Figure skating legend Johnny Weir made his reality TV return in 2026 with an appearance on season 4 of The Traitors.
But reality fans might not be familiar with Weir’s lengthy resume on the ice. Though he actually started as an equestrian, Weir began skating at age 12, inspired by Kristi Yamaguchi’s 1992 gold medal-winning performance at the Albertville Winter Olympics.
A two-time Olympian himself and a six-time medalist at the U.S. championships, Weir competed professionally for more than two decades and became one of the most outspoken athletes in the sport’s history.
“I don’t regret anything,” he told Today’s Meredith Viera in 2011. “I pushed a lot of buttons with the figure skating federation, but I was trying to open them up and teach them. I’m a modern, young person. There are things that I like and things that I will do, and I don’t need to answer to anybody. I make my own path in this world.”
Keep scrolling to learn more about Johnny Weir’s on-ice career.
Johnny Weir Is a 2-Time Olympian
Weir made his Olympic debut in 2006 in Turin, Italy, placing second in the short program and sixth in free skating, good for a fifth-place finish overall. He returned to the Winter Games in 2010 in Russia, where he finished sixth, again short of taking home a medal.
Johnny Weir Won 3 Straight Gold Medals at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships
While Weir had two cracks on sports’ biggest stage, he was arguably the most dominant skater of his era in the United States. He won his first title at U.S. Nationals in 2004 at age 19, making him the youngest to win since 1991. He won again in 2005, and when he capped off the three-peat the next year, he became the first to accomplish the feat since 1988.
Johnny Weir Was Inducted into the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 2021
Weir was honored for his skating success in 2021 when he was inducted into the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame. It was a celebration of not only his dominance, but how he established his own style on the ice, from the clothes he wore, to the quotes he gave.
“Despite the naysayers who felt his at-times-flamboyant and potentially loud persona was too much, or even those within the sport who requested he ‘tone down’ his nontraditional words and costumes at times, Weir has stayed true to himself in every endeavor,” U.S. Figure Skating wrote at the time.
Weir added, “The Hall of Fame is something that I looked to for inspiration, because it’s the greatest champions in American skating that are a part of this Hall of Fame; it’s the people who were able to manage their talent in addition to being judged for a living. The people in there are certainly people I looked up to my whole career, and to now be joining them is surreal.”
Johnny Weir Retired from Competitive Figure Skating in 2013
Weir called it a career in 2013, opting to stay in the game by joining the broadcast booth.
“It is surreal writing about my career as if it had happened to someone else and to actually write the words, ‘I am retiring from competitive figure skating,’ Weir said in a statement to Us Weekly at the time. “I have cried my way through writing this entire column not because I am sad, or that I’ll miss training or falling or being so nervous I thought my head would explode, or starving or the glory of victory or the agony of defeat, I cry because of the memories that have shaped my life.”
Johnny Weir Became Best Friends With ‘Traitors’ Costar Tara Lipinski in Retirement
Weir said during the season 4 premiere that he wanted to downplay his relationship with castmate Tara Lipinski, but any figure skating fans in the group would have seen right through it.
Not only are the two close friends — Weir was even a bridesman at her wedding — but even described themselves as “long-lost platonic soulmates who met later in life” in a 2022 interview with Vogue.
The pair has worked together for years behind the microphone as figure skating broadcasters for NBC Sports, as well as fashion commentators at events ranging from The Oscars to the Kentucky Derby.
Read the full article here
