Tomáš Verner

Tomáš Verner

Verner in 2010
Personal information
Country represented Czech Republic
Born (1986-06-03) 3 June 1986
Písek, Czechoslovakia
Home town Borovany
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Former coach Michael Huth, Robert Emerson, Vlasta Kopřivová, Iveta Bidařová
Former choreographer Lori Nichol, Pasquale Camerlengo, Rostislav Sinicyn
Skating club BK České Budějovice
Former training locations Oberstdorf, Prague, Toronto, Detroit, New Jersey, Leppavirta
Began skating 1991
Retired 2014
ISU personal best scores
Combined total 232.99
2014 Winter Olympics
Short program 89.08
2014 Worlds
Free skate 156.21
2010 Cup of Russia
Medal record
Representing the  Czech Republic
Figure skating: Men's singles
European Championships
2008 Zagreb Men's singles
2007 Warsaw Men's singles
2011 Bern Men's singles

Tomáš Verner (Czech pronunciation: [ˈtomaːʃ ˈvɛrnɛr]; born 3 June 1986) is a Czech figure skater. He is the 2008 European champion, a medalist at two other European Championships (2007 silver, 2011 bronze), and a ten-time (2002–2004, 2006–2008, 2011–2014) Czech national champion. He has won six senior Grand Prix medals, including the 2010 Cup of Russia title.

Personal life

Tomáš Verner was born on 3 June 1986 in Písek, Czech Republic.[1] He moved to the capital, Prague, when he was 12 years old.[2] His father is a doctor.[3] He has an older brother, Miroslav, who formerly competed internationally in junior pair skating,[4][5] and a younger sister, Kateřina, who is a gymnast. He was in relationship for four years with figure skater Nathalie Péchalat.

Verner studied physical education and sports at Charles University in Prague, and earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in 2010.[6] He then studied sports marketing and management at the University of Prague.[7] He speaks Czech, German, and English and also knows some Russian.

Career

Early career

Verner started skating at the age of five. He also did athletics and played football before choosing to focus on skating.[3] At the age of 12, he moved from Písek, where he was born, to Prague where his talent was spotted by coach Vlasta Kopřivová.[2]

He won his first national title in the 2001–02 season, and later that year represented the Czech Republic at the European Championships, where he finished 14th, and at the World Championships, where he failed to qualify for the free skate. Over the next four years, Verner finished as high as 10th place at Europeans and 13th at Worlds. He missed much of the 2004–05 season after he twisted his ankle and tore part of the muscle from the bone.[5] He trained in Prague and also traveled regularly to Oberstdorf, Germany to train with Michael Huth.[2][8] During summers, he would also spend a few weeks training in Leppävirta, Finland.[9]

2006–2007 season

In 2007, Verner improved significantly upon his previous results. At the European Championships in Warsaw, he led after the short program before finishing with the silver medal behind Brian Joubert.[10] He was the first Czech male single skater to medal at the European Championships since 1992. At the 2007 World Championships in Japan, he finished fourth overall. Having popped a triple axel and made an error on a spin, he was in ninth place after the short but moved up to fourth after the long program, landing a quadruple toe loop-triple toe loop combination and a further quadruple toe loop.[9]

2007–2009 seasons

In 2008, Verner became the first Czech male to win Europeans since Petr Barna's victory for Czechoslovakia in 1992.[2] He was fourth after the short program at the 2008 World Championships but finished 15th after popping several jumps in his long program.[11]

Verner's 2008–09 Grand Prix assignments were the Cup of China and the Cup of Russia. He finished third and second, respectively, qualifying for the Grand Prix Final where he finished 4th. At the 2009 Europeans, Verner scored a personal best in the short program and was in second place, but made several mistakes in his long program which dropped him to 6th place overall. He finished fourth at the 2009 World Championships.

2009–2010 season

Verner began the 2009–10 season with a silver medal at the 2009 Trophée Eric Bompard. He finished fifth at the 2010 Skate America. While at Skate America, he became ill with H1N1 flu, from which he was unable to fully recover during the rest of the season.[12][6] Verner was first alternate for the Grand Prix Final, and eventually filled the slot left open by the injured Brian Joubert;[13] he came in sixth. He was second to Michal Březina at the Czech Championships, dropped to 10th at Europeans and struggled at the Olympics, finishing 19th. Verner decided not to compete at the World Championships because he felt unprepared for the event.

2010–2011 season

Before the start of the 2010–11 season, Verner changed coaches, and began training with Robert Emerson in Richmond Hill, near Toronto.[6] Whereas in Europe, he typically trained his program in parts, with full run-throughs only before a competition, his new coach requires complete run-throughs in everyday training.[14] Verner won the bronze at 2010 Cup of China, his first Grand Prix event of the year. At the 2010 Cup of Russia, Verner set a new personal best in the long program and beat Patrick Chan and Jeremy Abbott to win his first senior Grand Prix title.[14] He was the only person to beat Patrick Chan in international competition during the 2010-2011 season. He qualified for the 2010–2011 Grand Prix Final, where he finished fifth in the short program and fourth in the free skate for fifth place overall. His next event was the Czech national championships, which he won for the first time in three years. Verner was fifth in the short program at the 2011 Europeans following a fall on his triple Axel,[15] but finished second in the free skate to move up to third overall.[16] The bronze medal was his first podium finish at the Europeans since winning the event in 2008.

Following the European Championships, Verner and a number of other elite skaters performed in a show in North Korea, an event which was sanctioned by the Czech skating association and the ISU but resulted in some criticism in the Czech Republic.[17][18]

Verner finished 12th at the 2011 World Championships.

2011–2014

Verner withdrew from the 2011 Nebelhorn Trophy due to a back injury. He was not fully recovered by the Grand Prix series. He finished 5th at the 2011 NHK Trophy and withdrew from his second assignment, the 2011 Rostelecom Cup. At the Czech Championships, Verner was second behind Michal Březina after the short program but won the free skate and took his eighth national title.[19] He finished 5th at the 2012 European Championships and 16th at the 2012 World Championships.

Verner was 11th at the 2013 European Championships and 21st at the World Championships. In June and July 2013, he trained at the IceDome camp in Oberstdorf, working with Vlasta Kopřivová, Michael Huth, and Rostislav Sinicyn.[20] He received no Grand Prix assignments for the 2013–2014 season.[20]

In August 2013, Verner announced that he would return to Oberstdorf full-time to work with Michael Huth as his coach.[21][22] In October, he won gold at the 2013 Ondrej Nepela Memorial after placing second in the short program and first in the free skate.[23] Verner went on to compete at the Cup of Nice, which he also won.

In December, Verner competed at the Czech Championships where he won his tenth title, twenty-eight points ahead of second-place finisher, Michal Březina, securing himself a spot at his third Olympics.[24] He finished 11th at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.[1] Although he initially intended to retire in February 2014,[25] Verner decided to compete at the 2014 World Championships in Saitama, Japan,[26] and finished tenth at the event. He then retired from competition.[7]

Programs

Verner at the 2009 Grand Prix Final
Verner at 2010 Europeans
Season Short program Free skating Exhibition
2013–2014
[27][20][22]		 Tango medley:
2012–2013
[28][29][30]
  • Dracula
2011–2012
[31]
  • Sexy And I Know It
    by LMFAO
2010–2011
[32]
2009–2010
[33]
2008–2009
[34] 		Tango medley:
2007–2008
[35]
2006–2007
[36]
  • The Pink Panther
2005–2006
[37]
  • Blues
2004–2005
[38]
  • Blues
2003–2004
[39]
2002–2003
[40]
2001–2002
[41]
2000–2001
[42]

Competitive highlights

Verner (center) with fellow medalists Stéphane Lambiel and Brian Joubert at the 2008 European Championships.
International[43]
Event 1999-00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15
Olympics 18th 19th 11th
Worlds 26th 22nd 19th 16th QR 13th 4th 15th 4th 12th 16th 21st 10th
Europeans 14th WD 10th 10th 2nd 1st 6th 10th 3rd 5th 11th 7th
Grand Prix Final 4th 6th 5th
GP Bompard 6th 2nd 8th
GP Cup of China 3rd 3rd
GP Cup of Russia 4th 2nd 1st WD
GP NHK Trophy 2nd 5th
GP Skate America 5th 8th
GP Skate Canada 5th
Bofrost Cup 6th
Cup of Nice 1st
Finlandia 6th 1st
Ice Challenge 1st[44]
Karl Schäfer 9th 11th 1st 2nd 3rd
Nebelhorn 15th 11th 3rd 1st 3rd 4th 6th
Ondrej Nepela 3rd 3rd 1st
International: Junior[43]
Junior Worlds 17th 14th
JGP Final 7th 6th
JGP Bulgaria 2nd
JGP Croatia 14th
JGP Czech Rep. 17th 15th 10th 1st
JGP Germany 2nd
JGP Italy 5th
JGP Netherlands 4th
JGP Poland 11th
Paekdusan Prize 4th
National[43]
Czech Champ. 2nd J. 2nd 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 2nd 1st 1st 1st 1st
Team events
Japan Open 1st T
(4th P)
GP = Grand Prix; JGP = Junior Grand Prix
J. = Junior level; WD = Withdrew; QR = Qualifying round

References

  1. 1 2 "Tomas VERNER". Organizing Committee of the XXII Olympic Winter Games. Archived from the original on 20 March 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Rutherford, Lynn (21 March 2008). "Q&A with 2008 European champion Tomas Verner". icenetwork.com. Retrieved 6 November 2010.
  3. 1 2 Heij, Daphne; Stejskalova, Pavla; Vanova, Jana (2005). "Tomas Verner - On the way to Torino". AbsoluteSkating.com. Retrieved 7 February 2011.
  4. ↑ "Klara ZOUBKOVA / Miroslav VERNER". International Skating Union.
  5. 1 2 Mittan, Barry (7 November 2005). "Verner is a Winner". SkateToday.
  6. 1 2 3 McLean, Adam (3 December 2010). "Olympic skater in Richmond Hill". yorkregion.com. Archived from the original on 15 September 2012.
  7. 1 2 Osborne, Magdalena (23 August 2014). "Tomáš Verner looks towards a "real" life". Absolute Skating.
  8. ↑ "Interview with Tomas Verner, Ice Dome Trainingscamp in Oberstdorf, July 2008". FigureSkating-Online. 20 July 2008. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
  9. 1 2 Gillis, Sean (13 May 2007). "Interview with Tomas Verner". GoldenSkate.com. Retrieved 6 November 2010.
  10. ↑ Bőd, Titanilla (2007). "Tomáš Verner: "I will learn another quad"". AbsoluteSkating.com. Retrieved 7 February 2011.
  11. ↑ "ISU Summary of Worlds 2008". International Skating Union. Retrieved 4 June 2008.
  12. ↑ Heij, Daphne (November 2010). "The big change of Tomas Verner". AbsoluteSkating.com. Retrieved 5 December 2010.
  13. ↑ "2009-10 ISU Grand Prix Final of Figure Skating Preview".
  14. 1 2 Kondakova, Anna (20 November 2010). "Verner captures first Grand Prix gold in Moscow". GoldenSkate.com. Retrieved 4 December 2010.
  15. ↑ "Amodio leads men at Europeans".
  16. ↑ "Amodio wins European title in his debut".
  17. ↑ Kwong, PJ (11 March 2011). "Verner puzzled by North Korea controversy". cbc.ca. Retrieved 12 March 2011.
  18. ↑ "Interview about the show in North Korea". tomasverner.com. 23 February 2011. Retrieved 12 March 2011.
  19. ↑ "2012 Czech, Slovak and Polish Figure Skating Championships". Czech Skating Union. 17 December 2011. Retrieved 19 December 2011.
  20. 1 2 3 Flade, Tatjana (25 July 2013). "Verner will "Tango" this season". Golden Skate.
  21. ↑ "Tomas to move back to Oberstdorf". Official site of Tomas Verner. August 2013.
  22. 1 2 Luchianov, Vladislav (23 October 2013). "Revived Verner finds new inspiration in Slovakia". IceNetwork.
  23. ↑ "21st Ondrej Nepela Trophy - Men". Slovak Skating.
  24. ↑ "4 Nationals 2014 - Men".
  25. ↑ Berlot, Jean-Christophe (19 January 2014). "Verner's long and winding road of self-discovery". IceNetwork.
  26. ↑ Richter, Jan (4 March 2014). "Figure skater Tomáš Verner postpones retirement". Radio Prague. Archived from the original on 4 March 2014.
  27. ↑ "Tomas VERNER: 2013/2014". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 3 June 2014.
  28. ↑ "Tomas VERNER: 2012/2013". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 22 August 2013.
  29. ↑ Bőd, Titanilla (22 January 2013). "Tomáš Verner "My Dracula is not terrorizing anybody"". Absolute Skating.
  30. ↑ Castellaro, Barbara; Torchio, Chiara (20 August 2012). "Tomas Verner: "Dracula will bring me back among the big"". ArtOnIce.it.
  31. ↑ "Tomas VERNER: 2011/2012". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 6 June 2012.
  32. ↑ "Tomas VERNER: 2010/2011". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 16 August 2011.
  33. ↑ "Tomas VERNER: 2009/2010". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 16 May 2010.
  34. ↑ "Tomas VERNER: 2008/2009". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 13 May 2009.
  35. ↑ "Tomas VERNER: 2007/2008". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 14 May 2008.
  36. ↑ "Tomas VERNER: 2006/2007". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 13 May 2007.
  37. ↑ "Tomas VERNER: 2005/2006". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 15 June 2006.
  38. ↑ "Tomas VERNER: 2004/2005". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 5 February 2005.
  39. ↑ "Tomas VERNER: 2003/2004". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 4 June 2004.
  40. ↑ "Tomas VERNER: 2002/2003". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 15 April 2003.
  41. ↑ "Tomas VERNER: 2001/2002". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 2 June 2002.
  42. ↑ "Tomas VERNER: 2000/2001". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 25 June 2001.
  43. 1 2 3 "Competition Results: Tomas VERNER". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 13 April 2014.
  44. ↑ http://www.slovakskating.org/results/2009/10/28/graz/index.htm
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