Joshua Farris (born January 6, 1995) is a former American competitive
figure skater. He is the
2015 Four Continents silver medalist, the
2013 World Junior champion, a two-time
Junior Grand Prix Final
The ISU Junior Grand Prix Final or JGP Final (titled the ISU Junior Series Final in the 1997–98 season) is the culmination of a series of junior-level competitions – the ISU Junior Grand Prix organized by the International Skating Union. Medals ...
medalist (silver in 2012, bronze in 2011), and the
2010 U.S. national junior silver medalist. He won five
Junior Grand Prix
The ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating (titled the ISU Junior Series in the 1997–98 season) is a series of international junior-level competitions organized by the International Skating Union. Medals are awarded in the disciplines of men ...
titles, as well as
U.S. national
Citizenship of the United States is a legal status that entails Americans with specific rights, duties, protections, and benefits in the United States. It serves as a foundation of fundamental rights derived from and protected by the Constituti ...
titles on the juvenile (2006), intermediate (2008) and novice level (
2009).
Personal life
Joshua Farris was born in
Renton, Washington to father Rodney.
[ At the age of eight, he was diagnosed with dyslexia, which may be connected with a concussion he sustained as a child.][ He also has a severe allergy to dairy products and travels with a whole suitcase of food.][
Farris was home-schooled.][ As of 2016, he planned to attend Pikes Peak Community College in Colorado Springs, Colorado.][ He has 4 siblings, 1 brother, a step brother (Josh), and 2 step sisters (Jessica, and Julie). His older brother, David, is a bowler.][
]
Career
Early years
Farris began skating at age five after his mother took him skating for his birthday.[ He moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado in mid-2007 to train with ]Tom Zakrajsek
Tom Zakrajsek (pronounced ''Za-cry-sheck''; born December 10, 1963) is an American figure skating coach and former competitive skater. As a skater, he competed as a senior on the national level. He coaches at the Broadmoor Skating Club in Colo ...
and Becky Calvin.[
Farris won his third national title when he took the novice gold at the 2009 U.S. Championships. He was then sent to the 2009 International Challenge Cup in ]The Hague
The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...
, Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
where he took silver on the junior level.
He made his ISU Junior Grand Prix
The ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating (titled the ISU Junior Series in the 1997–98 season) is a series of international junior-level competitions organized by the International Skating Union. Medals are awarded in the disciplines of men ...
debut in the following season. He was assigned to the 2009–10 ISU Junior Grand Prix
The 2009–10 ISU Junior Grand Prix was the 13th season of the ISU Junior Grand Prix, a series of international junior level competitions organized by the International Skating Union. It was the Junior-level complement to the 2009–10 ISU Grand ...
events in the United States and Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
where he placed 4th and 5th, respectively. At the 2010 U.S. Championships, he took silver on the junior level.
2010–11 season
In the 2010–11 season, Farris was assigned the Junior Grand Prix
The ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating (titled the ISU Junior Series in the 1997–98 season) is a series of international junior-level competitions organized by the International Skating Union. Medals are awarded in the disciplines of men ...
events in Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...
and the U.K. where he took silver and gold, respectively. This qualified him for the 2010-11 Junior Grand Prix Final where he placed 6th.
Farris decided to move up to the senior level nationally.[ At the 2011 U.S. Championships, Farris fell hard on his left hip while training a quad during the second day of practices. The fall resulted in a torn abductor muscle but he decided to compete despite the pain.][ He placed 13th after a shaky short program. On the day between the short and long programs Farris went to a restaurant and suffered anaphylactic shock due to his allergy to dairy products.][ He was rushed to the emergency room where he stayed until 3 a.m.][ He decided to compete in the long program where he had several shaky landings and three falls. He placed 21st in the free skate and overall. It was later learned that he had broken his ]fibula
The fibula or calf bone is a leg bone on the lateral side of the tibia, to which it is connected above and below. It is the smaller of the two bones and, in proportion to its length, the most slender of all the long bones. Its upper extremity i ...
and sprained a tendon
A tendon or sinew is a tough, high-tensile-strength band of dense fibrous connective tissue that connects muscle to bone. It is able to transmit the mechanical forces of muscle contraction to the skeletal system without sacrificing its ability ...
when he fell on his second triple Axel
Triple is used in several contexts to mean "threefold" or a " treble":
Sports
* Triple (baseball), a three-base hit
* A basketball three-point field goal
* A figure skating jump with three rotations
* In bowling terms, three strikes in a row
* I ...
attempt.[ Following this competition, Farris decided to change coaches to Christy Krall, with whom he had already worked,][ and ]Damon Allen
Damon L. Allen (born July 29, 1963) is a former professional quarterback who played in the Canadian Football League (CFL). He is currently fourth in all-time professional football passing yards and second in all-time CFL passing yards after he ...
.
2011–12 season
In the 2011–12 season, Farris was assigned to a Junior Grand Prix
The ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating (titled the ISU Junior Series in the 1997–98 season) is a series of international junior-level competitions organized by the International Skating Union. Medals are awarded in the disciplines of men ...
event in Gdańsk, Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
, which he won.[ He then took gold at his second event in ]Tallinn
Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju '' ...
, Estonia
Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...
, and qualified for the Junior Grand Prix Final
The ISU Junior Grand Prix Final or JGP Final (titled the ISU Junior Series Final in the 1997–98 season) is the culmination of a series of junior-level competitions – the ISU Junior Grand Prix organized by the International Skating Union. Medals ...
where he won the bronze medal. He finished 16th on the senior level at the 2012 U.S. Championships. At the 2012 World Junior Championships, Farris won the short program and won the silver medal overall. He also won ''The Denver Post
''The Denver Post'' is a daily newspaper and website published in Denver, Colorado. As of June 2022, it has an average print circulation of 57,265. In 2016, its website received roughly six million monthly unique visitors generating more than 13 ...
s Youth Excellence in Sports award for March 2012.[
]
2012–13 season
In the 2012–13 season, Farris was assigned to JGP events in the U.S. and Slovenia — he took gold in both, resulting in qualification to the JGP Final in Sochi, Russia. At the JGP Final, he was first in the short program and second in the free skate and won the silver medal overall behind Russian skater Maxim Kovtun
Maxim Pavlovich Kovtun (russian: Максим Павлович Ковтун; born 18 June 1995) is a retired Russian figure skater. He is a three-time European medalist (silver in 2015 and 2017, bronze in 2016) and four-time (2014, 2015, 2016, 2 ...
. Farris suffered from his milk allergies and took Benadryl two hours before the start of his free skate.[
At the 2013 U.S. Championships Farris placed third in the short program. He fell on his planned quadruple toe loop in the long program, but managed to secure 4th place. He then won the gold medal at the 2013 World Junior Championships with an overall score of 228.32 points, finishing ahead of teammates Jason Brown and Shotaro Omori who were second and third respectively. Farris' score was a new record set for men competing on the junior level.
]
2013–14 season: Senior debut
In the 2013–14 season, Farris made his senior Grand Prix
Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour
Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to:
Arts and entertainment ...
debut at the 2013 Skate Canada, where he finished 5th. He withdrew from his next assignment, the 2013 Cup of Russia.
At the 2014 U.S. Championships, Farris placed 4th again.
2014–15 season
In the 2014–15 season, Farris was assigned to 2014 Cup of China and 2014 NHK Trophy
The 2014 NHK Trophy was the final event of six in the 2014–15 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Namihaya Dome in Osaka on November 28–30. Medals were awarded in t ...
. However, he had to withdraw from the Cup of China due to a recurring right ankle injury,[ which had been a problem since 2011.][ At the NHK Trophy, he ended up 11th.
At the 2015 U.S. Championships, Farris won the bronze medal. In his free program, he executed a double toe jump three times, losing credit for one of his triple-jump combinations. Still his placement was an improvement from the previous year.][ At the 2015 Four Continents Championships, he set the personal best scores in both the short program and the free skating and won silver with total points of 260.01.][ This is his first medal in a prominent senior level international competition.][ At the 2015 World Figure Skating Championships, he placed 11th.]
2015–16 season
Farris' Grand Prix assignments were the 2015 Skate Canada International and 2015 NHK Trophy. However, he had to withdraw from both events after sustaining three concussions in three weeks.[ The first occurred when he fell while practicing a ]quadruple
Quadruple may refer to:
* 4-tuple, an ordered list of elements, with four elements
* Quad (figure skating), a figure skating jump
* Quadruple (computing), a term used as alternative for nibble in some contexts
* Quadruple-precision floating-point ...
toe loop jump in July.[ Since a scan indicated nothing, he resumed training but then sustained a second concussion, followed soon after by a third when he hit his head entering a car.][ He did not compete during the season.][
]
Hiatus
Farris announced his retirement from competitive skating on July 1, 2016 after struggling with the aftereffects of the concussions and depression.[ He resumed skating in early November 2016, after his health had improved, and announced in February 2017 that he hoped to return to competition in the 2017–18 season.][ He trained at the Broadmoor World Arena in Colorado Springs, Colorado, coached by Christy Krall and Damon Allen.][ However, the side effects from his brain injury did not go away, and he had to stop training again.][
]
Programs
Competitive highlights
''GP: Grand Prix
Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour
Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to:
Arts and entertainment ...
; JGP: Junior Grand Prix
The ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating (titled the ISU Junior Series in the 1997–98 season) is a series of international junior-level competitions organized by the International Skating Union. Medals are awarded in the disciplines of men ...
''
2008–09 to 2017–18
2004–05 to 2007–08
Detailed results
''Small medals for short and free programs awarded only at ISU Championships. Pewter medals for fourth-place finishes awarded only at U.S. national and regional events.''
Senior career
Junior career
References
External links
*
Joshua Farris
at Ice Network
Ice is water frozen into a solid state, typically forming at or below temperatures of 0 degrees Celsius or Depending on the presence of impurities such as particles of soil or bubbles of air, it can appear transparent or a more or less opa ...
* ()
{{DEFAULTSORT:Farris, Joshua
American male single skaters
Living people
Sportspeople from Renton, Washington
1995 births
World Junior Figure Skating Championships medalists
Four Continents Figure Skating Championships medalists