Fernandez, Javier

Javier Fernandez started figure skating quite late - at 7 years old, watching his older sister ^[4] (Laura Fernandez performed in women's single skating , was a participant in the World and European Championships ^[5] , and in 2008 she changed her discipline and began to train in ice dancing with Canadian skater Simon Gagnon ^[6] ). He was brought to the international level by Spanish coaches Ivan Saes , Carolina Sans and Jordi Lafarga . From the 2008–2009 season to the 2010–2011 season, Javier trained in the United States in the group of Nikolai Morozov , and then moved on to Brian Orser . At the very beginning, the Spanish Federation was negative about Javier’s moving overseas ^[7] .

At the 2009 European Championships, Fernandez took the 11th place, and at the 2009 World Championships - 19th place, winning a ticket for Spain to the 2010 Winter Olympics in men's singles . He became the first Spanish loner since 1956, who won the country the right to speak at the Olympics ^[4] .

In the season 2009-2010 for the first time in his career, he participated in the competitions of the Grand Prix series - this was the stage of “ Trophée Eric Bompard ” - where he took the eleventh place. The first tournament won among adults was for Javier the “ Merano Cup ” ( Italy ), where for the first time he performed a quadruple jump ( toe loop ) for the free program . In the same season, he became the third in the International Cup of Nice tournament and, having won the national championship for the first time, was in the top ten at the European Championship (became the eighth).

At the Winter Olympics he took the fourteenth place, which for Spain , where figure skating is not a very popular and developed sport (there are only 7 skating rinks in the country), is a good result. At the subsequent World Cup, Javier significantly improved his last year result: he became the 12th and set personal records according to estimates for both programs. At the 2011 World Championships , held in Moscow , Javier performed two different quadruple jumps in a free skate program: a sheepskin coat and a salchow , finishing in tenth place.

At the Grand Prix stage of the 2011/2012 - Skate Canada International 2011 season , Javier won the short program, beating such titular figure skaters as Daisuke Takahashi and Patrick Chan ^[8] , and the silver medal he won as a result of these competitions became the first medal of the Grand Prix stages when for Spain ^[2] .

In Sochi, after the short program, Fernandez was third. In the free program, he was disappointed because of a ridiculous mistake. His quadruple Salchow was counted as triple, and the second triple Salchow in the end of the program was not counted at all by the judges (the so-called “Zayak rule” prohibiting the repetition of jumps). As a result, Fernandez lost to Denis Ten only 1.18 points and took 4th place ^[9] . After the Olympic season, Fernandez began very successfully; took second place in the Canadian Grand Prix stage and won the Russian stage ^[10] . Thus, he managed to reach the Grand Prix Final , which this year will be held in his native Spain. In the final, the Grand Prix won the silver medal, which is the first medal of such a test of Spanish figure skating in the world elite ^[11] . In January, he confidently became the European champion in Stockholm for the third time. And at the end of March in Shanghai at the World Cup, he fought a stubborn fight with the Olympic champion and the champion of four continents. In the free program, he showed great skating and managed to take first place ^[12] .

The skater began his first performance at the Chinese Cup in the Grand Prix series, he confidently took first place there ^[13] . At the Grand Prix stage in Russia, the skater also won a gold medal ^[14] . In Barcelona, he performed successfully and finished second, and improved his achievements in the free program and amount ^[15] . In January 2016, he became the four-time European champion, not meeting any competition from his rivals; at the same time he scored a record amount in two programs and improved his achievements in the short program. In early April, the Spanish skater performed excellently at the world championship in Boston and became the world champion for the second time ^[16] . At the same time, he surpassed his previous sporting achievement in the free program and amount.

In early November, the Spanish figure skater began a new pre-Olympic season at the Grand Prix stage in Moscow , where he confidently became the winner in the Rostelecom Cup ^[17] . In mid-November, the Spaniard performed at the Grand Prix stage in Paris , where he finished first at the Trophée de France tournament ^[18] . This allowed him to confidently reach the Grand Prix finals , in Marseille . In France , at the very finals, he did not perform very well and ended up in fourth place ^[19] . In December, Javier once again became the champion of the country. At the end of January, the Spanish single played in Ostrava at the European Championship and once again became the European champion ^[20] . At the same time, he improved his previous sporting achievement in the short program. At the end of March, the Spanish loner performed at the World Championships in Helsinki , where the skater was not able to become one of the winners of the World Championship ^[21] . At the same time, he won two places for his country at the upcoming Olympics in South Korea and improved his previous achievements in the short program.

Third Olympic Season

The new Olympic season the Spanish figure skater began in Montreal , where speaking at the tournament Autumn Classic International 2017 , he finished in first place ^[22] . Two months later, the skater performed at the Chinese stage of the Grand Prix series in Beijing, where he suffered a fiasco and he finished in the middle of the table ^[23] . He managed to rehabilitate in mid-November at the French Grand Prix stage, which he won ^[24] . At the national championship in December 2017 in Hack, he confidently defended the title of champion of the country. Further, at the European Championships in Moscow, he led after a short program and in the free program he won the sixth consecutive victory in the continental championship.

At the 2018 Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, Javier won a bronze medal in a bitter struggle. With the World Cup in Milan, Javier decided to withdraw.

Javier Fernandez for the seventh time in a row celebrated his success at the continental championship, winning the 2019 European Championship in Minsk , which was the last competition for him in amateur sports.

Post-2010 Results

Results by 2010

• N = beginner level; J = junior level

• Javier Fernandez (Eng.) On the official website of the International Skating Union .
• Official site (English) (Spanish) (Russian)