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Once upon a time, there was a young boy in Spain who followed his older sister into figure skating. Nobody could ever imagine what would come out of that as figure skating hardly even existed in Spain. It was a recreational sport, a kind of fun, maybe even weird hobby in the sunny country. And yet, thanks to his talent and hard work, the boy named Javier Fernandez rose to the very top in figure skating and became an inspiration for many young skaters from all over the world.

Sometimes, it still seems hard to believe even for Javier himself what he has achieved. He is a seven-time ISU European Figure Skating Champion, a two-time ISU World Figure Skating Champion, multiple ISU World Figure Skating medallist and Winter Olympic bronze medallist. He is popular not only in Europe, but also in Asia and North America. “I didn’t know what was going to happen with figure skating. I just did it for fun when I was a kid. Now when I see all of my career, all the year-by-year improvement, you can see and realize how things can turn into something that is not possible, if you put effort into it and you really want to do it and, of course, if you’ve got help around you,” he shared.

“I’ve been here, it seems like forever: 2007 in seniors; before I did juniors. But to see how much I’ve accomplished in these many years is unbelievable,” Javier said. The beginnings were modest. Javier started out and quickly became the best male skater in Spain, but he didn’t have that much competition. He started competing in the ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating series in 2006 (and he placed 23^rd out of 25 skaters in his first event).

In 2007 Fernandez debuted at the ISU European Figure Skating Championships in Warsaw (POL) and finished 28^th in the Short Program, meaning he didn’t qualify for the Free Skating. Not many people will remember his performance to “Dragon – The Bruce Lee Story”. He also went to his first ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Tokyo (JPN) the same year, finishing 35th in the Short Program. However, it didn’t take long until people took notice of this young Spanish skater.

Javier Fernandez (ESP) at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2009©Getty Images

Javier was 17 years old when renowned Russian coach Nikolai Morozov offered him to join his training group. That meant moving away from home and also investing money into his career. “First of all, I needed to decide myself whether to go or not. When I first had the meeting with Nikolai Morozov about going he asked me: ‘You need to answer me if you really want to come and you need to answer me right now’. So, I was 17 years old and was like: ‘Oh my God!’. I didn’t even know the other skaters [in the group] and how good they were and Nikolai. But everybody was like: ‘They are amazing. They are so good – the best of the best!’. So I said: ‘Yes! Of course! I’m going, I’m going!’,” Fernandez recalled. “Then I had to talk to my parents. I was 17 years old – I was not that good of a skater – and then somebody saw me and they said: ‘This guy has potential’. So I needed to take that opportunity and my parents also supported me in that decision. They said: ‘We will try to help you as much as we can. We’ve got to be smart because we don’t have so much money to support it. But go ahead! Try it out and work hard!”. And I left.” 

Javier doesn’t come from a wealthy family. His father is in the military, his mother works in the post office.  “My Dad had to work extra time to be able to pay for our skating lives. My sister had to quit skating for my parents to be able to pay for my skating. So my family has been supporting me all the way through,” he shared. “The only thing they asked me for in my whole life that I needed to give back was effort - effort in practice and effort in everything that I was doing. They didn’t want me to be a champion or anything they just wanted me to have a good experience, to enjoy it and, of course, to work.” It was special for the skater to have his family around at competitions and they were with him at the Winter Olympic Games in PyeongChang 2018 and also at his final ISU European Figure Skating Championships in January this year.

Javier Fernandez (ESP) at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2011©Getty Images

With coach Nikolai Morozov, the Spaniard started his ascent. He trained in Russia and in the USA and improved with the better conditions he had. For the first time Javier really drew attention in the 2010/11 season when skating to “Pirates of the Caribbean”, which was his first signature program and remains one of his favorites until today. “It was one of my first programs where I start being a little known and people started recognizing me a little bit,” Fernandez noted.

Javier Fernandez (ESP) at the ISU European Figure Skating Championships 2013©AFP

He actually has many programs he remembers fondly: “l like a lot ‘Charlie Chaplin’. I like a lot ‘I Love Paris’. That was a program that, every time I watched the video, I’m actually like: ‘I like how I skate’. That’s strange isn’t it? I like the ‘Frank Sinatra’ program, it was great. ‘Black Betty’, ‘Flamenco’, I’ve got a lot of them,” he said. For his final competitive performances, Fernandez picked two Spanish themed programs “Malaguena” for the Short Program and his Free Skating from the Olympic season, “Man of La Mancha”. “I think they were good programs to choose for this event because they bring a little more ‘Spanish’ to the ice,” he explained.

Javier Fernandez (ESP) at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2012©AFP

In 2010, Fernandez moved to Canada to train under Brian Orser in Toronto and it turned out to be a perfect match between coach and student. David Wilson became his choreographer, and together the team was off on the road to major success.

Javier wrote sports history, becoming the first Spanish skater to win a medal at the ISU European Figure Skating Championships with gold in 2013 and the first to win a medal at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships with bronze the same year. He just finished off the podium in Sochi at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games when he came fourth. In 2015, Fernandez claimed his first of two World titles.

Javier Fernandez (ESP) at the ISU European Figure Skating Championships 2019©International Skating Union (ISU)

There were so many special moments in his long and distinguished career that the skater cannot single out one. “It is so hard to choose a specific time or specific feeling or a specific competition. I have experienced so much through my skating that the person that I am right now is because of what I have been doing. I have achieved so many goals; I have done so many competitions; I have met so many people; I’ve travelled to a lot of places. So what to choose? It’s almost impossible,” he pointed out. “Which one would I prefer: that first Grand Prix [gold medal] in Canada [Skate Canada 2012] or the first European Championship that I won or the first World [title] or the Olympic medal or the 7^th time European Champion? What’s better? I don’t think, it’s better or worse I just think that all of that is a part of me. There are so many special emotions,” Javier continued.

Javier Fernandez (ESP) at the ISU European Figure Skating Championships 2019©International Skating Union (ISU)

Now the skater has turned the page. The ISU European Figure Skating Championships 2019 was his last competition. “All doors are now open,” he said, but his future remains connected to figure skating. Fernandez has started his own show tour in Spain two years ago and he wants to expand it to other countries. He performs in shows around the world, he is teaching in seminars and summer camps. The seven-time European Champion sees his future in coaching. ”I will do shows, summer camps and seminars – many things – and then I will be 100% a coach,” he offered. It is also important to him to continue to promote figure skating in Spain and to help the next generation of skaters to achieve their dreams.

Javier Fernandez (ESP) at the ISU European Figure Skating Championships 2019©International Skating Union (ISU)