Jeremy Abbott

Jeremy Abbott (born June 5, 1985) is a retired American competitive figure skater. He is the 2008 Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final champion, a two-time Four Continents Championship bronze medalist (2007, 2011), and a four-time U.S. national champion (2009–2010, 2012, 2014). He represented the United States at the 2010 Winter Olympics, where he finished ninth, and the 2014 Winter Olympics, where he won a bronze medal in the team event. Since retiring, Abbott has worked as a choreographer and figure skating coach.

Personal life Jeremy Abbott was born on June 5, 1985, in Aspen, Colorado, to Allison and Danny Abbott. He has an older sister, Gwen Abbott, a former nationally ranked downhill ski racer and Winter X Games competitor in extreme skiing. He attended Cheyenne Mountain High School for five years, stretching his high school career out one year longer than the usual, so he could concentrate on both skating and getting good grades. He graduated in 2004.

In January 2015, Abbott's father, Danny Abbott, died from complications due to Parkinson's disease. Abbott competed at the 2015 U.S. Championships shortly afterward. "It was such an unfortunate circumstance, but so many wonderful things came out of it," Abbott said. "I got to spend a lot of time with my family, and... the funeral in Aspen ended up being a celebration of his life instead of a mourning of his loss.

Although he had not hidden his sexuality from his friends and family, Abbott chose to come out as gay in June 2020. "I just never talked about it publicly. And I held a lot of shame, actually, about that for a long time," Abbott said. "I struggled with saying it for many reasons, because a lot of times... I always felt like I was doing it for the wrong reason. Honestly, with the political climate and everything... I was just like, 'You know what? One more voice can help, so here it is.'"

Skating career

Early years Abbott began skating at age two. He began competing at age four after being inspired by Robin Cousins. A remark he made during this competition – "Stranger things could happen; pigs could fly!" – led him to adopt a pig with wings as his mascot. Abbott made it the slogan of his charitable fund, which he launched to help young male skaters struggling to pay coaching fees, ice time, and competition fees.

2005–08 Abbott was given his first senior international assignment in the 2005–06 Olympic season, placing eighteenth at the 2005 Nebelhorn Trophy. He won sectionals and advanced to the 2007 U.S. Championships, where he won the pewter medal. Abbott was named the first alternate to the World and Four Continents teams. When Johnny Weir withdrew from the 2007 Four Continents Championships, Abbott was given the opportunity to compete at the event, which was held at his home rink, World Arena, Colorado Springs. He beat out his training mate Ryan Bradley to win the bronze medal.

In the 2007–08 season, Abbott debuted on the Grand Prix circuit, placing eighth at the 2007 Skate Canada and fourth at the 2007 NHK Trophy. At the 2008 U.S. Championships, he again won the pewter medal. He placed fifth at the 2008 Four Continents Championships. He was sent to the 2008 World Championships after Evan Lysacek withdrew with injury, where he placed eleventh.

2008–09 Abbott and his fellow medalists at the 2008-2009 Grand Prix Final. In the 2008–09 season, Abbott had a breakthrough season on the Grand Prix circuit. He won the 2008 Cup of China and placed fourth at the 2008 Cup of Russia to qualify for the 2008–09 Grand Prix Final. He won the Grand Prix Final, becoming the first American man to do so, and achieved the highest total free skate score for an American man at that time. At the 2009 World Championships, Abbot placed tenth in both the short program and free skate, and finished eleventh overall. In the off-season, he performed at the Festa On Ice show in South Korea, his first ice show in a foreign country.

In May 2009, Abbott switched coaches to Yuka Sato in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. He then won the 2009 Skate Canada to qualify once again for the Grand Prix Final, where he placed fourth.

At the 2010 U.S. Championships, Abbott won both segments of the competition to win the title overall, finishing 25 points ahead of the second place Evan Lysacek. He was named to the Winter Olympic team. At the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, a disastrous performance left him in fifteenth place after the short program. Abbott earned a score of 149.56 in the free skate, placing ninth overall. The selection committee left him off the 2011 World Championships team, disappointing Abbott who thought the rules stated that other results would be taken into consideration.

2011–12 season For the 2011–12 Grand Prix season, Abbott was assigned to compete at the 2011 Cup of China and 2011 Cup of Russia. He withdrew from the 2012 Four Continents Championships due to back spasms.

2013–14 season During an interview for "The Skating Lesson Podcast", Abbott told Jennifer Kirk that the 2013–14 season would be his last. He finished sixth at the 2013 Skate Canada International, and won the bronze medal at the second, the 2013 NHK Trophy. At the 2014 U.S. Championships, he placed first in the short program and second in the free skate. Abbott finished first overall, and was named to the U.S. team to the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. Abbott finished in twelfth place after the free skate; he had woken up in pain after his fall on the ice during the short program, and was unable to do any loop jumps, so he swapped them out for other jumps, and eschewed the quadruple toe loop that had caused his fall. For Abbott, who had already announced that he would retire at the end of the season, the chance to end the 2014 Winter Olympics with a clean performance was a redemption.

He was awarded a team bronze medal.

Shortly before the 2015 U.S. Championships, Abbott's father died.

Treat Ghost Waltz Waltz No. 2 River Waltz Masquerade Waltz

Faith

Adagio in G minor

Eight Seasons

Treat

A Day in the Life

Symphony No. 3 (Organ Symphony) Jupiter Pines of Rome Symphony No. 3 (Organ Symphony)

Detailed results

Senior level

Junior level