor, like Johnny, does not hide his emotions, calling his chosen one the most amazing and wonderful person, and arguing that a serious lawyer will never be bored next to him.

It is a pity that the unusual lovers did not have a magnificent celebration. Rumor has it that Johnny and Victor wanted to legitimize their relationship so much that they did not waste time preparing for the ceremony, and this is not a one-day affair. To "live in sin" again would be sheer torment for such vulnerable natures. The solemn ceremony was attended only by the parents of those who swore love and fidelity. Johnny's mom was crying. But not when her son spoke such touching words to Victor standing opposite him, about trust, devotion, wealth and poverty, health and disease. She cried when she heard from her son that he was a homosexual. Not because she was ashamed of him, she wanted everything to be like everyone else, she wanted grandchildren. And because she blamed herself. She thought that her gay son was her mistake.

The honeymoon, unlike the wedding ceremony, went according to all the rules, the couple went to the Dominican Republic, to enjoy the sea, sun and white sand. Perhaps, only in such places, you stop taking various things seriously, and maybe even everything. It is by this principle that John Garvin Weir-Voronov lives. In Johnny's opinion, taking something too seriously is bad. Yes, the athlete admits that he is strange, yes he loves to have fun, despite the fact that figure skating is an old sport in which traditions rule the ball.

The most eccentric figure skater in history and the main Russophile of America, Johnny, is not at all embarrassed by all this. Although Weir announced the end professional career He is not going to stop doing what he loves. Outlandish and bright ex-athlete, plans to perform in ice shows, and for the duration of the Olympics in Sochi will become a colleague Russian tennis player Maria Sharapova. Surrounded by a Russian beauty and recent Olympic figure skaters Tara Lipinski and Tanith Belbin, Johnny will work as a commentator for NBC, the official North American broadcaster of the 2014 Games.

I'm an angel, just wings in the wash

Dear readers, I present to your attention Johnny Weir!

Johnny Weir is an American figure skater who competes in single skating, three-time US figure skating champion. As of June 2011, he is ranked 28th in the ISU International Skating Union ranking. In accordance with the ISU results table, in 1997-2010. Johnny has won 27 medals in 51 competitions, including 13 medals in the last four seasons.
Johnny Weir is known for his artistry, fancy costumes and plastic, graceful skating. It is quite popular in the USA, as well as in Russia, Japan, Korea and China. Twice, in 2008 and 2010, the American Figure Skating Association and Skating Magazine declared him the winner of Readers' Choice: Skater of the Year. This prize is given annually to American figure skaters whose performance in the previous season was considered the most outstanding by figure skating enthusiasts. Minor planet 12413 Johnnyweir was named after the skater by the International Astronomical Union in 2010.

Biography.

Johnny Weir was born July 2, 1984 in Coatsville, Pennsylvania to John and Patti Weir, graduated with honors from Newark High School and studied linguistics at the University of Delaware by correspondence. As a child, he went in for equestrian sports and participated in horse riding competitions, and became interested in figure skating only at the age of 11, extremely late by modern standards (usually athletes begin to ride at 3-4 years old). In 1994, Weir saw on TV the performance of figure skater Oksana Baiul at the 17th Winter Olympics. The skating of Oksana, who then received a gold medal, made a great impression on the boy, and he decided to try jumping on his own, doing roller-skating in the basement. When his parents bought Johnny figure skates, he began training on the frozen field behind his house. In the end, he was sent to paid classes in a group at the University of Delaware. The parents secretly hoped that the local hockey team would be interested in their son, but Johnny skated alone and drew figures on the ice. Coach Priscilla Hill noticed his talent and began to train personally, and within a week Weir learned to jump the Axel, the most difficult jump in figure skating. Johnny's family soon moved to Newark to live closer to the coach and the rink.
His parents couldn't afford to spend money on both figure skating and horseback riding, so Weir decided to leave his pony and concentrate on figure skating. He originally skated with Jodi Rudden, but eventually switched to singles. He also dropped out of university to devote himself to sports.

Johnny won his first World Junior Championships in 2001: having skated cleanly in all three programs (qualification, short and free), he won the gold medal from another American, Evan Lysacek. Technically, both athletes showed about the same level, but of all the skaters who competed, Weir received the highest marks for artistry. Thus, for the first time since 1987, the United States took the first two places on the junior podium. In the same season, Weir finished sixth at the US Championships and fourth at the Four Continents Championships, the equivalent of the European Championships for non-European countries (he lost to Canadian Jeffrey Battle, Japanese figure skater Takeshi Honda and Chinese Gao Song). This was the first and only time in Weir's career that he competed in this competition. Almost the entire next season (2002-2003) the athlete missed due to injury. At the 2003 National Championships, during the free program, Weir hit the side of the rink, started the performance again, but immediately injured his knee due to an unsuccessful landing after a triple Axel, after which he withdrew from the competition.

The 2003-2004 season was a turning point in Johnny's career. He was selected for the US Championships (2004), where he received his first 6.0 in the free skate and took first place, becoming the youngest champion since Todd Eldridge. At the World Championships, Weir finished fifth, losing to such rivals as Evgeni Plushenko, Brian Joubert, Stefan Lindemann and Stephane Lambiel. All this time he continued to train with Priscilla Hill, first at the University of Delaware in Newark, then they moved to the Pond Ice arena in the same city. In addition, from 2003 to 2005, Weir consulted with Russian coach Tatyana Tarasova every summer, visiting her at the Figure Skating Center in Simsbury, Connecticut. Tarasova helped direct the short program Valse Triste ("Sad Waltz") to music by Jean Sibelius; short and free programs of the 2004-2005 season Rondo Capriccioso (“Rondo Capriccioso”) to the music of Camille Saint-Saens and Otonal Raul li Blasio; programs of the 2005-2006 season Amazonic + Hana's Eyes + Wonderland by Maxim Mrvitsa and the famous The Swan ("Swan") Camille Saint-Saens, which the skater called his favorite program.

The following season (2004-2005), Johnny successfully performed in the Grand Prix series in figure skating, which consists of several stages in different countries. He won the Japanese NHK Trophy and finished second at the Trophée Eric Bompard in France. According to ISU rules, the skaters who score the most points in the two stages of the Grand Prix are selected for the final, but they also receive points only for two stages. Nevertheless, Weir went to the third stage of the "Russian Cup" for himself and took second place behind the Russian Evgeni Plushenko. At the 2005 U.S. Championships, the figure skater, who competed for a medal with Olympic bronze medalist Timothy Gable and his peer Evan Lysacek, skated the free skate almost flawlessly and received five 6.0 marks for artistry, winning gold for the second time in the United States. Technical marks were also high - 5.8 and 5.9. Evan Lysacek took "silver", but in subsequent years it is on Weir's rivalry with this skater that the main intrigue of the national championships will be built. At the World Championships in Moscow, he became the fourth, still not performing a four-turn jump. “Quadruple in our time is an integral part of men's figure skating, and I understand that I must do it,” the skater explained. "I'll include it [in the program] when I'm ready." He won the audience's demonstration performances, performing a lyrical program to the romance "I will never forget you" from the rock opera "Juno and Avos" by Russian composer Alexei Rybnikov.

The next two seasons (2005-2006 and 2006-2007) developed in such a way that Johnny Weir began to be perceived as a “short program skater”: it repeatedly turned out that after an excellent performance in the short program, he nullified all the advantage over his rivals with numerous mistakes in the free program , and lost the opportunity to take a high place on the podium.

The 2005-2006 season was not easy for Johnny. At the Skate Canada Grand Prix stage (2005), he took only seventh place, since at the very beginning of the short program he sprained his ankle, and at the Russian Cup he became third after Plushenko and Stefan Lambiel. At the US Championships, he again became the first, despite a miscalculation in the free program: Weir made four combinations of jumps, while only three are allowed under the new rules (this season the old system of scoring on a six-point scale was abolished and a new judging system came into effect ). However, a good performance in the short program and a significant lead on points compensated for this tactical miscalculation and mistake on the triple axel. Thanks to the victory at the national championship, he automatically entered the national team for the Winter Olympic Games in Turin and the World Championships in Calgary. At the Olympics, the Americans had high hopes for him. The skater was second after the short program and followed Evgeni Plushenko, but due to the lack of a quadruple jump, and also due to missing one of the jumps in the free program, he ended up only fifth. At the World Championships, in the absence of Plushenko, Weir had a chance to win a medal, but finished seventh, making a large number of errors in the free program - in particular, after a quad, he landed on two feet and then fell from a triple flip. The skater explained that all week he was tormented by "spasms in the back" and although he "really wanted to do a quadruple, but the body simply did not obey."

In the 2006-2007 season, Olympic ice dancing champion Marina Anisina worked as choreographer for Johnny Weir. She helped direct the short program King of Chess and the free program Child of Nazareth to music by Maxim Rodriguez. In the Grand Prix series in figure skating, Weir was the winner at the stages in Canada and Russia, but in the final in St. Petersburg he was forced to withdraw from the competition as a result of a hip injury after a fall. At the US Championships, after a successful performance in the short program, he became the second, although he was slightly behind Evan Lysacek on points. In the free program, he unsuccessfully performed a triple Axel, fell from a triple loop, and after a quadruple toe loop, he landed on two feet and, ultimately, took third place. Weir later clarified that he was very upset with his second place after the short program:
“It was my best performance of the season, and I was still ranked below Lysacek. It became clear that I could not win, even if I skated cleanly in the free program. So the mood for the free program was not the best, because I was not sure of winning even with a 100% clean performance.
At the World Championships, the skater took only eighth place.

After the failures of the last season, Johnny decided to leave coach Priscilla Hill. In the summer of 2007, he moved from Newark to Lyndhurst, New Jersey and began training under Galina Zmievskaya, Oksana Baiul's former mentor. Zmievskaya is assisted by Viktor Petrenko, who also works as an ISU technical controller.
Explaining the breakup with the coach, Johnny noted that he became friends with Priscilla, and if the skater wants to "work and be the best, there should be no friendship":
Last season, Priscilla and I treated each other not as student and coach. We were friends, and that makes the job difficult. And I decided that something needs to be changed ... I discussed my plans with Russian skaters and with my friends. Of course, I discussed this with Marina Anissina, because she is one of my best friends. And she said that Galina Zmievskaya is a good choice. She will be able to get me to work, and yet we will not have friendly relations… And, of course, the fact that Viktor [Petrenko] will be around and as an ISU tech can help with element levels and everything else will be very helpful.
Weir, whose style of riding was often described as feminine, decided to make his image more masculine. She and Galina Zmievskaya completely changed the regime, the image of the skater and the approach to training, in particular, they decided to include the quadruple jump in the programs.
“My new program will have a quadruple jump,” Weir commented, “although I… do it only because it is considered almost the norm for men's figure skating. As for me, the quadruple is a very difficult jump, many people often make mistakes when performing it. And a fall can ruin a program that is perfect in every way.”

New season (2007-2008) Johnny had a very good time. At the 2007 Cup of China Grand Prix, he defeated Lysacek with eight jumps in the free program, including a triple Axel combo. He raised his own personal record, set three years ago, by almost 6 points. In an interview after the performance, Weir said that he had never felt so comfortable on the ice. At the Cup of Russia, he also won gold, ahead of Stefan Lambiel and Russian Andrey Gryazev. Two gold medals at the Grand Prix stages ensured Weir a place in the final, but an old leg injury aggravated during the performances, so the skater fell in the short and then in the free program, and took fourth place.
At the 2008 US Nationals, Weir had a 1.35 lead over Lysacek after the short program. In the free program, he performed a quadruple sheepskin coat with a small mistake and scored more points for jumps and program components, while Lysacek turned out to be better in spins and skating, so in the free program he outperformed his opponent by exactly the same number of points (1.35). By points, a draw was obtained, but according to ISU rules, the gold medal in this case goes to the skater who won the free program, so Lysacek became the US champion, and Weir came second. At the World Championships in Gothenburg, where Lysacek missed due to an injury, Weir skated one of the best short programs of his career, improved his personal best and finished second behind Jeffrey Battle. In the free program, he performed less confidently (in his own words, he was nervous) and was only fifth, but in terms of the total results he became third and won his first world championship medal - bronze. Gold was taken by Geoffrey Battle, who ended his amateur career after this season, and silver was taken by Brian Joubert.

Weir started the 2008-2009 season by winning a silver medal at Skate America in October 2008. Despite a bad cold and a constant cough, the athlete also finished second at the NHK Trophy, so he was selected for the Grand Prix final, where he won a bronze medal in December 2008. Gold went to his peer and teammate, American Jeremy Abbott, and silver went to young Japanese figure skater Takahiko Kozuke. In winter, Weir participated in a charity ice show in Korea with Korean figure skater Kim Young Ah. Due to a gastrointestinal infection, he ended up in the hospital and spent several days on a drip, so preparations for the US Championships were disrupted. In the competition, Weir only landed a triple Axel once, fell off a triple flip in the free skate, and only finished in fifth place, the lowest since 2002. Thus, he did not get into the US team for the 2009 World Cup, although he hoped that the national federation would make an exception for him as for the winner of the last championship. The athlete nevertheless attended the tournament as a fan, as he decided that watching rivals from the side would help him next season. In addition, at the invitation of NBC, he commentated on the women's short program.

Staging programs for the next season, Johnny worked with choreographer David Wilson. The figure skater took part in the Grand Prix stages in Russia (Rostelecom Cup) and Japan (NHK Trophy). At the Rostelecom Cup, Weir finished in fourth place with double jumps in the short and free skates instead of several triple jumps, but won silver at the NHK Trophy two weeks later. This allowed him to qualify for the Tokyo Grand Prix Final where he won the bronze medal with 237.35 points. The athlete successfully completed most of the jump elements and improved his personal record of the season. He was overtaken by teammate Evan Lysacek and Japan's Nobunari Oda, who finished first and second respectively.
Weir finished third at the 2010 U.S. Championships in Spokane, where he became the focus of an animal rights conflict. Weir used fox fur in his costume for the performance and was criticized for this by animal rights groups Friends of Animals and PETA, who expressed surprise that a man who has become a model for many makes a show out of animal suffering. Johnny initially stated that he would be ditching the fox suit during his Olympic appearance in favor of faux fur, as his agent was getting threatening letters and faxes and Weir was afraid that animal rights activists would ruin him. Olympic performance. However, he did not change his mind about his right to wear fur, explaining that he is fully aware of all the “dirt in the fur industry and how terrible it is for animals”, but solving this problem is not a priority in his life:
“I totally get the dirtiness of the fur industry and how terrible it is to animals. But it's not something that's the No. 1 priority in my life".
Johnny later changed his mind, returning to the real fur suit, explaining his change of mind by saying that he "didn't like fake fur". For this reason, at the Olympics, the athlete had to live not in a hotel, as he originally planned, but in Olympic Village He wasn't sure of his own safety.
At the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, after the short program, Johnny was in sixth place with 82.10 points. Despite a successful performance in the free program and cleanly executed jumps, sixth place in the short would, at best, allow him to qualify for the bronze. Ultimately, Weir was sixth overall with his own career-best score of 238.87 points. Olympic champion became his rival Evan Lysacek. The famous American figure skater Carol Heiss assessed Weir's skating as follows:
“Well, Johnny performed one of the best programs in life. If this is the end, he can leave the sport with his head held high, but… connecting elements, ribs, turns and footwork… weren’t as good as Lysacek or Takahashi.”.
After the end of the season, during March-April 2010, Weir managed to prepare and demonstrate at various shows two new demonstration programs - for the Lady Gaga song "Bad Romance" and for the piano composition by Richard Clayderman.

In July 2010, after several months of deliberation, Johnny went on record saying that he would miss the 2010-2011 season, but hoped to "rediscover himself as an athlete and entertainer" and possibly return to big sport in the 2011-2012 season.
“I want to create a new image for myself so that when I return to competition I can skate in a unique and inspiring way… I have even chosen the music for my next competition program and I am already dreaming about costumes. While my eyes are on so many different projects, I will never forget the Sochi 2014 Olympics. It is a dream for me to take part in the Olympic Games in Russia”,- says the official press release. At the same time, a number of observers and journalists believe that the 2009-2010 season was the last, and Weir will be engaged in other projects.
On January 11, 2011, Johnny Weir's memoir Welcome to My World was published by Gallery Books. He also released his own single Dirty Love under Unique Records.

Achievements.

Season 1996-1997
4th place 1997 US Junior Olympics
1st place 1997 South Atlantic Juvenile Regionals

Season 1997-1998
1st place 1998 North American Challenge Skate
2nd place 1998 Triglav Trophy
3rd place 1998 US Novice Championship (Philadelphia, USA)
1st place 1997 Eastern Sectional, Novice
1st place 1997 South Atlantic Novice Regional

Season 1998-1999
6th place 1999 Gardena Spring Trophy
4th place 1999 US Junior Championships (Salt Lake City, USA)
1st place 1999 Eastern Junior Sectionals
1st place 1998 Grand Prize SNP (Banska Bystra, Slovakia)
7th place 1998 USFSA World Junior Team Selection

Season 1999-2000
5th place 2000 US Junior Championships (Cleveland, USA)
1st place 2000 Junior Eastern Sectional
2nd place 1999 Piruetten (Hamar, Norway)
7th place 1999 Czech Skate (Ostrava, Czech Republic)

Season 2000-2001
1st place 2001 Junior World Championship (Sofia, Bulgary)
6th place 2001 USA Championship (Boston, USA)
1st place 2001 Eastern Sectionals
2nd place 2000 JGP Harbin (Junior Grand Prix, Harbin, China)
1st place 2000 Mid-Atlantic Regional (senior competition, short program only)
6th place 2000 Grand Prix de St. Gervais (Junior Grand Prix, St. Gervais, France)
2nd place 2000 Wissahickon Skating Competition

Season 2001-2002
1st place 2001 Hershey's Kisses Figure Skating Classics
4th place 2002 Four Continents (Seoul, Korea)
5th place 2002 USA Championship (Los Angeles, USA)
4th place 2001 Tropee Lalique (Grand Prix Stage, Paris, France)
7th place 2001 Skate Canada (Grand Prix, Saskatoon, Canada)
10th place 2001 Goodwill Games (Brisbane, Australia)

Season 2002-2003
starred 2002 US Championship
starred 2001 NHK Trophy (Japan Grand Prix)
withdrew 2001 Cup of Russia (Grand Prix stage)

Season 2003-2004
3rd place 2004 Marshalls World Skating Challenge
5th place 2004 World Championship (Dortmund, Germany)
1st place 2004 US Championship (Atlanta, USA)
1st place 2003 Eastern Sectional, Senior
2nd place 2003 Finlandia Trophy (Helsinki, Finland)
1st place 2003 Mid-Atlantic Regionals1st place 2003 Eastern Sectionals

Season 2004-2005
2nd place 2005 Marhsall's Spring Invitational
4th place 2005 World Championship (Moscow, Russia)
1st place 2005 US Championship (Portland, USA)
4th place 2004 Marshall's World Cup of Figure Skating (Auburn Hills, USA)
2nd place 2004 Cup of Russia (Moscow, Russia)
1st place 2004 Trophee Eric Bombard (Paris, France)
1st place 2004 NHK Trophy (Nagoya, Japan)
4th place 2004 Campbell's Figure Skating Classics (New York, USA)

Season 2005-2006
7th place 2006 World Championship (Calgary, Canada)
5th place 2006 Olympic Games (Turin, Italy)
1st place 2006 USA Championship (St. Louis, USA)
3rd place 2005 Cup of Russia (St. Petersburg, Russia)
7th place 2005 MasterCard Skate Canada (St. John, Canada)
4th place 2005 Campbell's Figure Skating Classics (St. Paul, USA)
4th place 2005 Saishunkan Pharmaceutical Japan International Challenge (Tokyo, Japan)

Season 2006-2007
8th place 2007 World Championship
3rd place 2007 US Championship
withdrew 2006 Grand Prix Final (withdrew after short)
2nd place 2006 Russian Cup (Grand Prix stage)
3rd place 2006 Skate Canada (Grand Prix stage)
1st place 2006 Campbell's Cup (Team event) - 1st

Season 2007-2008
3rd place 2008 World Championship
2nd place 2008 US Championship (tied total points for two programs with Evan Lysacek)
4th place 2007 Grand Prix Final
1st place 2007 Cup of Russia (Grand Prix stage)
1st place 2007 China Cup (Grand Prix stage)
1st place 2007 International Counter Match (team competition)

Season 2008-2009
5th place USA Championship
3rd place Grand Prix Final
2nd place NHK Trophy (Grand Prix stage)
2nd place Skate America (Grand Prix stage)

Season 2009-2010
6th place Olympic Games
3rd place USA Championship
3rd place Grand Prix Final
2nd place NHK Trophy
4th place Cup of Russia

Personal life.

Johnny Weir considers himself a Russophile and says he admires the Russian school of figure skating and Russian culture. He learned to speak and read Russian on his own, and for some time studied with a professional teacher. The skater collects Cheburashkas, and he has two Chihuahua dogs at home, one of which is called Vanya. Weir regularly takes part in the Grand Prix stages in Russia, calling Moscow his favorite city. In December 2007, he took part in the "Ice Show of Two Capitals", which was simultaneously held in Moscow and St. Petersburg, and in the same year he was awarded the "For Love of Russia" award.
In addition to Russian, Johnny knows French and Japanese. He is interested in fashion design and has modeled and appeared in fashion magazines. The figure skater designed costumes not only for his performances, but also for dancers Melissa Gregory and Denis Petukhov, as well as for Oksana Baiul, who skated in the ice show. He has admitted that he loves designing because, in his opinion, historically figure skating costumes are "crazy, over the top, pompous and sparkling."

In January 2011, in an interview with People magazine, Johnny admitted to being gay, saying that since childhood he was aware of his homosexuality and always accepted himself for who he is. The athlete has long denied rumors about this, provoked partly by his own words and actions (for example, photos in a miniskirt and high-heeled shoes for BlackBook magazine), and partly by his inherent riding style. Canadian figure skating commentators at the Vancouver Olympics (2010) made derogatory remarks on this subject: in particular, they expressed the opinion that his “graceful manners” were “to the detriment of the sport” and that the athlete should compete in women's category for which they were later forced to apologize. According to Weir himself, the short program of the 2005-2006 season to the music of Camille Saint-Saens "The Swan" caused the greatest public outcry - music that is traditionally used in women's ballet. The swan Weyr costume and bright red gauntlet were later parodied in Blades of Glory: Stars on Ice (2007), where one of the main characters appears as a peacock.

The documentary film company Idea Factory produced a documentary about the figure skater, Pop Star on Ice, which was filmed from 2006 to the spring of 2008. It premiered on May 24, 2009 at the Seattle Film Festival. In December of the same year, the film was shown on the Sundance Channel. It focuses on Weir as a young athlete who won his first major title at 16 but then fell short of expectations at the 2006 Olympics, and Johnny's relationship with coach Priscilla Hill. Weir has previously appeared on television: he participated in the reality show Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List, where he taught the main character how to skate. The filmmakers made a television series about Johnny, which was broadcast on the Sundance Channel in the winter and spring of 2010. The series is called Be Good Johnny Weir. It is dedicated to the athlete's training with Galina Zmievskaya, his life in everyday life, rivalry with figure skater Evan Lysacek. The last episode aired in June 2010. Filming continues for the second season, which will be broadcast in the summer of 2011.

The skater usually spends his free time with his family - his parents and brother Brian, who is four years younger than him.

Johnny about himself.

Favorite…
…songs: "Because of You" (Kelly Clarkson); "Like It or Not" (Madonna); "Beautiful", "Fighter", "Dirrty", "The Voice Within" (Christina Aguilera); "Cry Me a River" (Justin Timberlake); "You're Beautiful" (James Blunt).
...singers: Justin Timberlake, James Blunt.
...singers: Christina Aguilera, Madonna, Kelly Clarkson.
…groups: "Tatu", Maroon 5, Black Eyed Peas.
…movies: "Lord of the Rings", "Moulin Rouge", "Bodyguard", "Pianist", "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg".
...actors: Orlando Bloom, Adrien Brody, Ewan McGregor.
...actresses: Nicole Kidman, Cate Blanchett, Sarah Jessica Parker.
…writer: Lev Tolstoy.
…colors: pale blue, black.
…souvenir: Cheburashka.
…food: pancakes, black caviar, strawberries.
…designers: Balenciaga, Louis Vuitton, Fendi, John Galliano, Roberto Cavalli, Dior.
…models: Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss, Natalia Vodianova.
…countries: Russia, Norway, Japan, France.
…cities: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Boston, New York, Tokyo, Oslo, Paris, Budapest.
…athletes: Evgeni Plushenko, Alexei Yagudin, Alexei Nemov.
...athletes: Irina Slutskaya, Sasha Cohen, Maria Sharapova, Svetlana Khorkina.
…commands: Totmyanina / Marinin, Boston Red Sox, Gordeeva / Grinkov, Anisina / Peizera, Berezhnaya / Sikharulidze.
…quotes:
“You will never be comfortable, you will always doubt: “It will work, will it not work?”. This is the essence of the artist,” Justin Timberlake.
"He stood on the shore of desert waves, he was full of great thoughts," - Alexander Pushkin.
"Everything, everything that I understand, I understand only because I love" - Leo Tolstoy.

On not wanting to be liked by everyone:
There are people who love you and there are people who hate you, and there's nothing I can do about it. I just ride for you 4.5 minutes and you can make up your mind about me.

On her reputation as a diva:
I don't think I'm a diva. I don't think I have the right to behave like this at all. I like things to be my way. And if that means being a diva… well, sorry! You need to stick to your plan and do what makes you happy. And sometimes get into an argument with others. It doesn't matter who it is - a producer, a judge, a coach. You have to do what you believe in. Be strong enough to say, "Stop! I'll do it like this, and you can support me or de-support me, but I'll do it my way."

About boredom:
Of course, I get tired of figure skating. Sometimes you don't want to get up and go to the rink. I don't want to work. I don't want to count calories every day. But it's the same with every job. But I do what makes me happy. And if I get bored, I'll just wait it out, take a little break. And I will start working again.

About honesty:
If I said something, then I will not back down from this opinion. I was brought up like that. And often it breaks through at press conferences. But I will not go back on my words. After all, I'm not a puppy to be admired by everyone.

About my character:
I'm a little pretentious, a little arrogant. But at the same time, I am kind and always support my loved ones: my family, the people with whom I have relationships.

About relationships, victims, struggle:
There are things that I struggle with all my life. I have been in a relationship for two years, it is long and requires some effort. I did not see my relatives, and it was very difficult. I don't see my brother: I didn't see how he grew up, how he went to high school. And all because of figure skating. You constantly have to think only about being healthy, not injuring yourself, eating right.
A perfect example is Oksana Baiul. Everyone liked the thin Ukrainian girl who won the Olympics. And everyone immediately forgot about her, because she missed the World Cup due to injury. The only time she was noticed was when she had an accident. And even then they wrote only that she was drunk. When you fall out of sight, nobody cares if you're alive at all.

About love for Russia:
I am a Russophile. I love American skaters, Japanese skaters. And I love all Russians. I train at the rink with Tatyana Tarasova. When she speaks to me in Russian, I answer in English. Or I try to answer in Russian, and it always makes her terribly happy.
I can write Russian quite well and understand a lot. My spoken Russian is not flawless, there are so many sounds and combinations in this language that are different from English. But I'm trying. It's good that people around me don't know how much I understand...
I have been interested in Russian history and culture ever since I learned to read. My parents haven't quite thawed since the Cold War, so it wasn't passed down to me from them. I found a book in Cyrillic in the library and learned to write in Russian before I could write in English.
I have always been fascinated by the secrets of Russia and amazed at how people become stronger because of adversity. Becoming an athlete, I focused on the best, and in figure skating it's the Russians. I admire their attitude to work and style.
I remember a phrase from the book by trainer Alexei Mishin: "A hunting dog runs faster on an empty stomach", I think the same way. If you have everything, you want nothing, and if you have nothing, you want everything. Russia inspires me, it helped me become a better skater and appreciate what I have.

October 2, 2015, 15:11

Johnny Weir - American figure skater, junior world champion in 2001, world championship bronze medalist in 2008. Best result at the Olympic Games - 5th place in Turin, 6th - in Vancouver, where he was severely judged ((

Born in Pennsylvania in 1984. As a child, he went in for equestrian sports, but he saw the performance of Oksana Baiul at the 1994 Olympics and decided to go in for figure skating. I started training at a small ice rink with a house at the age of 11, which is very, very late for professional skaters (usually they start at 4-5).

In 2011, he won the World Junior Championship against Evan Lysacek, with whom he would later compete all his life for leadership in the American team.

Johnny loves Russia very much, Russian figure skating, speaks our language perfectly)) He has two dogs: Tema and Vanya

IN last years before the Olympics in Vancouver, he went to train with the Russian coach Galina Zmeevskaya, who coached in America.

Here is what Johnny himself says about the coach, the situation during the Olympics and the rivalry with Lysacek in an interview with Elena Vaitsekhovskaya:

– Has such a pronounced commitment to everything Russian ever created problems for you?

- Certainly. It started back when I was skating with Priscilla Hill. In 2001, I won the junior world championship and at the same time for the first time I saw how Zhenya Plushenko competed at the adult world championship in Vancouver. In the short program, he skated a Bolero - in a velvet red suit trimmed with gold embroidery, with long hair, which also cast gold ... It was so beautiful that I somehow immediately realized that I wanted to ride this way. I began to try to work more expressively on the ice, especially with my hands, and pretty soon I heard from the coach that it would be nice if my skating was more “American” and not “ballet”.

The second incident took place in Turin. Tanya Totmyanina gave me her sports jacket with the inscription “Russia” there for good luck. I didn't get out of it. I also did this because I really didn’t like the official uniform of the US team. Between us, she was terrible.

I did not respond to claims from our officials. Well, yes, I was lucky enough to become the champion of my country, they gave me the opportunity to go to the Olympics, but this did not mean that a place in the team automatically makes me the property of the figure skating federation or Olympic Committee, and that I have to do whatever they want?

Well, things got even worse in Vancouver.

- Was it somehow connected with the fact that you have a Russian coach?

- Rather, with the fact that the main language we had in training was Russian - it was more convenient for Zmievskaya.

It is clear that the American leadership did not like this. To what extent their dislike for me has reached, I realized at my last training session before short program, where not a single person from the US team came. I can't say that it hit me hard, but it was a good indicator.

– How tough was your fight with Evan Lysacek during those years?

- We have always had a difficult relationship - starting from that very junior championship, where I became the first, and Evan - the second. After that, the American press began to constantly try to push us in every possible way. Perhaps the journalists simply wanted to warm up the topic of rivalry, just as it was around Plushenko and Alexei Yagudin. Of course, it was pressing, although I myself did not want to take any part in this at all. I know too well how hard the life of a skater is to allow myself to say nasty things about my opponents. Well, if I got into this mess, you don’t need to dirty it there.

There is no separate video from the Olympics, but here is Johnny at the US Championships in 2010

In 2011, he openly admitted that he was gay. In the same year he married / married a Russian lawyer Viktor Voronov

They divorced last year ((Johnny's heart is now free.

During the Olympic Games in Sochi, he commentated on FC for an American TV channel along with Tara Lipinski ( Olympic champion 1998). They are friends and communicate well in everyday life, they always have very funny photos on social networks. Well, if I were Tara, I would gladly steal Johnny's bags and accessories)))

I am glad that Johnny is very popular in different shows, after all, there are many restrictions and limits in amateur sports. But in the show, Jonnik expresses himself as best he can - some costumes are worth something))

Some recent numbers from the show:

Well, his red carpet costumes are also gorgeous, I must say))

In ordinary life, Johnny also likes to shock

The collection of beach bows also deserves attention:

- Not so long ago, a huge scandal erupted in tennis due to the fact that one of the officials called the Williams sisters - brothers. Would it hurt you to hear "baby Johnny" or something like that?

- Not at all. I am quite an eccentric person, I live in a same-sex marriage and behave accordingly. Not so long ago, Katya Gerboldt and I were walking around Moscow, and suddenly I heard behind me: “Look, look, a man in a fur coat! Yes, he is ... ”And what, should I react to this?

–And do you like to wear high heels?

- No, of course not - legs hurt from heels, and you know this as well as I do. But I am a representative of show business, a public person. I've been working like a damn figure skating for so many years, can't I afford to have a little fun? At the same time, it would never occur to me to walk in heels all the time.

- Are Twitter and Instagram a business necessity or a pleasure?

It seems to me that for all his freakishness, Johnny is a fairly reasonable person, he knows that in this way he is more likely to be in demand in shows and various events. At the same time, he is very open and not evil))