Weir to do quads in both programs; hires Morozov for step seq | Golden Skate

Weir to do quads in both programs; hires Morozov for step seq

LuCN

Rinkside
Joined
May 3, 2011
I don't find his thread,so open a new thread.if there is one,please combine it.thank you.
It's a long interview from a chinese website,and I think people here may have interest on some informations in it.my english isn't good enough,so I won't translate the whole article,just some tips about figure skating.
here's the link to the entire interview:http://sports.sina.com.cn/o/2012-06-18/18136105777.shtml?bsh_bid=101327229

·he didn't want to compete until he was invited to the American nations,and see the male skater's situation.he think he's still competitive,but he doesn't come back for the medals.
·he didn't get well with the American federation,but they support him very much this time.they give him 2 GPs.He think that's because they think he's good to spread figure skating in America
·his SP music if from lady gaga,and LP is Phonix.
·he and his coach have made SP and LP,just need to add some details in the summer.maybe he'll work with David Wilson on the LP,if they has time.
·he will add Quads in both of SP and LP
·he have hired Morozov to help him on step sequence
·some of the skaters show how difficult figure skating can be,but he growed under the old rules.he want to let everybody think they can skate too.he want to show "smooth" perfomance,not(the opposite)
·he won't be a coach or choreographer.he saw his coach got to the rink on 7:30 everyday through the years,wearing coat,shiver with cold.that's not what he wants.he will compete on the Olympics for the 3rd time,and then think what to do next.
·now figure skating for him is not a "life-and-death" thing.and his coach also accept that,he has husband,his own thing beside figure skating.so they get on better now.
 
Last edited:

deedee1

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 14, 2007
my english isn't good enough,so I won't translate the whole article,just some tips about figure skating.

·he will add Quads in both of SP and LP

·some of the skaters show how difficult figure skating can be,but he growed under the old rules.he want to let everybody think they can skate too.he want to show "smooth" perfomance,not(the opposite)

·now figure skating for him is not a "life-and-death" thing.and his coach also accept that,he has husband,his own thing beside figure skating.so they get on better now.

LuCN, thank you so much for the translation! Don't worry about your English. You are doing GREAT!!

Wow, Johnny is coming back for sure, with harder jump contents and seemingly pressure-free state of mind!
Ca'nt wait to see how the US Nats is gonna like! :rock:

Johnny, you can teach 'how to skate beautifully and smoothly to the music while reaching out to the audience' to younger CoP prodigies who concentrate on only adding transitions and steps in/out of every jumps or busy in counting revolutions on spins. :biggrin:

Daisuke and Brian resumed themselves last season, Jeremy and Tomas already stated to keep competing until Sochi, and Johnny is coming back. I feel so sad after learning Kevin Van der Perren and Contesti retired. Glad Mens figure skating is still fascinating to me.
Now I WANT Stephan Lambiel come back! :cool:
 

Tonichelle

Idita-Rock-n-Roll
Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 27, 2003
it makes more sense for him to work with Morosov on steps, I couldn't see him using him for full choreography... really wish he'd get a full time choreographer that isn't his coach, but it is what it is. thanks for the info, LuCN!
 

thevaliantx

Rinkside
Joined
Jan 12, 2012
I don't think Johnny skated as well, just before stepping away, as he did early on in his career. That seems to be opposite of the norm, and it's only my observation having looked at his youtube videos. I'm not fortunate enough like you all to go to the competitions :) My opinion is that Johnny let his 'expression' of himself get in the way of his 'execution' on the ice.

I would love to see LESS of the over-the-top animated stuff Johnny was doing the last time around, and see him become more of a fierce skater. Put some fear into Evan!
 

noskates

Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 11, 2012
My opinion is that Johnny let his 'expression' of himself get in the way of his 'execution' on the ice. I thoroughly agree with this comment. My hope is that with marraige and a little more maturity that Johnny has settled back into his skating. In my opinion, there isn't a more graceful male skater out there right now. At Nationals in Portland I was watching him putz around the practice rink, thinking, etc. and then he would all of a sudden go into a step sequence or a set up for a jump and he became transformed. Every move was fluid and soft with no hard edges! He's still capable of that! I think Johnny used to skate for himself and didn't necessarily touch the audience (other than those of us who love him) and perhaps all this show work he's done since he stopped competing has made that part of his skating evolve.

I don't care for the over-the-top costumes, the feathers, the glitz and the weird hairdos. He really doesn't need that. He should let his skating speak for him and save the other stuff for off the ice. I also don't think Nina Petrenko is a great choreographer! I would love to see Johnny work with David Wilson or EVEN Lori Nichols. Heresy maybe, but it would be alot more interesting than some of the things he's done with the Russians.

I don't think Lysacek is a factor in competitive skating anymore. Johnny's competition is Patrick Chan, Brian Joubert and a host of Japanese men. JMO
 

LuCN

Rinkside
Joined
May 3, 2011
the article and other article didn't mention Petrenko at all.only mention his long time coach,the old Russia woman(I forget how to spell her name.)

well,actually if he want to compete in international competitions and Olympics,other american guys are his main competitors IMO...
 

noskates

Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 11, 2012
LuCN in the past, Viktor Petrenko, his wife Nina and the old Russian woman (I can't remember her name! Hee!) have been Johnny's team with Nina doing most of the choreography. I just assumed she would be doing it again.
 

snowflake

I enjoy what I like
Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 10, 2008
Galina Zmievskaya is her name. So she and Johnny did the choreography themselves :biggrin: I am so excited for him. Seems like it's a seriuos come back. For sure he has to do really well even to make it to the Olympics. Many great US boys to beat. The quads(and other jumps) will be crucial + some more transitions than when he last competed. I was lucky to see him medal at worlds 2008 in Göteborg. Not his best skate, but lovely enough for me that day! He doesn't like COP, but anyway he has to play the rules. Can he do it and still come up with a "smooth" performance? Oh TEB, here I wish I come! Both Johnny and Jeremy.... + Verner, Joubert, Amodio etc.
 

Violet Bliss

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 19, 2010
At Nationals in Portland I was watching him putz around the practice rink, thinking, etc. and then he would all of a sudden go into a step sequence or a set up for a jump and he became transformed. Every move was fluid and soft with no hard edges! He's still capable of that!

Johnny is capable of doing many things, on their own. He is not capable of doing them all in one program. His strategy seems to be to avoid "visible" errors to get the audience on his side. Thus he tends to water down his choreography to have a clean and graceful skate. It remains to be seen if he is capable of both high level footwork and clean uncheated jumps, especially if he is going for a quad in each program, which I don't think he has ever done. However, Morozov may just be the perfect advisor for him to have the right step sequence and still do his jumps.

I don't think Lysacek is a factor in competitive skating anymore. Johnny's competition is Patrick Chan, Brian Joubert and a host of Japanese men. JMO

First he has make it out of the US Nationals. Despite what he says, he won't go to Worlds or the Olympics if he does not medal in the US.

He says they (himself and his coach) have already constructed both programs except for the details waiting to be filled in with the help of expert choreographers. He wants to hire Wilson to complete the LP if there is time. I don't know if that's how Wilson and other choreographers work.

If Johnny is the one to rejuvenate figure skating in the US, its popularity should not have declined while he was actively competing.
 

noskates

Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 11, 2012
Well SF, I don't agree with all your points. But yes he does have to make it out of US Nationals.
 

demarinis5

Gold for the Winter Prince!
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 23, 2004
Thanks for posting the article, great read. Johnny has just as much of a chance to make it to the next Olympics as his US teammates, it is not like his teammates are unbeatable, far from it. GO Johnny!!!!!
 

Jaana

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 27, 2003
Country
Finland
First he has make it out of the US Nationals. Despite what he says, he won't go to Worlds or the Olympics if he does not medal in the US.

He says they (himself and his coach) have already constructed both programs except for the details waiting to be filled in with the help of expert choreographers. He wants to hire Wilson to complete the LP if there is time. I don't know if that's how Wilson and other choreographers work.

Yes, first he has to medal at US Nationals. About Wilson choreography, his name did not bring Weir PCS points in Vancouver and I doubt that a watered down choreography carrying Wilson´s name would be more effective now, LOL. To get points Weir needs to skate to a complex choreography, well, if he manages it now after two years, good for him! A quad in sp and fs, big talk which remains just as talk until we see him doing that in competition. Maybe I´m wrong, but I think he never has jumped a successful quad in competitions?
 
Last edited:
Joined
Aug 16, 2009
Yes, first he has to medal at US Nationals. About Wilson choreography, his name did not bring Weir PCS points in Vancouver and I doubt that a watered down choreography carrying Wilson´s name would be more effective now, LOL. To get points Weir needs to skate to a complex choreography, well, if he manages it now after two years, good for him! A quad in sp and fs, big talk which remains just as talk until we see him doing that in competition. Maybe I´m wrong, but I think he never has jumped a successful quad in competitions?

I am not a Weir expert, but if he's done quads, it's not been a great many. Likewise, Johnny isn't someone I think of when I think of complex choreography. Good luck to him, but to me, even his peak abilities would not get him to the world podium these days. Whereas if Joannie Rochette or (pleasepleaseplease) YuNa Kim could somehow come back at their best levels, they would be pretty likely to medal at Worlds. And I'm not sure that either of those ladies could reach their peak of fitness and strength in time for this upcoming Worlds.

Of course, I'd love to be proven wrong about those two ladies for the benefit of the world skating scene, and I'd love to be proven wrong on Johnny as an American skating fan.
 

DianaSelene

Medalist
Joined
Aug 2, 2011
I like Weir's attitude towards this. Unlike other skaters like Kim, Lysacek, or Rochette, he has all of this planned out and already knows the image and music he is going to use. We'll see what happens with the other skaters contemplating a return. If they choose not to skate, good luck to them in whatever they decide to pursue instead. I hope Johnny brings out his presentation and other skills like he has done before.
 

Violet Bliss

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 19, 2010
Johnny has not talked about meddling at Worlds or the Olympics these days, just going to the Olympics and making his statement. He is prompted to come back partly because of what he sees in today's US Men's field. I don't think he will be able to beat Abbott by a long shot. Abbott is Worlds medal material if only he would perform his best there but he usually peaks at the Nationals so Weir's chances of winning the US Men title is very slim. Second place is a possibility if Lysacek does not come back as well. In any case, it is a deep field he has to battle. The results are very unpredictable because of rampant inconsistencies among the US Men.
 

noskates

Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 11, 2012
Possibly I'm prejudiced but I don't think anyone should count Johnny out or imply he isn't medal material at Nationals or anywhere else. He started working out wayyyyy before he even knew how the US federation would feel about him coming back. With this point system, I think Johnny is in a better position then he was before the change. I don't think he was at his best in Vancouver and I firmly believe politics played not only a part in his mindset but also in his placement. Now I will also be the first to say that Johnny has brought alot of this on himself and he admits that as well.

Jeremy Abbott, to ME, is like Alyssa Czsny.....I'm always waiting for him to self-destruct. His SP and LP at Nationals was awesome. His performance at Worlds was classic Jeremy choketime. I think Johnny can beat anybody in the US including Lysacek with a clean skate and quads. I also think the same thing about Adam Rippon with some changes. Basically what I'm saying is that the men's field right now is wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiide open. And until the Grand Prixs start - all one can do is speculate! Like DianaSelene, I like Johnny's attitude. He has something to prove and it doesn't necessarily mean a medal. But getting a medal would be sweet!!
 

DianaSelene

Medalist
Joined
Aug 2, 2011
I look at Johnny Weir's comeback this way. I think he is a great performer and is really fun to watch so he doesn't need to become a champion at national or international competitions. We all have our favorite skaters and want to see them come back. I loved Lambiel's skating and did not care even when he lost a medal in Vancouver because I think his skating is amazing. So just coming back and giving the skater's fans more performances often means a lot more than medals. Kim did not win worlds last year but people were happy to see her attempt it. Cohen did not get to Vancouver but it was nice to see her skating again. I do not know whether Plushenko will be in Sochi and whether he will get a medal, but I love that guy and want more of his performances. Even skaters who came back and failed often said that they have no regrets. Better to try and not regret it than sit and watch the Sochi olympics thinking, "What if I would have made it?".
 

Skater Boy

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 24, 2012
Big talk which is interesting but let's see the action. Year after year we hear of people say they are adding 3A in ladies or the quad and improving this and than and year in and year out we often don't see that growth. I am sure everyone means well but not everyone can improve onto the podium or whatever. Someone has to go down or be bumped off - sadly but true. Otherwise we would have a podium overloaded with skaters. I wish Johnny luck but saying and doing are two different things. I think Patrick should add he will skate without a fall and Brian Joubert will skate consistently with better transitions ditto for Plushy - but can they execute - that's another issue.
 

Violet Bliss

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 19, 2010
^^^ I think both Patrick and Daisuke have been very good at delivering what they say they would do. Both are into improving themselves in various aspects but neither promise not to fall. That's one thing any skater pushing the envelop can't promise.
 
Top