Biography
Johnny Weir was born John Garvin Weir on July 2, 1984 in Coatesville, Penn., to John and Patti Weir. After years of figure skating training and competing in juvenile and intermediate levels, Weir notched his first major victory in 2001. After performing three near flawless programs, Weir won the gold medal at the World Junior Championships, ahead of fellow American and eventual Olympic gold medalist Evan Lysacek. Later that year, he competed in his first U.S. Figure Skating Championships and managed to place sixth overall in the finals. Not content with his performance, Weir continued to improve and he eventually reached a turning point in the 2003-04 season. At the 2004 U.S. Championships, he received his first perfect score and won the gold medal. The win marked the beginning of Weir's three-year domination at the U.S Figure Skating Championships, successfully defending his medal in 2005 and 2006. After winning his third consecutive U.S. Championship, he was added to the roster of the U.S. figure skating team for the 2006 Winter Olympic Games, where he finished in fifth place overall. He went on to compete again at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, where he finished sixth overall. Weir, who had kept quiet about his sexual orientation early in his career despite frequent speculation, officially came out as gay when he released his memoir, "Welcome to My World," in January 2011. Since then, he has become a prominent activist for LGBTQ rights and even established a scholarship fund in 2013 for LGBTQ youth for the Delaware Valley Legacy Fund. On October 23, 2013, the former U.S. Figure Skating champion officially announced his retirement from competitive skating. For the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Weir was teamed with Tara Lipinski and Terry Gannon to call figure skating live for NBC's daytime broadcasts. Thanks to the trio's success in Sochi, NBC named them its lead figure skating broadcast team. Weir and Lipinski also provided fashion commentary for "Access Hollywood" during the 86th Annual Academy Awards. They also covered fashion for NBC during the 2014 Kentucky Derby, and in 2015 were event reporters for NBC's coverage of the Super Bowl XLIX pregame show. The two also covered the 2015 Kentucky Derby as well as the National Dog Show, and in 2016 they once again provided fashion commentary at the Summer Olympic Games in Rio. The duo then travelled to PyeongChang, South Korea, for the 2018 Winter Olympic Games, where they covered figure skating alongside Gannon. They were also chosen to co-host the closing ceremonies in PyeongChang, once again alongside Gannon.
