Personal life

Michael Weiss was born August 2, 1976 in Washington, DC. His father, Greg, was a gymnast on the 1964 Olympic team, and his mother, Margie, was also a gymnast and national champion. His sister Geremi was a figure skater and junior national silver medalist; his other sister, Genna, was junior world diving champion.

Weiss graduated from Wilbert Tucker Woodson High School in Fairfax, Virginia. He holds an associate degree in business marketing from Prince George's Community College. Weiss was a member of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society. In September 1997, he married his jazz dance teacher, Lisa Thornton. Their daughter, Annie-Mae, was born in September 1998 and their son, Christopher Michael, in October 1999.

Career

Weiss began skating in 1985. Audrey Weisiger coached him from the age of nine. Weiss took the silver medal at the 1993 World Junior Championships in Seoul, South Korea and won gold at the 1994 World Junior Championships in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

At the 1997 U.S. Championships, Weiss attempted to become the first American to land the quad toe loop. It was initially believed to have been successful but three hours after the competition, U.S. Figure Skating ruled that the jump had been two-footed and decided not to ratify it. He pulled up from fifth after the short program to take the silver medal behind Todd Eldredge and was sent to Lausanne, Switzerland to compete at his first World Championships, where he finished seventh.

In February 1999, Weiss won his first senior national title at the U.S. Championships in Salt Lake City, Utah. The following month, he was awarded the bronze medal at the 1999 World Championships in Helsinki, Finland. After recovering from a stress fracture in his left ankle, Weiss defended his national title at the 2000 U.S. Championships in Cleveland, Ohio and won bronze at the 2000 World Championships in Nice, France.

Weiss missed part of the 2000-01 season due to a stress fracture in his foot. At the start of the 2002-03 season, Don Laws filled in for Weisiger at the Campbell's Classic. On October 29, 2002, Weiss decided to leave Weisiger to train full-time with Laws.

Weiss competed 19 consecutive years at the U.S. Championships. He was the first American to land a quadruple toe loop in competition. He invented the "Tornado", a backflip with a full twist, and debuted it at the Hallmark Skaters Championship in December 2002. Though not allowed in competition, it is a crowd favorite in exhibitions.

Weiss turned professional in 2006. He toured with Stars On Ice and competed in Ice Wars. Around 2012, he began teaching skating skills to hockey players.

Michael Weiss Foundation

While still an eligible skater, Weiss started the Michael Weiss Foundation, which gives scholarships to up-and-coming figure skaters. Skaters who have received scholarships include Mirai Nagasu, Madison and Keiffer Hubbell, Daisuke Murakami, and Christine Zukowski.

Programs

Season	Short program	Free skating
2005-2006	Semiramide Overture La Donna e Mobile	Symphony No 6 Moonlight Sonata Symphony No 9, Ode of Joy
2004-2005	Henry V	Stairway to Heaven Bonzo's Montreaux Unforgiven
2003-2004	Henry V	Patriotic medley
2002-2003	Selections	Malagueña Concierto de Aranjuez Malagueña
2001-2002	Malagueña	Che Gelida Manina La Tregenda Nessun dorma
2000-2001	Taras Bulba	William Tell Overture

Competitive highlights

GP: Grand Prix (1995-97: Champions Series)

International
Event	92-93	93-94	94-95	95-96	96-97	97-98	98-99	99-00	00-01	01-02	02-03	03-04	04-05	05-06
Olympics						7th				7th
Worlds					7th	6th	3rd	3rd		6th	5th	6th
Four Continents									3rd					9th
Final							4th					3rd
Cup of Russia					3rd	4th			6th			4th
NC / Bofrost			10th			5th				8th	4th
Lalique/Bompard					3rd		2nd	5th			1st	3rd		6th
NHK Trophy													4th
Skate America				2nd			2nd	4th		4th	5th	1st	3rd
Skate Canada					6th
Goodwill Games			6th				4th			2nd
Nebelhorn Trophy		2nd			1st
St. Gervais		2nd
Universiade			1st
International: Junior
Junior Worlds	2nd	1st
National
U.S. Champ.	1st J.	8th	6th	5th	2nd	2nd	1st	1st	4th	3rd	1st	2nd	5th	4th
U.S. Olympic Fest.	6th

Event	1987-88	1988-89	1989-90	1990-91	1991-92
U.S. Championships	6th N.	2nd N.	5th N.	3rd N.	5th J.
U.S. Championships (figures)			1st	2nd

[ Source: Wikipedia ]