Johnny Weir Withdraws from Worlds - Adam Rippon named as Replacement | Golden Skate

Johnny Weir Withdraws from Worlds - Adam Rippon named as Replacement

Chemistry66

Mmmmm, tacos.
Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 16, 2010
Wow, Johnny withdrawing. Unexpected. Hopefully everything's okay.

This is a big break for Adam Rippon. With his two World Junior golds and his gold from 4CC, he could be a dark horse competitor here. Less chance at podium level, but definitely top 10 chances, especially with the way some of the big dogs have been skating lately.
 

Tonichelle

Idita-Rock-n-Roll
Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 27, 2003
it doesn't truly surprise me. I am stuck here at home after blizzard conditions buried my truck and the road isn't clear to get to work, so I'm flipping channels and he's on the Soup right now... seems he and Evan are finally taking some time to really make the hollywood rounds, good for them.

so we'll get Adam and Ryan and Jeremy? or will none of our Olympians be in Torino?
 

lavender

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
So not surprise. Johnny's been doing the circuit and I wondered when he would announce his withdrawal. Actually I'm surprised he thinks he still wants to compete. Not a Ryan fan but I'm glad Adam will get this opportunity to start now in building towards Sochi and hopefully Jeremy will still compete.
 
Joined
Mar 14, 2006
Oh, sugar!

I'm happy for Adam though. And I'm really happy about the reason Johnny gives. Not that he wants to go to Oscar parties although it sounds like he did do some of that, and why not? But that he wants to rework his technique and make sure he places higher in the future. I don't know what that means, specifically, but more power to him ... literally! :thumbsup:

Great chance for Adam, no doubt about it.
 

janetfan

Match Penalty
Joined
May 15, 2009
Not surprised at all - atleast he was honest and said it would "not be advantageous to HIM" at this time.

Good luck Adam - you are the future anyway as Weir's time passed years ago.
 

zizi31

Rinkside
Joined
Feb 16, 2010
His comment is a bit cryptic. I'm not sure what he's re-working, or why can't go to worlds in 3 weeks and spend the rest of the spring and summer reworking stuff. I'm also not sure what he means by advantageous. Does he feel that another low placement would make his reputation drop in the judges' eyes? He seemed ready to retire after this season; wonder what lit the fire under him? At any rate, I hope that his plan works - Johnny's always been a sentimental favorite of mine.
 

MikiAndoFan#1

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 30, 2009
Oh, that's too bad. I wanted to see Johnny there!

:scowl:

But I'm happy for Adam going to his first Worlds!

:biggrin:
 

#1Kerryfan

Final Flight
Joined
Jan 15, 2006
I'm surprised. I thought Worlds were gong to be Johnny's going out party.
I must say, this concerns me a bit. Without Evan and Johnny, will the US hold three spots? Jeremy, Adam and Ryan are all fantastic skaters, but Jeremy hasn't had a strong showing at Worlds, Adam doesn't have much senior international experience and Ryan is a fabulous skater when he's on, but when he's off, he's off.
 

museksk8r

Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 31, 2006
Country
United-States
Weir does need to rework his 3flip technique. He constantly gets called by the tech panel for lipping his 3flip and as a result loses many GOE points due to the wrong edge entry.

My dream team would be Abbott, Rippon, and Weir, so I'm a little sad Johnny won't compete at Worlds, but I do think he's making the right decision. It's clearly obvious that his head is not into training right now; he's been out and about away from the rink having fun and there's nothing wrong with that. He deserves a break if he feels he needs one. Good luck to him in the future! :)
 

Tonichelle

Idita-Rock-n-Roll
Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 27, 2003
I think Ryan is the strength of this team - so long as he is going and the rumors about his ankle are untrue - Jeremy is a mess this time of the skating season, and Rippon is a newbie who also is hit or miss... Ryan's going to be the one that has to step up and deliver. This is his olympics and I bet he brings it all to teh table.
 

demarinis5

Gold for the Winter Prince!
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 23, 2004
Not to surprised though I will miss seeing Johnny at Worlds. Good for Adam.
 

Figure88

On the Ice
Joined
Dec 3, 2009
Yay! Adam's first opportunity to compete at senior Worlds. I'm so happy for him! I hope he has enough time to practice!
 
Last edited:
Joined
Mar 14, 2006
Yay! Adam's first opportunity to compete at senior Worlds. I'm so happy for him! I hope he has enough time to practice!
Oh, he's already been practicing, you can bet on that. This is his "All About Eve" moment.
Janetfan said:
Good luck Adam - you are the future anyway as Weir's time passed years ago.
We'll see about that next season. Your case would be stronger if Johnny hadn't been so good at the Olympics.
 

Wicked

Final Flight
Joined
May 26, 2009
I am really worried that the US men will lose one of their spots.

This is not too surprising, considering that Johnny has been doing media rounds rather than training. It will interesting to see what he does- if this is it or he comes back next season. If this is it, at least he will end on a wonderful, if underscored, performance.
 

SamuraiKike

Medalist
Joined
Jan 26, 2008
All three guys are top 10 material, but that wont be good enough for 3 spots next year, they need one of them making the top 5 and only Abbott has the potential to place that high right now but he's also the most inconsistent and I highly doubt he'll deliver like he does at nationals. The best the team can hope is perhaps a 6th and 7th place combo from Jeremy & Adam . Bradley is hit and miss and he's not gonna get high PCS from international judges.
 

Layfan

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 5, 2009
His comment is a bit cryptic. I'm not sure what he's re-working, or why can't go to worlds in 3 weeks and spend the rest of the spring and summer reworking stuff. I'm also not sure what he means by advantageous. Does he feel that another low placement would make his reputation drop in the judges' eyes? He seemed ready to retire after this season; wonder what lit the fire under him? At any rate, I hope that his plan works - Johnny's always been a sentimental favorite of mine.

I have to say I think he's refreshingly clear and honest. He did the best he possibly he could at the Olympics and still came in 6th. Therefore, he feels that he needs to figure out what didn't work. Can he add more difficulty to his program? Or should he just move on with his life? Basically, he's saying that he decided that there is no point in going to worlds with his same programs from the Olympics because, for whatever reason, they are not good enough in the judge's eyes. And he's saying he needs time to rethink his strategy, but there obviously isn't enough time to make any significant difference before worlds.
I don't blame him at all. I'd feel very little motivation if I were him to go to worlds and skate my best knowing that it will more than likely not be good enough for a medal. I think he made the right choice.

Whatever he decides, I wish him the best of luck and I'm sure he will be fun to follow whether he keeps competiting, starts his fashion career or skates in shows or all three. He's already made his mark in the skating world, even if it's not the mark he dreamed of his whole life.

So Jeremy is leading the American team. Well, I hope he finally goes out there and skates with the confidence of the winner he should be.

I'm not too disappointed. Evan and Johnny had good Olympics in their own ways. I love watching Jeremy and Ryan skate and can't wait to watch them at worlds. And maybe I'll discover Adam Rippon for myself the way I did Mirai this year. I just want Jeremy and Ryan to be clean. If that happens, I don't care if the U.S. men end up with 1 or three spots next year.
 

Ren

On the Ice
Joined
Feb 16, 2010
I'm not really surprised with Johnny's announcement. I hope he's successful in his future endeavors. Meanwhile, I'm happy for Adam! This is his chance to gain experience at his first senior Worlds. I hope all his hard work will finally pay off. I really want to see an SP performance like his TEB one, and an LP skate like his 4CC's outing.
 
Joined
Mar 14, 2006
All three guys are top 10 material, but that wont be good enough for 3 spots next year, they need one of them making the top 5 and only Abbott has the potential to place that high right now but he's also the most inconsistent and I highly doubt he'll deliver like he does at nationals. The best the team can hope is perhaps a 6th and 7th place combo from Jeremy & Adam . Bradley is hit and miss and he's not gonna get high PCS from international judges.
Jeez, I completely disagree. With Evan, Johnny, Stephane, and I don't know who else missing, I could see Jeremy, Adam and Ryan (or Ryan and Adam) placing, say, 3, 5 and 7. Even if it's 4, 6, and 8, the three spots are easily there.

Jeremy bombed at the Olympics but he did astoundingly well at Nats. No reason he can't pick himself up and return to form. Ryan and Adam have something to prove but they've got it in them to do very well.
 
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