He now fears that he may never be allowed back in the country to see friends and relatives, and to compete at the Sochi games in six months if he makes the U.S. team. [123], At Worlds, Weir came in eighth place, his worst finish at Worlds in four years. The 15-year-old Russian figure skater, who on Monday was ruled eligible for the 2022 Olympics women's singles competition after a positive drug test surfaced last week, finished first in the . His triple Axel was successful, but it was supposed to be part of a two-triple jump combination. He also competed at Cup of Russia a few weeks later in November, even though it was unlikely that he would make it to the Grand Prix final. [234][235][236][237][238][239] Weir and Lipinski appeared on reality shows together and separately. ', "Johnny Weir and Tara Lipinski are Bringing 7 Suitcases to the Kentucky Derby", "Here's What Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir Wore to Kentucky Derby 2018", "Tara Lipinski, Johnny Weir Join NBC's Super Bowl Team", "Johnny Weir is a Eurovision Superfan and It's Paying Off", "Inside Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir's Rise From Olympic Figure Skaters to Beloved Commentators", "MTV 'Cribs' Featuring Greenville Home of Olympic Figure Skater Johnny Weir Airs Wednesday Night", "Johnny Weir Tells Us What He Wants in a Dream Home, and It's So Not What We Expected", "Johnny Weir, Tara Lipinski & Tanith Belbin to Join NBC Olympics in Sochi", "Johnny Weir on Rachel Zoe and Reality TV, His Music, Memoir and Yesterday's All That Skate Show", "Chicago Cubs Celebrate Induction into Inaugural Class of National Gay & Lesbian Sports Hall of Fame Tonight", "Johnny Weir, Sandy Schwomeyer Lamb, Gale Tanger make U.S. Johnny Weir is fluent in Russian, and therefore was able to communicate with Russian figure skaters Kamila Valieva and Alexandra Trusova backstage. The team calling the competition - Lipinski, Johnny Weir and Terry Gannon - have prepared for this. One of his performances included a combined skating routine, "Fallen Angels", skated to Handel's "Sarabande", with ice dance team Melissa Gregory and Denis Petukhov. He became eligible to compete in the Junior Grand Prix during the 19992000 season and won the 2001 Junior World Championship. [221] The Associated Press conjectured that it likely marked the end of Weir's amateur figure skating career. In October 2013, Weir retired from competition and joined NBC as a figure skating analyst at the Sochi Olympics. [124], Weir was not able to successfully defend his title, coming in third overall; Lysacek came in first place, and Bradley came in second place. On top of his ability to speak English, he can also speak French. [78][79] He later reported that the initial reaction to it was laughter and that he told reporters, when they asked about the red glove, that he had named it "Camille", in honor of the piece's composer. Last edited on 27 February 2023, at 10:18, Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Discrimination (GLAAD), Skating technique and influence of Johnny Weir, 200910 Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final, "Johnny Weir - Age, Skating & TV Hosting - Biography", "Johnny Weir, Figure Skater, Comes Out as Gay", "Icebreaker and His Obstacles Eccentric Weir Carries Hopes and Fears of Some in U.S. Skating", "Olympic Figure Skater Johnny Weir Takes Break for Fundraiser", "Johnny Weir's Food Network Wedding Cake Baking Show Begins Season 2", "Johnny Weir Confronts Ghosts of Quarryville Childhood on Reality Show", "2000/2001 ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating Men Standings", "Plus: Figure Skating; U.S. Men Finish First and Second", "ISU World Standing for Figure Skating and Ice Dancing: Men", "Weiss Wins Third U.S. During his interview with CBSNews.com, Weir asked if he could deliver a message in Russian directly to the Russian people; "Hello Russia. He struggled completing a combination spin during his short program and told reporters that he had difficulty with his spins and that he almost tripped during his step sequence. He competed at the 2012 Finlandia Trophy, attempting a quadruple jump in both his short program and free skate for the first time, and coming in fourth place overall. Tuesday, however, when Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva performed after failing a pre-Olympics drug test, they were uncharacteristically quiet. [15] He later said that horse riding had given him body awareness, preparing him for figure skating. [17][83], In October, Weir finished in fourth place at the 2005 Campbell's Classic; he popped both of his triple Axels and earned 114.65 points. Weir has had coaches from Russia and is fluent in the language. Lysacek won the silver medal; it was the first time since Rudy Galindo and Todd Eldredge in 1987 American men came in first and second place. . His footwork was difficult, but as the AP also said, he "appeared to just be going through the motions with it". [160], Despite battling a cold, Weir came in second place at the NHK Trophy, earning a total of 236.18 points. [241], Weir served as Lipinski's "bridesman" at her 2017 wedding to sports producer Todd Kapostasy. His next elements were a circular step sequence and a triple flip "that was lacking in crispness". The 29-year-old former Olympian has wowed NBC viewers with his eye-catching ensembles while working as a commentator in Sochi alongside fellow former skater and close friend Tara Lipinski. What is Johnny Weir doing at the Olympics? [213], In the fall of 2011, Weir began to quietly train for a possible return to competitive skating. Russian figure skating star Kamila Valieva broke into tears after she posted an impressive performance in the women's short skating program in her first appearance since the controversial doping . Johnny Weir has always been deeply involved in the culture and history of . John Garvin Weir [1] ( / wr /; born July 2, 1984) [2] is an American figure skater and television commentator. [26], Weir became eligible to compete in the Junior Grand Prix during the 19992000 season, coming in seventh and second place in his two Junior Grand Prix assignments. Johnny Weir Tara Lipinski Bravo's Style & Living is your window to the fabulous lifestyles of Bravolebrities. He worked with choreographers Faye Kitariev and Viktor Petukhov to compose a Russian rock opera based upon Svetlana Pikous' song, "Yunona I Avos. [71] His "respectable free skate"[72] pulled him up to fourth place. [57], Weir won the NHK Trophy,[25] his first Grand Prix title and the first time he competed under the ISU Judging System (IJS). Her choreographers worked with him, but most of the choreography was developed by Weir and Zmievskaya. [98] According to Variety, Weir's habit of wearing "retro Soviet CCCP sweatshirts" instead of USA clothing during the Olympics angered many U.S. He also doubled a loop jump and singled a flip jump. Out former Olympic figure skater Johnny Weir - who has been commentating this year's Winter Games alongside fellow former Olympian Tara Lipinski - said he cried after covering the performance. [51] He came in fifth place; teammate Michael Weiss came in sixth. [82] His performance and swan costume were parodied in the 2007 comedy Blades of Glory, starring Jon Heder and Will Ferrell. On 30th December of the year 2011, he exchanged vows with his partner Victor Voronov, who is of Russian Jewish descent. He displayed good flow throughout his free skate, which included a triple Axel-triple toe loop combination, six more triple jumps, and good spins. In his free skate, he earned 152.75 points, a new personal best score. [144] He opened his program with a strong triple Axel-triple toe loop combination and underrotated his triple Axel, but successfully completed five more clean triple jumps. Japanese skater Takahiko Kozuka won the gold medal at the event; Lysacek came in third place overall. He came out in early 2011[5] and has been involved with LGBTQ activism. [36] He fell and injured his back, but the referee allowed him to continue where he stopped. [105] Weir toured again with Champions on Ice in-between seasons, his longest tour with them to date; he chose Frank Sinatra's "My Way", "for its obvious symbolism", as his performance number. He joined NBC as a commentator beginning at the Sochi Olympics in 2014. Television commentators would bring up his sexual orientation during his performances, causing him to publicly address homophobic remarks by commentators during the 2010 Olympics. He successfully completed his triple Axel-triple Axel combination at the start of his program and attempted a quadruple toe jump, but he two-footed it and fell on his triple flip at the end of the program, taking him out of medal contention. [119][120] Weir later said that he was embarrassed by his withdrawal, done after "trash-talking"[121] Lysacek for also withdrawing due to an injury. Johnny Weir is fluent in Russian. Weir was praised for being one of the few figure skaters who spoke his mind, even when he knew it would get him in trouble with federation officials and judges. Figure Skating, due to his performances during the season and at the 2006 Olympics, and despite his past successes, began to actively support Lysacek over him. [175] In his free skate, he "started off strong"[181] with a triple flip jump and a triple Axel-triple toe loop combination, but lost stamina. He earned 231.78 points overall,[142] and "significantly beat"[143] his personal best scores. [123] U.S. When Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva performed after failing a pre-Olympics drug test, he was uncharacteristically quiet. Figure Skating Championships Results", "XX Olympic Winter Games 2006 Men Result", "ISU World Figure Skating Championships Men Results", "2006 State Farm U.S. [219] He also did not compete at the 2013 U.S. Nationals, but still hoped to make the U.S. Olympic team in 2014. Russian skater Kamila Valieva is at the center of a doping scandal that's rocked the Beijing Olympics. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. First skater to win U.S. Nationals three times in a row since Brian Boitano in the late 1980s (2006). He was in first place after the short program, again overcoming his nerves and earning a personal best score of 83.28, almost six points ahead of Weiss, who came in fourth place overall. And if I'm illegal, you should be illegal as well.". Lysacek's total score was 169.89, which was the highest score, by almost 19.5 points, earned by a male skater at the U.S. Nationals, and over 50 points more than Bradley's final score of 219.21 points. [4] He was one of two skaters to skate a clean short program with a triple Lutz-triple toe loop combination, a "scratchy triple Axel",[44] and the best spins in the field. Figure Skating named Lysacek, Weir, and Carriere eligible to compete at the Worlds Championships. [19] In the summer of 2003, he trained with Russian coach Tatiana Tarasova for six weeks at the International Skating Center in Simsbury, Connecticut. Weir finished in sixth place overall. [181][183], At the Grand Prix final, all six qualifiers, including Weir, had skated in at least one previous final; Golden Skate called it "one of the most equally matched fields in several years". Figure Skating, as did many of his costume choices. Apparently fluent in Russian, Weir translated what was being said among Russian. [72] He finished in fourth place, behind "surprise bronze medalist"[72] and teammate Evan Lysacek. Weir, who is openly gay, theoretically could be arrested or denied entry to the country under a law passed this year banning "propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations," which would seem to include public displays of affection by same-sex partners and clothing or statements affirming gay rights. He changed to faux fur for his costume at the Olympics, denying that it was in response to the threats, although he wore fur at a news conference for the U.S. men's team. Nationals. [136] He designed his own costumes and worked closely with his choreographers again. meanwhile, has continued practicing in the leadup to the CAS hearing but declined to speak to the media, walking . When 15-year-old Russian skater Kamila Valieva took to the ice Tuesday in her purple chiffon skating dress to warm up for the women's short program, NBC analysts Johnny Weir and Tara Lipinski . He believed that his style was "a hybrid of Russian and American skating",[227] which was brought out by hiring coaches from those countries and often caused conflicts with U.S. Johnny Weir and Tara Lipinski weren't about to stick to skating as Kamila Valieva of the Russian Olympic Committee returned to the ice, cleared to compete by the Court of Arbitration for Sport . [4][56] He was ranked fifth-best skater in the world. At the 2000 U.S. Nationals, he was the only competitor in the junior division who attempted a triple Axel in his short program, but despite falling, the judges put him in first place. In the free skate, Weir skated immediately after Lysacek, whose performance made the crowd leap to their feet. Back, but the referee allowed him to continue where he stopped partner Victor Voronov who... He can also speak French 241 ], in the Junior Grand Prix during the 19992000 and. 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