Weir's diva attitude ruins chance for medal

< Prev | 1 | 2

One of his less memorable quotes was that he would urinate if he won a medal. Turns out he didn’t need to worry about that after a program in which he managed to stay upright but was shaky from the beginning.

Weir planned to try his first quad ever in competition but gave that up because he didn’t have enough time to warm up after he missed the bus. He two-footed a triple axel, had a shaky landing on a triple lutz and was thinking too much the whole way around.

By the time his program was over, he knew his medal hopes were, too.

Story continues below ↓

advertisement | your ad here

“I was terrified today. I wasn’t comfortable and that’s why I was so scared,” Weir said.

Weir barely waited for his bad numbers to pop up on the overhead scoreboard before storming from the kiss and cry area.

“I didn’t feel my aura,” he said. “I was black inside.”

The fall from contention came after a meteoric rise to stardom. Just a few days earlier, Weir backed up his mouth by skating a short program that put him in second place and gave him a chance to grab an unexpected medal for the United States.

Back home, they were paying attention.

It’s hard not to, though, to a skater who dresses as a swan, admits to being pretentious and said this week that he doesn’t like to be called a jock because it makes him think of spandex-clad football players.

Dick Button he’s not. Tonya Harding acted tougher than this guy.

But, hey, you have to respect anyone who dresses like a swan in public.

Weir said he had 25 fan mails day before the short program. When he checked before his final skate, he had 897.

“I talked to one of my friends and they said, ‘You made this person’s Web site as a D-list celebrity.’ Great. I’m Kathy Griffin.”

Weir talked about being mad at himself, but he didn’t sound all that upset afterward. He ran the media gauntlet, stopping to talk to anyone who wanted to listen, and said he would be back in four years to try again.

Meanwhile, he still had something to take from the Olympics. He said he learned he can compete on a big stage, and more.

Like what?

“I learned I definitely want to stay in a hotel,” he said.

< Prev | 1 | 2