Brian Johnson (figure skater)


Brian Johnson is an American pair skater. With Jessica Calalang, he is the 2020 U.S. national silver medalist and a two-time Challenger series medalist, including gold at the 2019 CS Warsaw Cup.
Earlier in his career, he skated with Chelsea Liu, winning two medals on the ISU Challenger Series. They also competed together at one ISU Junior Grand Prix Final and two World Junior Championships.

Personal life

Brian Johnson was born November 5, 1995 in Royal Oak, Michigan. His parents, James and Nancy, work in the automotive industry. In 2014, he graduated from Detroit Country Day School.

Career

Early years

Johnson began skating in 2001. In the 2011–12 season, he competed with Caroline Yu, winning bronze on the intermediate level at the U.S. Junior Championships.
During the next two seasons, he competed with Aya Takai. The pair placed 11th at the 2014 World Junior Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria. They were coached by Jason Dungjen, Sergei Petrovski, Yuka Sato, and Linda Johns in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.

Partnership with Liu

Johnson teamed up with Chelsea Liu in May 2014. They are coached by Todd Sand and Jenni Meno in Orange County, California.
During the 2014–15 JGP series, Liu/Johnson won a bronze medal in Dresden, Germany and placed fourth in Zagreb, Croatia. Their results gave them a spot at the 2014–15 JGP Final in Barcelona, Spain, where the pair finished sixth. After winning the junior silver medal at the 2015 U.S. Championships, they were assigned to the 2015 World Junior Championships in Tallinn, Estonia. The pair placed 5th in the short program, 8th in the free skate, and 7th overall.
Competing in the 2015–16 JGP series, Liu/Johnson placed 8th in Linz, Austria and 5th in Toruń, Poland. Ranked fifth in both segments, the pair finished fifth at the 2016 World Junior Championships in Debrecen, Hungary.

Partnership with Calalang

2018–19 season

Johnson partnered with Jessica Calalang in early April 2018. They debuted internationally on the Challenger series at the 2018 CS Autumn Classic International, where they placed fourth. In November, they won bronze at the 2018 CS Tallinn Trophy.
Debuting at senior Nationals at the 2019 U.S. Championships, they placed fifth.

2019–20 season

After placing sixth at the 2019 CS U.S. Classic, Calalang/Johnson were selected to make their Grand Prix debut, placing fourth at the 2019 Skate America and sixth at 2019 Skate Canada International. At Skate America, they placed ahead of reigning U.S. national champions Cain/LeDuc.
After competing at a second Challenger event, the 2019 CS Warsaw Cup, where they won the gold medal, Calalang/Johnson competed at the 2020 U.S. Championships. They were fourth in the short program after Johnson fell on a downgraded triple Salchow attempt. Skating cleanly in the free skate, they won that segment, receiving an ovation from the audience, and rose to the silver medal place. Johnson remarked that "the amount of audience support at the end of that program was overwhelming. It’s the most amazing thing I have felt on the ice."
Despite being national silver medalists, Calalang/Johnson were not assigned to one of the United States' two pairs berths at the 2020 World Championships in Montreal. Instead, they were sent to the 2020 Four Continents Championships in Seoul, where they placed fourth in the short program after Calalang stepped out of their side-by-side jump attempt. In the free skate, their sole error was Johnson singling a planned triple Salchow, and they placed third in the segment, winning a small bronze medal to finish in fourth place overall. Johnson commented afterward that they had "been together less than two years, but already we are in the last group at the Four Continents with Olympians. I have nothing but hope for the future."
After the split of National Champs Knierim and Knierim, Calalang and Johnson were added to the World Team. The event was later canceled due to COVID-19.

Programs

With Calalang

With Liu

With Takai

Competitive highlights

CS: Challenger Series; JGP: Junior Grand Prix

With Calalang

With Liu

With Takai

With Yu