McLean Figure Skater To Be Inducted Into Hall of Fame

MCLEAN, VA—Three-time U.S. champion and McLean resident Michael Weiss will be inducted into the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame. He will be inducted Jan. 5 at the 2018 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in San Jose, Calif.

Weiss, 41, is a two-time Olympian (1998 and 2002) and has won the men's titles at the U.S. Championship in 1999, 2000 and 2003. He became the first American to land a quadruple toe loop in competition during the 1999 World Championship. He won two bronze medals at the World Championship and has finished in the top four during his nine U.S. Championships. Weiss has been named U.S. Figure Skating’s SKATING Magazine Readers’ Choice Award and USOC Athlete of the Year for figure skating.

Beyond competitions, he has skated in professional shows and served as a figure skating commentator for NBC and ABC. Today he coaches hockey and skating at Skatequest in Reston, runs a homebuilding company called Airleen LLC and has a nonprofit called the Michael Weiss Foundation, which raises money for aspiring skaters.

He comes from a family of athletes; his father Greg competed on the 1964 Olympic gymnastics team and his mother Margie was a gymnast and national champion. Weiss grew up in Fairfax County, graduating from W.T. Woodson High School in Fairfax.

Today he lives with his family in McLean. Weiss has been married to his wife Lisa for 20 years, and she is his choreographer. They have two children; Annie Mae is a sophomore at Penn State and Christopher is a senior at Langley High School. The family and his parents will attend the induction ceremony in January.

Other inductees in the class of 2018 are U.S. pairs champions Kyoko Ina and John Zimmerman, Claire Ferguson, the first female president of U.S. Figure Skating, choreographer Sarah Kawahara and the late Coach Peter Burrows.

“Each member of the Class of 2018 has played a significant role in the Olympic Winter Games,” said Larry Mondschein, chair of the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame Nominating Committee, in a statement. “They have contributed in various ways, including as competitors, as a team leader and official, and as the choreographer of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies. Their legacies will have a lasting impact on our sport."

Image courtesy Margie Weiss