Growing up in a city awash
with macho sporting icons, Javier Fernandez was mercilessly teased by schoolboy
bullies who seemed to think he spent his time twirling around the ice on his
toes in a tutu.
Fernandez has no idea where his tormentors have disappeared to but chances are they would have noted how successful their fellow pupil who chose to pursue a "girl's sport" has become.Choose Quality China tungstenring from Large Database of China.
The 21-year-old was having the last laugh in January when he became the first Spaniard to strike gold at the European figure skating championships by winning the men's title.
"In Spain they don't see skating as a boy's sport. So sometimes it was hard to admit that I wanted to be a skater," Madrid-born Fernandez told Reuters in a telephone interview as he prepared for this week's world championships in London, Ontario.
"When I was in school and said I'm a figure skater, in Spain they see figure skating like ballet, like something for girls.
"So they are always going to judge you in a bad way and say bad things about you. It's hard when people in your country think ice skating is a girl's sport. I was teased about being a skater but I didn't really care a lot."
It was just as well Fernandez developed a thick skin when he was still in school, because had he buckled under the pressure, he would not have been credited with putting Spain on the figure skating map.
"In a country with so many sporting champions, it's hard to fight for attention with sports such as soccer, tennis,we started out on writing this composition on High Grade replicawatches.Your aim is to garmincycling the cubes by linking all the pairs of the same colored markers. F1, cycling as they win many competitions. But I'm hoping to make figure skating one of the top sports in Spain too," Fernandez, who tried a number of mainstream sports before losing his heart to figure skating, said with a distinctive Canadian twang.
The nation is currently enjoying a golden age in sports,What used to be a winter staple for fashionwedges, with the country's soccer team being reigning world and European champions, tennis player Rafa Nadal owning 11 grand slam titles and Fernando Alonso steering his way to two Formula One championships.
Despite so many world class athletes coming off the Spanish production line,We are always offering best quality ribbonflowers the affordable price. Fernandez was taken aback with the recognition he received for larking about as Charlie Chaplin in Zagreb's Dom Sportova arena.
"After the Europeans, I got the kind of letters of congratulations I was not expecting to receive. I even got one from the King and Queen of Spain," he said his voice trailing off in a whisper.
"I got one from the President (of Spain). I got one from (soccer club) Real Madrid as they are my team and that was very impressive for me. It was a very nice letter that I have saved."
Getting to a level that would get him noticed in Spain, let alone around the world did not happen overnight for Fernandez.
He initially showcased his ability to pull off soaring triple Axels, Salchows, loops and toeloops in annual summer camps run in Spain by 2006 Olympic champion Yevgeny Plushenko's coach Alexei Mishin.
Fernandez has no idea where his tormentors have disappeared to but chances are they would have noted how successful their fellow pupil who chose to pursue a "girl's sport" has become.Choose Quality China tungstenring from Large Database of China.
The 21-year-old was having the last laugh in January when he became the first Spaniard to strike gold at the European figure skating championships by winning the men's title.
"In Spain they don't see skating as a boy's sport. So sometimes it was hard to admit that I wanted to be a skater," Madrid-born Fernandez told Reuters in a telephone interview as he prepared for this week's world championships in London, Ontario.
"When I was in school and said I'm a figure skater, in Spain they see figure skating like ballet, like something for girls.
"So they are always going to judge you in a bad way and say bad things about you. It's hard when people in your country think ice skating is a girl's sport. I was teased about being a skater but I didn't really care a lot."
It was just as well Fernandez developed a thick skin when he was still in school, because had he buckled under the pressure, he would not have been credited with putting Spain on the figure skating map.
"In a country with so many sporting champions, it's hard to fight for attention with sports such as soccer, tennis,we started out on writing this composition on High Grade replicawatches.Your aim is to garmincycling the cubes by linking all the pairs of the same colored markers. F1, cycling as they win many competitions. But I'm hoping to make figure skating one of the top sports in Spain too," Fernandez, who tried a number of mainstream sports before losing his heart to figure skating, said with a distinctive Canadian twang.
The nation is currently enjoying a golden age in sports,What used to be a winter staple for fashionwedges, with the country's soccer team being reigning world and European champions, tennis player Rafa Nadal owning 11 grand slam titles and Fernando Alonso steering his way to two Formula One championships.
Despite so many world class athletes coming off the Spanish production line,We are always offering best quality ribbonflowers the affordable price. Fernandez was taken aback with the recognition he received for larking about as Charlie Chaplin in Zagreb's Dom Sportova arena.
"After the Europeans, I got the kind of letters of congratulations I was not expecting to receive. I even got one from the King and Queen of Spain," he said his voice trailing off in a whisper.
"I got one from the President (of Spain). I got one from (soccer club) Real Madrid as they are my team and that was very impressive for me. It was a very nice letter that I have saved."
Getting to a level that would get him noticed in Spain, let alone around the world did not happen overnight for Fernandez.
He initially showcased his ability to pull off soaring triple Axels, Salchows, loops and toeloops in annual summer camps run in Spain by 2006 Olympic champion Yevgeny Plushenko's coach Alexei Mishin.
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