Javier Fernandez is an extraordinary person and a unique person. Spain is probably one of the most inappropriate countries for figure skating. But it was here that the future world and European champion was born. This is a man who has already entered his name not only in the history of figure skating, but also in sports as a whole.
Childhood
Spanish skater Javier Fernandez came to the rink thanks to his older sister. She first watched international competitions on television, and later she began to train herself. When Fernandez saw her on ice, he realized that he also wanted to do figure skating. Then the future champion was only six years old. He says that in Spain there were no private trainers, little skaters were engaged in groups of 20-30 people. Fernandez emphasizes that at least it was not as expensive as in the United States.
The beginning of a professional career
Javier Fernandez is a figure skater who has been able to achieve a lot. In a country where there are less than 20 ice rinks, and sports such as soccer and tennis are popular, it is very difficult to engage in figure skating. The path to success for the athlete was long and thorny. He did not have good results at the junior level.
Fernandez is the first Spaniard to perform a triple axel and a four-turn jump at the national championship. He was able to win these competitions and get a ticket to the Vancouver Olympics in 2010. There he took only 14th place, but for a young athlete it was a success. Javier became the first Spanish skater at the Olympics since 1956. A year later, Fernandez was able to climb several times to the podium at the Grand Prix.
European Championships in the career of the Spanish skater
Javier Fernandez can be called today the best skater in Europe and one of the strongest in the world. At any competition he is ranked among the main favorites. Already at four European championships in a row he has no equal. Javier Fernandez has been winning here since 2013. After a triumph at the first European championship in Croatia, he said that he did not feel like a champion, since a single win is not a big achievement. The skater added that he would continue hard work. Even then, Fernandez trained with Canadian trainer Orser Brian, who led to victory at the Olympic Games in Vancouver, the South Korean athlete Kim Young A.
At the European Championships in 2014 and 2015, Javier was able to repeat his achievements. In 2016, the Spanish skater came to the championship in the rank of the main favorite. The victory in Bratislava was impressive. Despite some errors in the program, he managed to get 100 points for a short program and 200 for an arbitrary one. This success allowed Fernandez to become the first skater since 1972, who managed to win four consecutive European Championships.
Olympics in Sochi
After winning the 2013 European Championships at the Olympic Games, Fernandez came as one of the contenders for medals. He could become just the third athlete in Spanish history, who managed to climb the podium at the Winter Olympics. Earlier in 1972, Francisco Fernandez Okoa managed to win gold in slalom, and twenty years later his sister Blanca took third place in the same discipline.
Javier Fernandez was very close to success. After a short program, he took third place. But due to errors in the free program, as a result, the Spanish skater lost quite a bit to Denis Ten and took an offensive fourth place.
Triumphal World Cup 2015
At the World Championships in Shanghai, Javier Fernandez managed to win his first victory. His performance was very charismatic. Even the Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu could not compete with him seriously. Javier Fernandez became the first ever world champion in this sport from Spain. After the victory, the skater could not believe that he managed to win. He stated that he did not know if he could repeat this achievement.
His main rival, Japanese Yuzuru Hanyu, with whom they train in the same team, was very pleased with the success of Fernandez. Rivals athletes are only on the ice, but in life they are on good terms. It has been repeatedly emphasized that skaters pay little attention to competitors, it is more important for them to concentrate on their own program. The main rival is themselves.
This success allowed Fernardes once again to write his name in the history of Spanish sport. Now he can be called the national hero of his country.
