Johnny Weir Wins Skating Magazine 2010 Readers' Choice Skater Of The Year Award
Johnny Weir (Photo by Paul Harvath)
(07/21/10) U.S. Figure Skating and SKATING magazine announced today that 2010 U.S. bronze medalist Johnny Weir has won the 2010 Readers' Choice Award for Skater of the Year Michelle Kwan Trophy). Weir also won the award in 2008.
"I am honored to win the Readers' Choice Award for the second time in my career," Weir said. "I gave my all to my craft this past season, and I am so proud that my fans were entertained and inspired from watching me."
Last year's Readers' Choice winner and 2010 Olympic champion Evan Lysacek came in second, followed by 2010 Olympic silver medalist ice dancers Meryl Davis and Charlie White.
Weir's 2009-10 season included a fourth-place finish at the Rostelecom Cup, a silver medal at the NHK Trophy and a bronze medal at the 2009 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final. His bronze-medal win at the 2010 AT&T U.S. Figure Skating Championships helped qualify him for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, where he finished sixth.
"I have the most amazing fans in the world, and this award is really for them," Weir said. "I thank them for sticking with me through thick and thin, without complaint and with constant love."
The three-time U.S. champion recently announced that he will not compete during the 2010-11 season, taking time off to concentrate on his skating technique and pursue other interests.
"I want to thank my family, my coaches, Galina Zmievskaya, Viktor Petrenko and Nina Petrenko, my choreographer David Wilson, and my agent Tara Modlin of Fireworks Sports Marketing," Weir said.
The full title of the award is the "Readers' Choice Skater(s) of the Year, Michelle Kwan Trophy." The trophy is scheduled to be presented to Weir at the 2011 U.S. Championships in Greensboro, N.C.
Each spring, SKATING magazine readers are asked to vote for the eligible skater in any discipline whom they believe is most deserving of the award, based on the accomplishments of the past season. The Michelle Kwan Trophy, which represents both the sport of figure skating and SKATING magazine, is a one-of-a-kind crystal sculpture designed by Crystal Signatures of Pennsylvania.
The Readers' Choice Award is given annually by SKATING magazine, the official publication of U.S. Figure Skating. Voting was open to the public on http://www.usfigureskating.org/.
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Tweet from Johnny Weir thanking his fans for voting for him:
1 comment:
Johnny Weir is definitely NOT a fake, he is most definitely real.
I'm not going to say last year's recipient didn't 'deserve it', though. I'm glad the readers voted Johnny this award this year because of all the crap he had to put up with, the lack of support from the USFSA, and the fact he skated so beautifully in Vancouver and wasn't rewarded for it. He does bring us his art and his heart, and we are all the better for it.
I hope at his point the USFSA has realized what a mistake they made in not supporting Johnny when nasty things were said about him; or with the international judges and all the BS over the years that Johnny has been gracing us with his beautiful skating.
In the end, Johnny wins in this equation because of how he has handled all of this, and how he has treated his fans, his family, his friends, his competitors, even his detractors. I feel privileged to be Johnny Weir's fan, and I should be thanking him for existing, not him thanking me for being a fan.
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