The very famous American figure skater Johnny Weir was skeptical about the chances Evgenia Plushenko for victory in men's figure skating at the Olympics in Sochi.
“I’m a big fan of Evgeni Plushenko,” Reuters quotes Weir. – He made a huge contribution to the development figure skating, he revolutionized the sport. I don't want to say that he doesn't great athlete, but the level of young skaters from Canada and Japan is much higher. You can teach an old dog new tricks, but it's very difficult. And who, after winning medals at three Olympics in a row, would want to finish off the podium in the fourth?
http://www.sport-express.ru/olympic14/figureskating/news/662779/
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Stefan's new program:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yY9H3NxE5s&feature=youtu.be
Honored Trainer Galina Zmievskaya,
working with American figure skater Johnny Weir commented on the performance of her student, who returned to amateur sports after two years.
"The reason for Johnny's failure today is not physical fitness. It's just very difficult for him to overcome the psychological barrier after not competing for two years. Johnny trains well, here he did both quadruple jumps and triple axels. But showing this in competitions is still the most difficult thing.
I'm not Jesus Christ, I'd like to know for myself when Johnny will perform at full force. I can’t guess anything yet,” R-Sport quotes Zmievskaya.
Johnny Weir - new dreams and a new family.
Congratulations on your wedding and return to amateur sports. Two years have passed since the Vancouver Olympics.
Everything changed in my life, like in a kaleidoscope, there were a lot of interesting things. I've written a book, released a song, appeared on various television programs and performed in FC shows around the world. But I missed the “serious” feeling I got from competing, training every day, and always trying to do my best. Sometimes when I walked on red carpets or at fashion shows, I had the feeling that “I can do more.” It was all very exciting, but I’m still young, my body is still working, so I thought, “I want to ride.” I want to ride as much as possible. Over the past two years, I ate what I wanted, enjoyed the party life, met new friends, then I got married. It was a fun life, but I grew up. It's time to get serious.
Did your marriage influence your decision?
Yes, very much. Victor supports my efforts. He makes me try to do everything to get to Sochi. My “ice” family is Russian, and half of my real family is Russian too. It would be wonderful to go to Sochi and be with everyone. Victor is very supportive of me. Naturally, if he had said, “Don’t come back to the sport,” I wouldn’t have returned. I want to build my life with my husband. You understand, now I have to think not only about myself, but also about my family.
Did Victor really not know that you were a figure skater when you first met?
He didn’t know that I was doing this, and he saw my performances much later.
When and how did you first meet?
A few years ago we met in a Russian restaurant in New York. We were introduced by mutual friends. I never thought that he would become my husband, because he looked like an ordinary guy, not gay. But then, at the beginning of last year, we came into contact again. He found me on FB, we corresponded through FB. When he came back to New York and we were able to meet again, day by day I felt something special in our relationship, and suddenly it turned into something very special.
Does his presence give you extra support when you ride?
Yes. When I ride, I am happy at heart. Because I feel excited on the ice, even during hard training. Before this, when I went to training, I sometimes felt like I was going to prison. I wasn't worried, I wasn't happy. Sometimes it felt like a daily routine. Now I really like to ride and return to the sport. I ride not out of a sense of duty, but because I want to. It's a big difference. Now I know that I will come home to people who are waiting for me, even if the workout is hard or if I am a little sore. I forget that this is a routine, now this is my life for me.
“Skating to win medals is no longer for me”
Your engagement ring is simply gorgeous...
Yes. I was thinking... I was going to go with a simple ring like Victor's. He wanted platinum, and I wanted gold. I love gold, traditional things. My parents and his parents wear gold rings and so do my grandparents.
So I love gold, but I thought platinum would suit his watch better. So it was only for his sake that I agreed. At first I wanted a small diamond (points to the outer rings surrounding the main one). So that each of us would receive the power of precious metals from each other, and the small diamonds in our rings would symbolize each of us with their brilliance. But when we moved to a new place, Victor went to Atlanta for a few days, and when he returned to New Jersey, he surprised me with these two rings.
(Question to Victor) So it was a surprise gift?
IN. Yes.
D. (looking happily at Victor).
He's a good husband.
How would Victor describe your skating?
D. (looks at Victor).
Let him answer himself.
IN.
I really like Johnny's skating. What I saw today is incredibly beautiful. This is what he trained for every day. And I realized that he would be brilliant, the best skater.
I think Johnny is like a piece of art.
IN. That's for sure. He's artistic. So beautiful and inspiring. I feel a thrill when I look at him. I'm proud of his skating, it touches my heartstrings. It's just wonderful for me to be with a person who makes such an amazing impression on others.
(Johnny's question) What program will you show next time?
It's a surprise!
Surprise?
I tried to mix the very old with the very new - to make a mix of Carmen and Lady Gaga. But my team couldn't do it. I have many more good ideas, but this is a secret. When I skate this program for the first time in competition, I want to give people wonderful, brilliant and unforgettable moments. My goal is not victory. The stage when you skate in order to win is over for me. I'm too old for this. I will ride for people, to make them happy, to make them excited, to make them appreciate what I do. Music is a great helper in this.
David Wilson choreographed two of your programs for you in Vancouver, and also choreographed short programs for Takahashi and Kozuki this season. Did you like them?
In truth (whispers) I haven't seen their programs yet.
Oh! Is it true (surprised)
I didn't watch them. I was too busy to watch the competition. It would be useful for me to think about who my opponents would be, but I regret not watching my friends' performances. But David and I know them both. Daisuke Takahashi can do everything well. All programs suit him perfectly, and he is himself in them.
Do you want to convey anything to your fans who have been waiting for your return to the sport for two years?
I want to convey the following to the fans: you showed up important factor in making this decision. You told me that I should return and asked when this would happen. I didn't have an answer before. But you continued to support me during these two years when I was off the ice. That's why I'm coming back not only for myself, but also for my fans. I think you'll enjoy experiencing the ups and downs with me again over the next two years.
Some thought you wouldn't come back. Others believed so.
I'm excited. You know, a lot of people expected me to come back, and I didn't want to be like Evan Lysacek, Sasha Cohen and Michelle Kwan, who never came back.
Isn't Evan coming back?
Evan... well, he's not back yet, is he? He announced his return, but did not do so. I didn't want to do that to my fans. I didn't want to make any premature statements. But I'm coming back. I don't know if it's good or bad, but I'm coming back.
We look forward to your return.
I think you're in for a surprise (smiles).
Japan is part of my life
You agreed to take part in a charity show produced by Miki Ando. You made a T-shirt to sell for charity immediately after the earthquake. You're doing something for Japan. Why?
Japan has always had a great influence on me, ever since my first visit to the country in 2004. I have had many opportunities to go there and I feel at home there. So I wanted to do something for Japan, to lend a helping hand to help them recover from this difficult situation faster. We were able to send a lot of donations (to the Japanese Red Cross) from the sale of a T-shirt we made with Tadashi Shoji. It was just the little I could do. If I could have flown to Japan the day after the earthquake, I would have done so. When Miki-chan called me, I immediately accepted her offer. Because this is Japan. Japan is a part of my life. In recent years, trips to Japan have taken great place in my life. For this country, which has influenced me so much and which I respect, if I can do something, no matter how small, I will do it.
What program will you show? And what would you like to express in this program? (note: this interview was done BEFORE the show at Reborn Garden)
I'll show you a new program. The music for it was performed by Edwin Marton, who is known for his music in Plushenko's programs. This is a classic work by Chopin, which Marton remade in a more modern and interesting manner for his album "The Artist", which has not yet been released. With this program I want to show “tragedy and victory”, “good and evil”, “black and white”. I want to show what has happened in Japan over the past year. And at the same time, I want to bless Japan. There is a very active recovery effort in Japan. And this program is only for Japan.
In conclusion, what would you say to those people who have suffered or lost their loved ones or their family?
Please find strength within yourself. It's terrible when something happens to your family, home. But find strength, find love, find something where you can apply yourself. A broken heart will heal. Therefore, every cloud has a silver lining. Even when you are in the worst situation, lookthere is something better about her.
Thanks a lot!
D.V.
Thank you!
MORE DETAILS: http://elisir-contes.livejournal.com/195248.html#cutid1
Johnny Weir is a three-time US figure skating champion in singles. He is known primarily to fans of this sport for his outrageous costumes, artistry, and style that is different from other skaters.
Not only is his style so graceful and flexible that any girl would be jealous, Johnny Weir also, contrary to most of his colleagues, jumps and spins clockwise. He has twice been named Reader's Choice Skater of the Year by the American Figure Skating Association and Skating Magazine. 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.
He once admitted that when he skates, he goes into his own dream world. And in his world there are only clouds, sparkles and the smell of French perfume Chanel No. 5. His world is, perhaps, the same as himself: shiny, 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 airily unpredictable and sudden person like Johnny.
John Garvin Weir was born on July 2, 1984 in the small American town of Coatesville in 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, he was a good horseman. And in 1994 I decided overnight 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 beautiful sport was urgent. But the future champion didn’t have skates.
Ingenuity and resourcefulness are the main differences 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 your own happiness and creating inner harmony.
Agile Johnny decided to master jumping by training in the basement of his own house on roller skates. When young Weir received long-awaited skates as a gift from his parents, the training ground for him became the field, frozen in winter, behind the house. Thus began the career of perhaps the most unusual skater of our time.
Of course, I had to forget about the horses. Pay for both horse riding and figure skating at the same time the parents of the applicant high hopes the athlete could not. Later, Johnny not only had to leave his partner Jodie Rudden and go to single skating, but also quit studying at the university.
As it turned out, all the sacrifices were not made in vain. After just a week of training under the guidance of coach Priscilla Hill, Weir learned to jump the axel, which is considered the most difficult jump in figure skating.
The sports career of John Garvin Weir can be graphically depicted as a drawing for the paragraph “Harmonic Oscillations” in the textbook “Physical Foundations of Mechanics”. Victories alternated with defeats, successes with failures, injuries with recoveries; A bronze medal the world championship remains for today highest achievement Johnny on ice arena. However, Weir constantly strived 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 skater. Yes, he is ambitious in sports, but at the same time he treats any injury or failure as an opportunity to take a sabbatical and rediscover himself. What he did after Olympic Games in Vancouver, where he became only sixth. Johnny missed the next season after the Olympics, spending it writing his memoirs 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. Since he was five years old, he has been in love with Russia. He always carries with him a small collection of Pushkin’s poems, watches the masterpiece of Soviet cinema “Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears”, listens to songs performed by Alla Pugacheva, and is partial to the work of Sergei Lazarev. He loves chicken pies, black caviar, and with his elderly girlfriends he often discusses bags and fur coats, as well as how to properly prepare Olivier salad.
Yes, the skater’s friends are elderly Russian ladies. Why exactly they him 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 Cheburashkas and calls Moscow her favorite city, without being disingenuous at all. After all, it is unlikely that a 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 appreciation of the audience by performing to the song “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 figure skater’s regimen and image, his approach to training, and his skating style, 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 sophisticated. In figure skating, he loves shiny, sparkling, extravagant costumes, and in his free time from training and performing, 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 - 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 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 and also a speaker of French and Japanese, must be different from others until the very end.
In December 2011, Johnny Weir married an American lawyer of Russian origin, Viktor Voronov. Despite the fact that Weir's unconventional orientation was so obvious for quite a long time, the athlete carefully denied the rumors circulating about it. In this case, the majority of the public, cruel and loving to criticize earthly stars, can be justified, taking into account the famous photos in the BlackBook and the no less famous short program to the music of Camille Saint-Saëns “The Swan” - perhaps one of the most popular compositions used in women's ballet.
The outrageous athlete and his chosen one tied the knot on New Year's Eve. Three-time champion The USA shared such good news with the general public on his Twitter. “Finally got married!” Weir was terse, but definitely happy.
The young people met about five years ago in New York. Victor had not the slightest idea about his new acquaintance, and after separation due to Voronov’s forced departure to Atlanta, the young people realized that, contrary to all existing norms, being away from each other was beyond their control.
“Victor embodies everything I was looking for in a person with whom I would always want to be close,” Johnny wrote on his microblog a few days after the magical New Year's Eve, — I’m married now, I’m 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 claiming that next to him a serious lawyer will never be bored.
It’s only 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, which would take more than one day. Again, “living in sin” would be complete torture for such vulnerable natures. Only the parents of those who took vows of love and fidelity were present at the ceremony. 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 illness. She cried when she heard from her son that he was homosexual. Not because she was ashamed of him, she wanted everything to be like everyone else, she wanted grandchildren. But 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 do you stop taking various things seriously, and maybe even everything. This is the principle by which John Garvin Weir-Voronov lives. According to Johnny, taking anything too seriously is a bad thing. Yes, the athlete admits that he is strange, and he loves to have fun, despite the fact that figure skating is an old sport in which tradition rules the roost.
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. An outlandish and vibrant ex-athlete, plans to compete in ice shows, and during the Olympics in Sochi he will become a colleague of the Russian tennis player Maria Sharapova. Flanked by the Russian beauty and recent Olympic figure skating competitors Tara Lipinski and Tanith Belbin, Johnny will work as a commentator for NBC, the official broadcaster of the 2014 Games in North America.
INTERLOCUTORS OF Elena VAITSEKHOVSKAYA
In America, he was considered the most talented of those who had ever won the US championships. He became a champion for three seasons in a row, including the Olympic season before the Games in Turin. There they predicted a golden future for the skater, considering Evgeni Plushenko almost the only real rival, but he remained fifth. In Vancouver, he also did not reach the podium, and a few months before the start of the Games in Sochi, he somehow very casually ended his amateur career, refusing to participate in the Olympic selection. With his retirement from the sport, an era that was not very successful in terms of medals, but very bright, ended. The Johnny Weir era.
In mid-October, we met with the legend of American figure skating in Novogorsk near Moscow.
I still have very ambivalent feelings about your leaving the amateurs. I really wanted to see you on the ice, although I understood perfectly well that...
That I'm no longer a fighter?
That your career doesn't end on the highest note, let's put it that way. I remember too well how brilliant a future was predicted for you in 2001, when you became the world junior champion. How difficult was the decision to quit the sport?
It was heavy. My career was not ordinary from the beginning. I started skating too late - at 12 years old. That is, he did not grow up on the ice, like most skaters, but was forced to learn quite quickly a large number things. He succeeded in some things, not in others. If I initially had more inner confidence in my own abilities, perhaps the results could have been different.
As for my departure, I really wanted to perform in Sochi. It's just that this desire didn't fit very well with mine. everyday life. There was a whole bunch of different things that frankly made it difficult to fully concentrate on training, although I perfectly understood that at least two performances in the Olympic season would require all my strength. This is a national championship, where you need to be selected for a team with fairly strong competition, and the Games themselves.
I have always believed that it only makes sense to participate in competitions if you are able to fight for victory. Well, or, at least, you think that you have a chance to fight for it. But by and large, I no longer had any chances. And I myself was perfectly aware of this: I could not become better, I could not become younger, I could not compensate for those years of training that I did not have as a child. I could only rely on my talent and popularity, but this is not the basis on which you can seriously rely when performing at the Olympics. Therefore, I increasingly began to think that I did not have to get on skates to take part in the Games. And in the end I went to them as a commentator for NBC.
* * *
- At your first Games in Turin, you competed as US champion.
Just that year he won the national championship for the third time in a row. The Games themselves became a huge stress for me. Not only did I dream about them for nine years, but also a great many people looked at me as a person capable of fighting Plushenko. You know, now I have a lot of time to look at my own career from the outside, rethink some things, analyze mistakes. I was perfectly prepared for those Games physically, but not mentally. Roughly speaking, if I had 15 or 20 years of competitive experience behind me, perhaps I would be able to pull myself together and compete in free program just as good as it turned out in the short, where I showed the second result. Between the first and second performances we then had a day of rest, and during this day I worked myself up to such an extent that I could neither eat, nor sleep, nor breathe. I actually stopped understanding what was happening. And in the free program he completely fell apart.
Although, looking back, I understand perfectly well that the Games in Turin were my only chance to win an Olympic medal.
Photo by AFP
How long did it take you to recover from that failure?
About a year. I spent the post-Olympic tour of the USA in an extremely depressed state. It seemed to me that by performing on the show, I was catastrophically wasting time that should have been used for training. The 2007 season turned out to be a mess and ended with me leaving Priscilla Hill, the coach who worked with me from the very first steps on the ice.
I remember you said, commenting on this step, that you and the coach had become too close to each other to continue working successfully together.
This is true. Priscilla was almost like a mother to me, and the more she took care of me, the more I allowed myself to be capricious. It began to seem to me that I knew much better how to train, that the coach was limiting my freedom. I listened with half an ear, not particularly trying to follow the coach’s instructions. In general, I went through all those stages of relationships that at a certain age happen to teenagers with their own parents. At the same time, I understood: if I want to continue skating, I desperately need someone who can make me work. Actually, on summer camps I started coming to Tatyana Tarasova precisely for this reason, while still working with Priscilla.
- Why then did they choose not Tarasova, but Galina Zmievskaya as a permanent mentor?
I chose between four coaches, and all of them were Russian. I would have to go to Moscow for a long time to see Tarasova, to visit Rafael Harutyunyan in California, Nikolai Morozov’s group wandered all over America like a gypsy camp, which also didn’t suit me very much. I have always been too attached to my own family. I understood that if I left, I would certainly begin to suffer from loneliness and try to return by any means. Zmievskaya worked in Simsbury, a two-hour drive from my home. In addition, at one time she trained two athletes whose skating I admired - Viktor Petrenko and Oksana Baiul.
Galina seemed to me to be a fairly tough coach - just the kind I needed. Clearly understanding how and what needs to be done to achieve the goal.
- Was working with a Russian coach very different from what is customary in the USA?
The main difference, perhaps, is that training is not limited to the time you spend on the ice. Galina could call me in the evening, ask what we are having for dinner and remind me not to eat too much, because in the morning training I will need to do quadruple jumps. At the same time, she gladly invited me to her house on Fridays - she prepared vinaigrette, cutlets, and Russian Olivier salad. This is an amazing combination: absolute coaching toughness and comprehensive care. Zmievskaya could come home from training and spend several hours in front of the computer (even though she was not very good at it) to find for me on the Internet exactly those warm training leggings that I wanted to buy.
Overall, we worked very well together. Sometimes it seemed to me that deep down I was much more Russian than American.
* * *
- Has such a pronounced commitment to everything Russian ever created problems for you?
Certainly. It started back when I was riding with Priscilla Hill. In 2001, I won the junior world championship and then for the first time I saw Zhenya Plushenko compete at the adult world championship in Vancouver. IN short program he rolled Bolero - in a velvet red suit trimmed with gold embroidery, with long hair, which also shone with gold... It was so beautiful that I somehow suddenly realized that I wanted to skate just like that. 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-like.”
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 you and me, 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, I was given the opportunity to go to the Olympics, but that didn’t mean that a place on the team automatically made me the property of the figure skating federation or the Olympic committee, and that I had to do whatever they wanted?
Well, in Vancouver things got even worse.
Photo by AFP
- Was this somehow connected with the fact that you have a Russian coach?
Rather, since our main language during training was Russian, it was more convenient for Zmievskaya.
It is clear that the American leadership did not like this. To what extent their hostility towards me reached I realized in my own life. last training session before the short program, where not a single person from Team USA showed up. I can't say that it hurt me much, but it was a good indicator.
- How tough was your confrontation with Evan Lysacek in those years?
We have always had a difficult relationship - starting from that junior championship, where I came first and Evan came second. After that, the American press began to constantly try to push us apart in every possible way. Perhaps the journalists simply wanted to stir up the topic of rivalry - just as it was around Plushenko and Alexei Yagudin. Of course, this was pressing, although I myself did not want to take any part in this. I know too well how hard the life of a skater is to allow myself to say nasty things about my opponents. If I ended up in this mess, there’s no need to mess it up.
* * *
One of the famous Russian coaches in swimming, he once said about his student that she was too kind and sympathetic a person to compete for the championship. Maybe some of your failures are of the same nature?
Maybe. You know, when I was asked to comment on Plushenko’s return to amateur sports before the Sochi Games, I said that I didn’t know a single athlete capable of fighting as fiercely. I've never been like this. I liked skating, I liked winning, I liked it when the program was performed without errors, but it was never, as Tarasova likes to say, “breaking”: I performed, fell and died. Well, yes, it worked a couple of times. But these were rather exceptions.
- What happened in Vancouver?
Even before the start of the Games, I clearly understood that I would not become a champion even if I skated both of my programs with the purest quadruple jumps.
- Why?
Because the American Federation did not support me, but Evan. It was he who was the “face” of the federation, just as in Sochi Gracie Gold was such a “face” simply because her last name is Gold. Lysacek was convenient for everyone. He, unlike me, never argued with anyone or tried to defend his point of view.
Another question is that my popularity in the USA was much higher. I hosted my own television show, I liked to think that in this way I was raising the popularity of my sport, that I was in demand everywhere. By the way, I was able to prepare very well for those Games. And I skated both programs perfectly. I think these were the best performances of my life. But he remained sixth. I lost even to those who skated with falls.
Photo by AFP
- How did Evan’s victory at those Games make you feel?
The paradox is that I didn’t see the skating itself. Of all those who performed in our warm-up, only Plushenko was able to watch, since he skated second to last - before him. I was sure that if Zhenya did a quadruple jump and made no mistakes in the other elements, he would win. It seemed to me that the judges simply could not help but take into account all his previous merits.
I first saw Lysacek's performance after the Games, when it appeared on YouTube. I can say that Evan has never skated so well in his life. But there, in Vancouver, I was so upset that I lost, plus the fact that Zhenya lost, which... In general, it was a very sad night. I almost immediately went backstage and burst into tears. There was too much that had accumulated that I could no longer keep inside. There, behind the curtain, Zmievskaya found me. She wrapped me in her mink coat, then, after the doping control, she took me to Olympic Village and brought French fries from McDonald's into the room. And the two of us mourned our Olympic Games with these fried potatoes.
- Did you believe that Plushenko would be able to compete in the individual tournament at the Games in Sochi?
In the business that is figure skating, words often have no meaning at all. But Zhenya is a special case. If he promises something, you can be sure that he will do everything to keep this promise. Therefore, in fact, I had no doubt at all that he really intended to compete at the Games. IN team competitions he skated great, I was just proud of him. But before the short program it was already clear that it was painful for him to move.
It's really terrible when your body doesn't allow you to do what you want. But it was even more terrible - at least for me - to look at it from the outside. I really hope that at the next Games... You know he’s going there, right? Perhaps in this way Zhenya simply wants to atone for everything that happened in Sochi.
* * *
- What part of your life continues to belong to figure skating?
I train every day.
- Because you like it, or because you need it?
I have quite a lot of shows, and I would not like to one day realize that I am kept in them only because I was once a famous figure skater. It’s very important for me not just to skate, but to skate well, to be in shape, to jump. So figure skating is still a huge part of my life. I also continue to work as a commentator for NBC with Tara Lipinski. Before the Games in Sochi, we commented on certain competitions separately, but at the Games themselves it was decided not only to pair us up, but also to show us to the public - before that we were just “voices in a box.”
It quickly became clear that we both love super fashionable clothes and adore extravagance. In general, every day we tried to entertain the audience with all the means available to us, while talking about figure skating.
-Are you not tired of the excessive publicity of your life?
I have quite a lot of opportunities to take a break from this. In America, for example, I cannot afford to leave the house unkempt, unwashed, or carelessly dressed. And in Russia now I can’t get out of my favorite sweater for two weeks. Sometimes people recognize me on the streets, but I can’t say that this causes any concern. There are no paparazzi, no one is throwing hysterics about what I tweeted or posted on Instagram.
Photo by AFP
- Are Twitter and Instagram a business necessity or a pleasure?
- Even when they try to teach you how to live?
I've never had a problem with this. My parents explained to me quite early on that such attempts are just a reflection of this or that person’s own complexes. And that reacting to such things is at least stupid. I don't react.
- Do I understand correctly that your parents are not Americans?
They were both born in the USA. But my grandparents were Norwegians. This is a common story in America, but I like to wake up in the morning and remember that I am a hereditary Viking.
- I also read that in addition to Russian, you speak French and Japanese.
Only French. I taught him for three years at school. Americans usually choose to study Spanish, which is more in demand in the USA, but French seemed to me more sophisticated, or something. Well, in Japanese I can only say a couple of phrases.
I always liked teaching foreign languages. I'm a country guy, from a tiny town in Pennsylvania. Language made it possible to get out of these village frameworks and look at life more broadly. I love my country, I’m proud to be an American, but at the same time I like to travel, come to Japan, China, Russia, stay at the Metropol, rent a car with a driver, try unusual food...
Russia in my opinion is very tough country. And very strong.
Photo by AFP
- Perhaps this is one of the few countries where they can say a lot of unpleasant things to a person’s face, don’t you think?
What's the problem? The world is full of unpleasant things. The main thing is not to let these things control your life. Personally, I generally prefer clear and understandable wording. “Johnny, your suit is terrible, as is your hair!” “Johnny, you’re fat, you need to lose weight urgently.” My mother has always been a very straightforward person, and she taught me to call things by their proper names. For me, this is much more acceptable than phrases like: “Should we just eat salad instead of dinner today?”
As for unpleasant things, hardly anyone can say them more about my life than myself.
Not long ago, a huge scandal erupted in tennis due to the fact that one of the officials called the Williams sisters brothers. Would it bother you to hear “little Johnny” or something similar addressed to you?
Not at all. I am a rather eccentric person, I live in a same-sex marriage and behave accordingly. Not 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…” So what, should I react to this?
- And you like wearing high heels?
No, of course not - heels hurt your feet, and you know this no worse than I do. But I am a representative of show business, a public person. I worked like hell for so many years in figure skating, can’t I really afford to have a little fun? At the same time, it would never even occur to me to wear heels all the time.
Johnny Weir is a three-time US figure skating champion in singles. He is known primarily to fans of this sport for his outrageous costumes, artistry, and style that is different from other skaters.
Not only is his style so graceful and flexible that any girl would be jealous, Johnny Weir also, contrary to most of his colleagues, jumps and spins clockwise. He has twice been named Reader's Choice Skater of the Year by the American Figure Skating Association and Skating Magazine. 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.
He once admitted that when he skates, he goes into his own dream world. And in his world there are only clouds, sparkles and the smell of French perfume Chanel No. 5. His world is, perhaps, the same as himself: shiny, 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 airily unpredictable and sudden person like Johnny.
John Garvin Weir was born on July 2, 1984 in the small American town of Coatesville in 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, he was a good horseman. And in 1994 I decided overnight 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 beautiful sport was urgent. But the future champion didn’t have skates.
Ingenuity and resourcefulness are the main differences 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.
Agile Johnny decided to master jumping by training in the basement of his own house on roller skates. When young Weir received long-awaited skates as a gift from his parents, the training ground for him became the field, frozen in winter, behind the house. Thus began the career of perhaps the most unusual skater of our time.
Of course, I had to forget about the horses. 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 into singles skating, but also quit studying at the university.
As it turned out, all the sacrifices were not made in vain. After just a week of training under the guidance of coach Priscilla Hill, Weir learned to jump the Axel, which is considered the most difficult jump in figure skating.
The sports career of John Garvin Weir can be graphically depicted as a drawing for the paragraph “Harmonic Oscillations” in the textbook “Physical Foundations of Mechanics”. Victories alternated with defeats, successes with failures, injuries with recoveries; and the bronze medal at the World Championship remains Johnny’s highest achievement on the ice arena today. However, Weir constantly strived 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 skater. Yes, he is ambitious in sports, but at the same time he treats any injury or failure as an opportunity to take a sabbatical and rediscover himself. Which is what he did after the Olympic Games in Vancouver, where he became only sixth. Johnny missed the next season after the Olympics, spending it writing his memoirs 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. Since he was five years old, he has been in love with Russia. He always carries with him a small collection of Pushkin’s poems, watches the masterpiece of Soviet cinema “Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears”, listens to songs performed by Alla Pugacheva, and is partial to the work of Sergei Lazarev. He loves chicken pies, black caviar, and with his elderly girlfriends he often discusses bags and fur coats, as well as how to properly prepare Olivier salad.
Yes, the skater’s friends 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 Cheburashkas and calls Moscow her favorite city, without being disingenuous at all. After all, it is unlikely that a 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 appreciation of the audience by performing to the song “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 figure skater’s regimen and image, his approach to training, and his skating style, 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 sophisticated. In figure skating, he loves shiny, sparkling, extravagant costumes, and in his free time from training and performing, 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 - 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 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 and also a speaker of French and Japanese, must be different from others until the very end.
In December 2011, Johnny Weir married an American lawyer of Russian origin, Viktor Voronov. Despite the fact that Weir's unconventional orientation was so obvious for quite a long time, the athlete carefully denied the rumors circulating about it. In this case, the majority of the public, cruel and loving to criticize earthly stars, can be justified, taking into account the famous photos in the BlackBook and the no less famous short program to the music of Camille Saint-Saëns “The Swan” - perhaps one of the most popular compositions used in women's ballet.
The 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 got married!” Weir was terse, but definitely happy.
The young people met about five years ago in New York. Victor had not the slightest idea about his new acquaintance, and after separation due to Voronov’s forced departure to Atlanta, the young people realized that, contrary to all existing norms, being away from each other was beyond their control.
“Victor embodies everything I was looking for in a person with whom I would always want to be close,” Johnny wrote on his microblog a few days after the magical New Year’s Eve, “I’m married now, I’m 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 claiming that next to him a serious lawyer will never be bored.
It’s only 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, which would take more than one day. Again, “living in sin” would be complete torture for such vulnerable natures. Only the parents of those who took vows of love and fidelity were present at the ceremony. 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 illness. She cried when she heard from her son that he was homosexual. Not because she was ashamed of him, she wanted everything to be like everyone else, she wanted grandchildren. But 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 do you stop taking various things seriously, and maybe even everything. This is the principle by which John Garvin Weir-Voronov lives. According to Johnny, taking anything too seriously is a bad thing. Yes, the athlete admits that he is strange, and he loves to have fun, despite the fact that figure skating is an old sport in which tradition rules the roost.
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 his retirement from his professional career, he has no plans to stop doing what he loves. An outlandish and bright ex-athlete, he plans to perform in ice shows, and during the Olympics in Sochi he will become a colleague of the Russian tennis player Maria Sharapova. Flanked by the Russian beauty and recent Olympic figure skating competitors Tara Lipinski and Tanith Belbin, Johnny will work as a commentator for NBC, the official broadcaster of the 2014 Games in North America.
The skater got married, but kept his last name
Three-time US champion Johnny Weir, who seems to have completed sports career, suddenly announced that he would like - following the example of Evgeni Plushenko - to perform at the Olympics in Sochi. The 27-year-old American has not participated in competitions for two years, but during this time he managed to find his other half. Handsome Johnny... got married!
There have been rumors about his gayness in the world of figure skating for a long time. And when Johnny Weir in a short program he performed the famous “Swan” from a musical play Saint-Saens, and then took a photo in a miniskirt and stilettos, suspicions intensified even more. At the Vancouver Olympics, one of the Canadian commentators, looking at Weir's soft and flexible movements, said that this skater should compete in the women's tournament. What started here! Johnny was offended, shed a tear, the Americans demanded an apology from the Canadian, but he refused! I had to influence the commentator through diplomatic channels, and only then did an apology follow. A year later, in an interview with People magazine, Weir finally admitted that he was homosexual.
Gut is thin
A Russian lawyer became the chosen one of the popular figure skater Victor Voronov, a graduate of Georgetown Law School. As it turned out, the young people met several years ago in New York, and Voronov was far from sports and had no idea what Johnny was doing. They were quickly drawn to each other. When Victor was forced to return from New York to Atlanta, Johnny became sad - he literally could not find a place for himself! But last summer the “doves” met again, and a whirlwind of love swirled around them with renewed vigor.
“Victor embodies everything I was looking for in a person I would want to always be close to,” Johnny Weir wrote on Twitter. - I'm married now, I'm very happy! Life in sin is over!
The young couple entered into their same-sex marriage in New York and spent their honeymoon in the Dominican Republic. Vitya gave his lover a massage every evening, and he quietly moaned with pleasure. Johnny wanted to get married so much that he agreed to a marriage without a wedding - they simply didn’t have time to prepare it. However, the skater’s friends and acquaintances clearly hint that it is still necessary to organize a lavish party for such an occasion. They say they are waiting.It is curious that after registration, the husband took a double surname - Weir-Voronov. And Johnny kept the old one.
To prepare for the Games in Sochi, American figure skater there are still two years. Weir is younger Plushenko, So physical strength he'll probably have enough. True, Johnny is unlikely to be able to beat our champion. So far he has never succeeded in this - apparently, he has little guts.
By the way
Johnny Weir learned Russian on his own, collects plush Cheburashkas and has a good knowledge of Russian culture. And he gave his dog a rare name in the USA - Vanya.
