Verner in 2010 |
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Tomáš Verner | ||||||||||||||||||
| Country represented | Czech Republic | ||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 3 June 1986 Pisek, Czeckoslovakia |
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| Home town | Borovany | ||||||||||||||||||
| Residence | Prague, Toronto | ||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Coach | Robert Emerson Vlasta Koprivova |
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| Former coach | Iveta Bidarova Michael Huth |
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| Choreographer | Pasquale Camerlengo | ||||||||||||||||||
| Former choreographer | Lori Nichol Rostislav Sinitsyn |
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| Skating club | BK Ceske Budejovice | ||||||||||||||||||
| Current training locations | Toronto, Detroit, New Jersey, Prague | ||||||||||||||||||
| Former training locations | Oberstdorf, Leppavirta | ||||||||||||||||||
| Began skating | 1991 | ||||||||||||||||||
| World standing | 9 (As of 16 June 2011[update])[1] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Season's bests | 8 (2010–2011)[2] 13 (2009–2010)[3] 6 (2008–2009)[4] |
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| ISU personal best scores | |||||||||||||||||||
| Combined total | 232.67 2008 Europeans |
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| Short program | 81.45 2009 Europeans |
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| Free skate | 156.21 2010 Cup of Russia |
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Medal record
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Tomáš Verner (Czech pronunciation: [ˈtomaːʃ ˈvɛrnɛr] ( listen)) (born 3 June 1986 in Písek) is a Czech figure skater. He is the 2008 European Champion, a two time European medalist (2007 and 2011), and an eight-time (2002–2004, 2006–2008, 2011–2012) Czech national champion. He has won six senior Grand Prix medals, including the 2010 Cup of Russia title. He is the last person to have scored higher than Patrick Chan in competition.
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Verner started skating at the age of five. He also did athletics and played football before choosing to focus on skating.[5] At the age of 12, he moved from Pisek, where he was born, to Prague where his talent was spotted by coach Vlasta Koprivova.[6]
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.[7] He trained in Prague and also traveled regularly to Oberstdorf, Germany to train with Michael Huth.[6][8] During summers, he would also spend a few weeks training in Leppävirta, Finland.[9]
In 2007, Verner improved dramatically 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 placed fourth overall. After popping a triple axel and making an error on a spin, he was in ninth place 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]
In 2008, Verner became the first Czech male to win Europeans since Petr Barna's victory for Czechoslovakia in 1992.[6] 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 LP which dropped him to 6th place overall. He finished fourth at the 2009 Worlds.
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][13] Verner was first alternate for the Grand Prix Final, and eventually filled the slot left open by the injured Brian Joubert;[14] 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.
Before the start of the 2010-11 season, Verner changed coaches, and began training with Robert Emerson in Richmond Hill, near Toronto.[13] 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.[15] 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.[15] 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,[16] but finished second in the free skate to move up to third overall.[17] 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.[18][19]
He finished 12th at the Worlds.
Verner's assignments for the 2011–12 Grand Prix season are the 2011 NHK Trophy and the 2011 Rostelecom Cup.[20] Before Grand Prix season, he withdrew his entry from some competitions like Nebelhorn Trophy due to back injury. At the 2011 NHK trophy, his condition is still not good. He made errors on jump and step sequence. He placed 9th in the short program with 62.96 points, 5th in the free skate gathering 133.67 points and 5th overall with 196.63. He withdrew from the 2011 Rostelecom Cup. At the Czech Championships, he was second behind Michal Brezina after the short program with a score of 70.45. He won the free skate with a score of 156.32 for a total score of 226.77 to win his eighth national title.[21]
Verner studied physical education and sports at Charles University in Prague, and earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in 2010.[13] He is fluent in Czech, German and English, and speaks some Russian.
Verner's father is a doctor.[5] He has an older brother, Miroslav, who used to compete internationally in junior pair skating,[7] and a younger sister, Kateřina.
| Season | Short program | Free skating | Exhibition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011–2012 | Carmina Burana (hiphop version) by Carl Orff |
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| 2010–2011 | Singin' in the Rain | Michael Jackson medley | Always Look on the Bright Side of Life by Monty Python |
| 2009–2010 | Zorba the Greek soundtrack by Mikis Theodorakis |
The Godfather soundtrack by Nino Rota, Carmine Coppola |
Always Look on the Bright Side of Life by Monty Python Michael Jackson Medley |
| 2008–2009 |
|
Tango medley:
|
Michael Jackson Medley |
| 2007–2008 |
|
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon soundtrack by Tan Dun |
Volare by the Gypsy Kings |
| 2006–2007 | Toccata & Fugue by Johann Sebastian Bach performed by Vanessa Mae |
Fundamentum, Lesium by Lesiëm |
The Pink Panther |
| 2005–2006 | Blues | Fundamentum, Lesium by Lesiëm |
Rockaria! |
| 2004–2005 | Blues |
|
Rockaria! |
| 2003–2004 | New classical melody performed by Boston Symphony Orchestra |
|
Rockaria! |
| 2002–2003 | New classical melody performed by Boston Symphony Orchestra |
One Man's Dream from Yanni Live at the Acropolis |
Rockaria! |
| 2001–2002 | Victory by Bond |
One Man's Dream from Yanni Live at the Acropolis |
| Event | 2004–05 | 2005–06 | 2006–07 | 2007–08 | 2008–09 | 2009–10 | 2010–11 | 2011-12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winter Olympic Games | 18th | 19th | ||||||
| World Championships | 16th QR | 13th | 4th | 15th | 4th | 12th | ||
| European Championships | 10th | 2nd | 1st | 6th | 10th | 3rd | ||
| Czech Championships | 1st | 1st | 1st | 2nd | 1st | 1st | ||
| Grand Prix Final | 4th | 6th | 5th | |||||
| Trophée Eric Bompard | 6th | 2nd | ||||||
| Skate America | 5th | |||||||
| Cup of Russia | 4th | 2nd | 1st | WD | ||||
| Cup of China | 3rd | 3rd | ||||||
| NHK Trophy | 2nd | 5th | ||||||
| Skate Canada International | 5th | |||||||
| Ice Challenge | 1st[22] | |||||||
| Karl Schäfer Memorial | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | |||||
| Nebelhorn Trophy | 3rd | 1st | 3rd | 4th | ||||
| Finlandia Trophy | 6th | 1st | ||||||
| Ondrej Nepela Memorial | 3rd | |||||||
| WD = Withdrew; QR = Qualifying round | ||||||||
| Event | 1999-00 | 2000–01 | 2001–02 | 2002–03 | 2003–04 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| World Championships | 26th | 22nd | 19th | ||
| European Championships | 14th | WD | 10th | ||
| World Junior Championships | 17th | 14th | |||
| Czech Championships | 2nd J. | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 1st |
| Junior Grand Prix Final | 7th | 6th | |||
| Junior Grand Prix, Bulgaria | 2nd | ||||
| Junior Grand Prix, Italy | 5th | ||||
| Junior Grand Prix, Germany | 2nd | ||||
| Junior Grand Prix, Netherlands | 4th | ||||
| Junior Grand Prix, Poland | 11th | ||||
| Junior Grand Prix, Croatia | 14th | ||||
| Junior Grand Prix, Czech Republic | 17th | 15th | 10th | 1st | |
| Bofrost Cup | 6th | ||||
| Karl Schäfer Memorial | 9th | 11th | |||
| Nebelhorn Trophy | 15th | 11th | |||
| Paekdusan Prize | 4th | ||||
| J. = Junior level; WD = Withdrew | |||||