Profile

Stats

Name Jeremy Abbott

Birthday June 5, 1985

Hometown Aspen, Colorado

Home Club Detroit Skating Club

Training Town Detroit, Michigan

Coaches Yuka Sato and Jason Dungjen

Choreographers Shae-Lynn Bourne, Pasquale Camerlengo and Tom Dickson

Representation Tara Modlin

Biography

For Jeremy Abbott, the route to becoming a 2010 U.S. Olympic team member started at a public session in Aspen, Colo., when he was two. But an inspiring performance by Olympic gold medalist Robin Cousins proved to be the turning point for Jeremy, then age four, as he started competing soon after.

"I started skating at two years old when my mom took me to the rink for public sessions, but I really knew that I wanted to skate when I was four," he said. "My mom took me to a skating show in Aspen, Colo., where I grew up, and I saw Robin Cousins skate.  I turned to my mom and told her that was what I wanted to do."

His first competition, Colorado's "Funtastics" Basic Skills event, was the first of many on-ice successes for Jeremy, who won his first regional medal, a bronze, as a juvenile at the Southwestern Regional Championship in 1995. He also collected silver at the event two years later.

While making strides on the juvenile level, Jeremy also competed in ice dancing. He partnered with Amanda Cunningham from 1995-1996 before skating with Katie Hoffmaster from 1997-1998.

In 1999, while still competing as a juvenile, Jeremy moved from Aspen to Colorado Springs to train at the World Arena with Tom Zakrajsek. Skating under Zakrajsek for the first time, Jeremy made his novice debut in 2000 at the Southwestern Regionals, where he claimed a bronze medal. He also placed eighth at the Midwestern Sectionals.

In the 2001-2002 season, Jeremy earned his first appearance at the U.S. Championships by taking the bronze at Midwesterns after winning the Southwestern Regional. He finished sixth at nationals in novice men's.

After his first trip to nationals, Jeremy decided to focus on his successful singles career. He previously skated pairs with Brittany Vise from 1998-1999 and also partnered with Krystal Sorenson from 2001-2002.

In 2003, after having a pars fracture in his L5 vertebra that kept him off the ice for 15 weeks, Jeremy won the Southwestern Region for the first time as a junior. He followed that performance with a silver medal at Midwesterns and a seventh place finish at the 2004 U.S. Championships.

Jeremy improved on his performances the next season. He won gold medals in junior men's at the regionals and sectionals before taking the title at the 2005 U.S. Championships, which marked his first time on the nationals podium.

Following his win on the junior level, Jeremy moved up to the senior level for the 2005-2006 season. He finished 18th at the Nebelhorn Trophy, his first international competition, and also placed fifth at the Midwestern Sectionals.

But Jeremy bounced back from the season he called a "disaster."

He opened with two solid skates that led to victory at the Finlandia Trophy. "After my long I was on the phone so I was only half watching the last boy," he said. "I heard his score and that he was in second, but being the master of deduction that I am I didn't realize that I was in first. I had to ask both my coaches and the rest of my team to confirm that I had won."

Jeremy followed that performance with another victory at the Midwestern Sectional, which qualified him for his first senior national championship. He finished ninth in his short program but a third place free skate helped him secure a pewter medal at nationals.

He made his presence known at the 2007 Four Continents Championships, his first International Skating Union event, by taking second place in the short program, in front of the hometown crowd at his then training facility, the World Arena in Colorado Springs.

"This is my first major international so I don't know where I stand," said Jeremy, who went on to win the bronze medal by about seven points. "I just really wanted to come in and make a good mark on the international scene."

His success continued the following season with another pewter medal showing at the 2008 U.S. Championships and a trip to the World Championships. He finished 11th in his World debut.

In the 2008-09 season, he started with a win at the Cup of China Grand Prix event in Beijing, setting the then-highest score ever recorded by an American man. He finished fourth at Cup of Russia in Moscow to secure one of six spots in the Grand Prix Final.

Jeremy capped the fall international season by becoming the first American man to ever win the Grand Prix Final, besting his Cup of China score in the process of taking home his second gold medal of the season. He was second in the short program but won the free skate.

At the 2009 U.S. Championship, Jeremy earned the title of America's best male skater. His free skate included seven triples — which would have been eight had he not popped a loop into a single – but was most impressive when it came to the quality of his program.

“I felt awful leading up to this event, I felt awful today, I felt awful on the ice,” Abbott said. “But I was able to control myself and do what I needed to do. I’m really relieved that it’s over, and I’m so excited that I won. It’s certainly something I’ve been working on for a long time, and I’m very happy it’s happened.”

In late May 2009, he ended a 10 year professional relationship with coach Tom Zakrajsek at the Colorado Springs World Arena, where he had trained since 1999. He moved to the Detroit suburbs, leaving home for the first time, to train with World Champion Yuka Sato.

"I wouldn't be where I am today without Tom," said Abbott, who also switched his club affiliation from the Broadmoor Skating Club to the Detroit Skating Club in summer 2009. "I am so grateful to him and everyone else at the World Arena for all that they have done for me in the past."

Skating under Sato, Jeremy won Skate Canada and placed fourth at the Grand Prix Final. He also won his second national title, which earned him a spot on the Olympic team.

"When you make huge changes there's always risk involved," he said. "There's always doubt when it come to making big moves, but deep down in my heart it felt right. I'm very happy with the decision I made and the lifestyle change I made."

Sato has instilled a confidence in him that he never had before.

"Everyone has doubt in themselves, but I used to believe it," Jeremy said. "That little nagging voice in the back of my head that told me I couldn't do it, I'd believe it. I'm learning I can quiet that voice and tell it to shut up."

Now established as one of the premier men's skaters in the world with a growing international medal collection, Jeremy is looking forward to accomplish his other goals in the sport, including a podium appearance at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games and the following World Championships.

Jeremy is inspired to reach those goals by people around him.

"My family and coaches are my biggest inspirations because of all of their support and hard work that they put in for my skating," Jeremy said. "Not to mention that they have to deal with me daily."

One of his best friends is his sister Gwen, a national-level downhill ski racer who also competed in the X-Games for extreme skiing.

Jeremy, who enjoys reading and snowboarding during his free time, maintains the Jeremy Abbott Training Fund. Started in 2005, the fund provides financial assistance to boys skating competitively for the Aspen Figure Skating Club, which was his first club.

"Growing up in Aspen and being one of the few guys figure skating in a hockey town wasn't easy—or cheap," he said. "The cost of skating, even from the beginning, can keep families from participating in the sport. I wanted a way to help get—and keep—younger boys in figure skating and this was a small way to start."

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