Joshua Farris

Personal life

Joshua Farris was born in and a native of Renton, Washington. At the age of eight, he was diagnosed with dyslexia, which may be connected with a concussion he sustained as a child.

Farris moved to Colorado Springs in mid-2007 and resides there to this day. He enjoys playing guitar, reading, hiking, and camping.

Career

Early years

Farris began skating at age five after his mother took him skating for his birthday. He moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado, in mid-2007 to train with Tom Zakrajsek and Becky Calvin.

Farris won his third national title when he won the novice gold medal at the 2009 U.S. Championships. He then competed at the 2009 International Challenge Cup in the Netherlands, where he won the silver medal at the junior level.

He made his ISU Junior Grand Prix (JGP) debut the following season. He was assigned to the JGP events in the United States and Turkey, where he placed fourth and fifth, respectively. At the 2010 U.S. Championships, he won the silver medal at the junior level.

2010–11 season

During the 2010–11 season, Farris was assigned to the JGP events in Romania and Great Britain, where he won the silver medal and the gold medal, respectively. This qualified him for the 2010-11 Junior Grand Prix Final, where he finished in sixth place.

Farris then decided to move up to the senior level nationally. At the 2011 U.S. Championships, Farris fell hard on his left hip while training during the second day of practice. The fall resulted in a torn abductor muscle, but he decided to compete despite the pain. He placed thirteenth after a shaky short program. On the day between the short program and the free skate, Farris went to a restaurant and suffered anaphylactic shock due to an allergic reaction. He was taken to the emergency room, where he stayed until 3 a.m. He decided to compete in the free skate, where he had several shaky landings and three falls. He finished in twenty-first place. He later learned that he had broken his fibula and sprained a tendon when he fell on his second triple Axel attempt. Following this competition, Farris decided to switch coaches to Christy Krall, with whom he had already worked, and Damon Allen.

2011–12 season

During the 2011–12 season, Farris was assigned to the 2011 JGP Poland, which he won. He then won the gold medal at his second event, the 2011 JGP Estonia, and qualified for the Junior Grand Prix Final, where he won the bronze medal. He finished sixteenth at the 2012 U.S. Championships. At the 2012 World Junior Championships, Farris won the short program and the silver medal. He also won the Youth Excellence in Sports award from The Denver Post in March 2012.

2012–13 season

During the 2012–13 season, Farris was assigned to JGP events in the United States and Slovenia. He won gold medals at both events and qualified for the 2012–13 Grand Prix Final in Sochi, Russia. There, he finished first in the short program and second in the free skate, winning the silver medal.

At the 2013 U.S. Championships, Farris placed third in the short program. He fell on his planned quadruple toe loop in the free skate, but managed to secure fourth place. He then won the gold medal at the 2013 World Junior Championships with an overall score of 228.32 points. Farris' score was a new record set for men competing at the junior level.

2013–14 season

During the 2013–14 season, Farris made his senior Grand Prix debut at the 2013 Skate Canada, where he finished in fifth place. He then withdrew from his next assignment, the 2013 Cup of Russia.

At the 2014 U.S. Championships, Farris again finished in fourth place.

2014–15 season

During the 2014–15 season, Farris was assigned to the 2014 Cup of China and the 2014 NHK Trophy. However, he had to withdraw from the Cup of China due to a recurring right ankle injury, which had been a problem since 2011. At the NHK Trophy, he finished in eleventh place.

At the 2015 U.S. Championships, Farris won the bronze medal. In his free skate, he executed a double toe loop three times, losing credit for one of his jump combinations. Still, his placement was an improvement from the previous year.

2015–16 season

Farris' Grand Prix assignments were the 2015 Skate Canada International and the 2015 NHK Trophy. However, he had to withdraw from both events after sustaining three concussions in three weeks. The first occurred when he fell while practicing a quadruple toe loop jump. Since a scan indicated nothing, he resumed training, but then sustained a second concussion, followed soon after by a third when he hit his head while entering a car. He did not compete during the season.

Hiatus

Farris announced his retirement from competitive skating on July 1, 2016, after struggling with the aftereffects of the concussions and depression. He resumed skating in early November 2016, after his health had improved, and announced in February 2017 that he hoped to return to competition in the 2017–18 season. He trained at the Broadmoor World Arena in Colorado Springs, coached by Christy Krall and Damon Allen. However, the side effects from his brain injury did not go away, and he had to stop training again.

Choreographing career

Following his competitive career, Farris began working as a figure skating choreographer at the Broadmoor Skating Club.

Farris' past clients have included:

• Camden Pulkinen
• Jimmy Ma
• Vincent Zhou
• Lee Si-hyeong

Coaching career

Following his competitive career, Farris began working as a figure skating coach at the Colorado Springs World Arena Ice Hall. He became a resident coach with the Broadmoor Skating Club in 2022.

Programs

Competitive highlights

• GP – Event of the ISU Grand Prix Series
• JGP – Event of the ISU Junior Grand Prix Series | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

Detailed results

|260.01|2015 Four Continents Championships |84.29|2015 Four Continents Championships |44.53|2015 Four Continents Championships |39.76|2015 Four Continents Championships |175.72|2015 Four Continents Championships |91.02|2015 Four Continents Championships |84.70|2015 Four Continents Championships

• Small medals for the short program and free skating are only awarded at ISU Championships.
• At national events in the United States, pewter medals are awarded for fourth place.

Senior level

|Jan 22–30, 2011|USA 2011 U.S. Championships|13|60.91|22|90.82|21|151.73 |Jan 22–29, 2012|USA 2012 U.S. Championships|14|65.43|16|132.55|16|197.98 |Jan 19–27, 2013|USA 2013 U.S. Championships|3|79.78|4|165.04|4|244.82 |Sep 11–15, 2013|USA 2013 U.S. International Classic|3|71.85|3|134.71|3|206.56 |Oct 24–27, 2013|CAN 2013 Skate Canada International|8|69.14|4|147.58|5|216.72 |Jan 5–12, 2013|USA 2014 U.S. Championships|5|78.37|4|169.69|4|248.06 |Jan 20–26, 2014|ROC 2014 Four Continents Championships|7|74.85|5|146.15|6|221.00 |Nov 28–30, 2014|JPN 2014 NHK Trophy|11|58.35|11|111.53|11|169.88 |Jan 18–25, 2015|USA 2015 U.S. Championships|2|90.40|3|177.58|3|267.98 |Feb 9–15, 2015|KOR 2015 Four Continents Championships|5|84.29|2|175.72|2|260.01 |Mar 23–29, 2015|CHN 2015 World Championships|13|73.52|10|149.52|11|223.04

Junior level

|Feb 4–8, 2009|NED 2009 International Challenge Cup|6|46.75|1|114.58|2|161.33 |Sep 2–6, 2009|USA 2009 JGP United States|10|50.30|3|104.22|4|154.52 |Oct 14–18, 2009|TUR 2009 JGP Turkey|2|62.50|7|99.33|5|161.83 |Jan 14–26, 2010|USA 2010 U.S. Championships (Junior)|4|58.24|1|136.79|2|195.03 |Sep 8–11, 2010|ROU 2010 JGP Romania|1|67.03|3|112.19|2|179.22 |Sep 29 – Oct 3, 2010|GBR 2010 JGP Great Britain|1|59.79|1|127.95|1|207.67 |Dec 8–21, 2010|CHN 2010–11 Junior Grand Prix Final|4|65.24|7|108.73|6|173.97 |Sep 14–17, 2011|POL 2011 JGP Poland|1|75.69|2|126.76|1|202.45 |Oct 12–15, 2011|EST 2011 JGP Estonia|1|74.55|1|133.12|1|207.67 |Dec 8–11, 2011|CAN 2011–12 Junior Grand Prix Final|1|72.99|3|130.99|3|203.98 |Feb 27 – Mar 4, 2012|BLR 2012 World Junior Championships|1|75.43|2|146.54|2|221.97 |Aug 30 – Sep 1, 2012|USA 2012 JGP United States|1|72.20|1|146.49|1|218.69 |Sep 27–29, 2012|SLO 2012 JGP Slovenia|1|74.35|1|136.86|1|211.21 |Dec 6–9, 2012|RUS 2012–13 Junior Grand Prix Final|1|74.53|2|136.84|2|211.37 |Feb 25 – Mar 3, 2013|ITA 2013 World Junior Championships|1|75.84|2|152.48|1|228.32

References

References

1. (2016-07-01). "US skater Farris retires at 21 because of concussion".
2. (2016-07-01). "US skater Farris retires at 21 - TSN.ca".
3. "ISU World Championships 2015: Men".
4. "Personal Bests Joshua Farris".
5. "USA–Joshua Farris".
6. "Joshua Farris: 2009/2010".
7. "Joshua Farris: 2010/2011".
8. "Joshua Farris: 2011/2012".
9. "Joshua Farris: 2012/2013".
10. "Joshua Farris: 2013/2014".
11. "Joshua Farris: 2014/2015".
12. "2010 Competitors Pages". [[U.S. Figure Skating]].
13. (February 15, 2011). "The Inside Edge with Sarah and Drew - Feb. 15: Sprain, tear, break and allergy". [[IceNetwork.com]].
14. Walker, Elvin. (January 9, 2011). "Farris to debut as senior at U.S. Nationals". Golden Skate.
15. (September 17, 2011). "Team USA brings home two golds from Poland". [[IceNetwork.com]].
16. Yunt, Jon E.. (April 8, 2012). "Olympic dream on ice for Colorado Springs skater Josh Farris". [[The Denver Post]].
17. Kondakova, Anna. (December 7, 2012). "Kovtun captures Junior Men's title in Sochi". Golden Skate.
18. Walker, Elvin. (September 19, 2012). "Farris seeks passion, finds gold". Golden Skate.
19. "Stars on Ice - 2014 Tour Music". [[Stars on Ice]].
20. Bear, Johanna. (October 16, 2014). "Farris looking to the future". Figure Skaters Online.
21. (October 28, 2014). "Joshua Farris withdraws from 2014 Cup of China". [[U.S. Figure Skating]].
22. (January 22, 2015). "Tar Heel tales: Farris revisits scene of 2011 travails". [[IceNetwork.com]].
23. (January 25, 2015). "Figure Skater Wins His First U.S. Men's Title". [[The New York Times]].
24. (February 15, 2015). "Edmunds is 2014 Four Continents Champion". [[U.S. Figure Skating]].
25. Zaccardi, Nick. (February 14, 2015). "Josh Farris shatters personal bests, wins Four Continents silver (video)". [[NBC Sports]].
26. Hersh, Philip. (February 14, 2015). "Silver medal, big step up for U.S. skater Farris". [[The Chicago Tribune]].
27. (September 24, 2015). "ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating 2015/16: Men".
28. (September 25, 2015). "Joshua Farris Withdraws from 2015 Grand Prix Series Events". [[U.S. Figure Skating]].
29. Rosewater, Amy. (September 26, 2015). "No timetable for Farris' return from concussion". [[IceNetwork.com]].
30. (July 1, 2016). "Joshua Farris Retires from Competitive Figure Skating". [[U.S. Figure Skating]].
31. McCarvel, Nick. (July 1, 2016). "Long battle with concussions ends Farris' career". [[IceNetwork.com]].
32. McCarvel, Nick. (February 8, 2017). "For the love of the sport: Farris announces return". [[IceNetwork.com]].
33. Maldonado, Cinthia. (January 9, 2018). "Local figure skater brings awareness to traumatic brain injury". [[KRDO-TV]].
34. "Camden Pulkinen: 2020/21".
35. "Thank You!".
36. "Jimmy Ma: 2018/19".
37. "Sihyeong Lee: 2022/23 FP".