| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Country represented | United Kingdom |
| Born | 12 September 1984 |
| Height | 175 cm (5.74 ft) |
| Coach | Gary Jones |
| Skating club | Gilingham FSC Kent |
| ISU personal best scores | |
| Combined total | 144.10 2005 Europeans |
| Short program | 51.02 2007 Europeans |
| Free skate | 96.79 2005 KSM |
John William Hamer (born 12 September 1984 in Gillingham, Kent, England) is a British figure skater. He is the 2005-2007 British national champion.
Contents |
John started his skating career relatively late for a three-times British Champion.
At the age of 11, his parents were involved in a road traffic accident. His mother's doctor advised regular exercise as part of her rehabilitation. Having skated during her childhood, ice skating once again became her sport of choice. A young John - whose ambition at the time was to become a soldier - attended Gillingham Ice rink with his mother and before he knew it, the skating bug had bitten…
After five weeks of group courses, John signed up for private lessons with coach Gary Jones, with whom he trained with for his whole career.
John began his competitive skating career in 1996 at the age of 12. Two and a half years later, he competed in the 1999 British Novice Mens’ Championships. During the early naughties, he continued to compete in British Championships - where he placed first in the 2003 Junior Men's Championships. In 2001, John joining the British International Skating team in Zagreb, Croatia for the annual ‘Mladost Trophy contest where Team GB took first place, with John achieving the highest score among the British males. In the ensuing months, John took part in several Junior Grand Prix competitions.
In 2005, John was crowned the winner at the British Senior Mens’ Championships in 2005, leading him to participate in his first Senior International competition in European Championships February 2006 in Turin, Italy, before jetting to Moscow for World Championships a month later.
John regained the British Senior Mens’ crown for a further three years, before retiring from competition after the 2007 European Championships in Poland.
In his post-competition years, John joined the Russian Ice Stars for three years, where he met his wife, former Russian international pairs skater Rinata Araslanova.
Despite having always been trained by Gary Jones in Gillingham, John has worked with numerous international coaches, including Michael Jiranek and Rinata Jiranek (2005), Tatiana Tarasova (2006) and Texas-based Lorraine Boreman (2006).
In May 2011, John and his wife Rinata were confirmed as skaters in Kyran Bracken's Ice Party for the Blackpool shows in October 2011.
In February 2011, John began his career as an ice skating coaching at Alexandra Palace ice rink in North London. Bringing together skills and techniques from domestic and international coaches - as well as his own vast knowledge of skating - John has developed a unique method of teaching skating to anyone of any age and any level of experience. As an accomplished 'jumper' on the ice, John is also a jumping coach.
| Event | 2002-2003 | 2003-2004 | 2004-2005 | 2005-2006 | 2006-2007 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| World Championships | 29th | 30th | |||
| European Championships | 19th | 25th | 21st | ||
| British Championships | 1st J. | 9th | 1st | 1st | 1st |
| Karl Schäfer Memorial | 10th | 12th | |||
| Golden Spin of Zagreb | 4th | ||||
| Ondrej Nepela Memorial | 7th | ||||
| Junior Grand Prix, Poland | 14th | ||||
| Junior Grand Prix, Slovakia | 13th | ||||
| Mladost Trophy | 4th J. |