Professional figure skater Michael Weiss is a three-time national champion and a two-time U.S. Olympic team member. He was the first American to land a quadruple toe loop in competition. On Saturday, the Michael Weiss Foundation will put on a show in Arlington at the Kettler Capitals Iceplex. Skating legends like Brian Boitano and Sasha Cohen will perform for free to help raise scholarship money for U.S. Olympic figure skating hopefuls.
Both your parents are Olympic gymnasts. What interested you in figure skating?
I come from a family of athletes — my oldest sister was a world junior champion in diving, and my other sister was an international champion in skating. I started out as a diver, then went to the rink with my other sister one day, tried on a pair of skates, and I liked it. And the rest, as they say, is history.
How did you keep up the discipline and focus necessary to compete?
I was taught to find something you are good at, and have a passion for — and be the best you possibly can be at it. I was motivated to reach my absolute potential, and be the best I could be. When training, I imagined what my competitors were doing right then … and I would ask myself at the end of a hard day: Are they working this hard? I would always say yes they were … so I would do one more exercise to make sure I was one up on them.
Tell me about the Michael Weiss Foundation. What prompted you to start that?
When I was growing up, my family struggled keeping up with our training expenses. I always said if I had an opportunity to one day use my success as a skater to help another young athlete in my situation, I would. I have now reached a point where I can use my contacts in figure skating to help our next generation of Olympic hopefuls reach their dreams.
