Ascending the top step of the podium at the World Championships was something Brian Joubert had dreamed about since he was a young boy. But like so many other notable champions in sporting history, Joubert learned at an early age that the road to the top was not always paved with gold.

Given Joubert’s golden success throughout last season, it might have been a logical assumption that he would take winning the World title in stride. But when that magical moment arrived at the 2007 World Championships in Tokyo, the 22-year-old Frenchman was overwhelmed by his emotions.

Standing by the boards, waiting for his name to be announced as the 2007 World champion, all the hard work, the setbacks, disappointments and fleeting moments of glory came back in an instant. As the gold medal was placed around his neck, the emotional floodgates opened and the tears fell. He had finally claimed the coveted crown for which he had trained so hard all those years. Joubert was the happiest man in the world.

Making History

Only a handful of skaters have ever won every event they entered in a competitive year and Joubert joined that elite group last season.

Last November Joubert made history at Cup of Russia, becoming the first skater to execute three clean quadruple jumps in a long program. “It was obviously my favorite competition of the season,” Joubert said. “I know that the whole skating world was aware of what I did in Moscow.”

After claiming his second European victory in January (he won his first title in 2004), Joubert said he knew that many people had expected him to claim the gold at the World Championships in Tokyo. “In France, the fans were expecting me to win the World title after I recaptured the European title in Warsaw and because I had previously defeated my main opponents in the Grand Prix events,” he said.

A Golden World

Just five weeks prior to Worlds, Joubert seriously injured his right foot in a training accident when the blade of his left boot slashed through his right boot, lacerating his right foot. The injury required surgery as Joubert needed stitches in both the tarsus and flexor tendons. “After the injury I suffered during practice in Poitiers in February, coming back was like a race against the clock,” he said. “Rare are those who exactly know what I endured.”

Arriving in Tokyo for the biggest competition of his career, Joubert said he knew he had to be consistent and prove that he was deserving of the title of World champion. “My practices in Japan were very important to me,” he said. “I was aware that judges, coaches and other skaters were watching me and taking notes. I had to be as perfect as possible.

“I knew I had to skate clean in both programs. The short program was essential. As you know, you do not win a competition with the short but you can lose it. Landing a nice quad-triple on this occasion was awesome. My slight mistake on the triple flip did not affect the rest of the performance and I improved on my personal best.”

Dealing with the stress was difficult, Joubert admitted. “I did not sleep well the night before the free,” he said. Earlier that evening Joubert and his coach, Jean-Christophe Simond, sat down to discuss strategy and determine whether or not it was worth the risk to include all three quad jumps in the long program. Not wanting to aggravate his injury, Joubert followed Simond’s advice and concentrated only on executing the quad toe loop in his long program.

“At the morning practice I was not in the best physical condition but I had to hide it from everyone. I had to push my own limits,” Joubert said. “I knew I would have problems with the flip because I could not put too much pressure on the picking toe after the injury. Thanks to Jean-Christophe I realized I had to focus on quality and not quantity.”

Simond said this plan was the most logical one. “The new judging system is mainly rewarding cleanliness but not risk,” he said. “Brian is known for his consistency so we only needed to concentrate on the small details.

“If I had to describe Brian, I would say that he is a born competitor.”

Joubert backed up his clean quad with seven triples in the free skate and placed third in that portion of the event with 157.21 points. Describing the wait backstage after his performance as “very long,” Joubert watched the performance of Japan’s Daisuke Takahashi on a TV monitor.

Takahashi won the free skate with a score of 163.44, but it was not enough to overtake Joubert, who claimed the title. The overall margin between the two skaters at the end of the competition was less than three points.

“It is when it is all over that you realize how much energy it takes,” Joubert said. “Mentally, I was 100 percent drained.

“Winning the World title, 18 years after my first footsteps on the ice, was of course a major accomplishment for me. It was something else.”

Joubert’s victory made the headlines of every major newspaper in France, and 2.5 million television viewers tuned in to watch his free program. It had been 42 years since Alain Calmat claimed the title for France in 1965. “Alain is my lucky charm,” Joubert said. “He was also in Budapest in 2004 when I won Europeans and defeated Evgeni Plushenko.” Calmat, the last Frenchman to win Europeans in 1964, was in Tokyo to celebrate Joubert’s win.

The Next Chapter

Joubert remained in Japan for a week after Worlds and performed in three exhibitions. He returned to France to headline a French tour, which he recalled as an emotional experience.

“The first stop was scheduled in my hometown of Poitiers. That evening, I was caught by surprise when I found out that Alain Giletti (1960 World champion) and Alain Calmat had been invited,” Joubert said. “I was also happy to see my best friends: Pierre, who I met in kindergarten and is a construction worker; Eva, a social worker in school; Magalie, a nurse; and Thierry, a policeman and the oldest of the gang. I met them briefly. The next day, when I woke up, I felt so lonely that I started to cry.”

However, one post-Worlds event occurred that did not make the champion very happy. Joubert expected to be the leader in the men’s category for the International Skating Union (ISU) World Standings Bonus, but when the results were announced, he found himself in second place behind Takahashi. Joubert admitted he was puzzled and confused. “I defeated my main rival, Daisuke Takahashi, on two major occasions: the Grand Prix Final and the World Championships,” he noted, “and I am behind him.”

Joubert likened the results to the world standings in tennis. “Look at tennis: The Swiss player Roger Federer won three of the four Grand Slam events in 2006 and he was ranked No. 1,” Joubert stated. “Just imagine the media buzz it would have created if someone else was ahead of him because that player had participated and won a lower-category tournament and that result made the difference.”

Takahashi’s win at the Winter Universiade in January, an ISU ranking competition, earned him enough points to climb ahead of Joubert in the final standings. Joubert did not compete at that event. “That was hard to swallow,” Joubert said about the final standings. “Let’s hope the ISU will understand there is a need to change the way this ranking is operated.”

A Mother’s Perspective

Joubert’s parents, who have been there every step of the way during his career, discovered their son was talented while he was still in the junior ranks. “I sensed that he was ahead of the other skaters of his generation in France,” his mother, Raymonde Joubert, recalled. “In my eyes, he was a little genius.”

But the family had a rude awakening when Joubert placed 14th at the 2000 World Junior Championships in Oberstdorf. “It was like a slap in the face. I realized then that it would not be easy for him to achieve what he hoped for,” his mother said.

Two years later Joubert placed third at his first appearance at the European Championships in Lausanne. To this day, that bronze medal holds a special significance for his mother. “Brian’s father, Jean-Michel, and I were caught by surprise when Brian medaled in 2002 even though he had placed third at the French nationals in Grenoble a month before,” Raymonde Joubert said.

“We came to Switzerland as tourists and went home with a bronze medal. When Brian won his first European title in 2004 it was a great joy for me, but it did not have the same flavor as his first medal two years earlier.”

His mother said she knows that winning the gold in Tokyo was a true reward for her son. “It looked to me as if he had climbed a new step on the ladder towards the Olympics,” she said. “He sacrificed so many things to achieve that goal, but for me, nothing will ever match the first medal he won.”

Unlike many of his contemporaries who have sought independence from their parents, Joubert still prefers the comforts of his family home. “Brian can afford to live on his own, but he wants to stay at home,” his mother shared. “He knows he can rely on me for all the logistics and that he only needs to focus on his sport. [When he travels] we speak constantly on the phone. Without him I feel like I am disabled or crippled.”

Raymonde Joubert said there are people who have questioned her involvement in her son’s career, given that she has no skating background. “When I was young, I lived in a small village in the country and my parents were not at all interested in sport,” she said. “They did not care about my performances. I suffered from that and could not talk to anybody about it. That’s why I became involved in my son’s skating, not wanting for him to repeat what I went through.” 

Changing Direction

Joubert’s performance at the 2006 Olympic Winter Games was a turning point in his career. The young Frenchman finished a dismal sixth place in Torino and agonized over his result. “I learned a lot from Torino,” he admitted. “At the time, I don’t think I was mature enough to handle the stressful situation.”

Joubert stated he did not feel he had the support of his country’s skating federation at that time. He has been candid about the tense relationship he has had with the French federation executives and with the French sports minister, Jean-François Lamour. 

Joubert recalled the harsh criticism he received from Lamour following his lackluster performance at the Games. “I still remember the words he used then against my mom and Didier Gailhaguet (who counsels the French skater),” Joubert said. “Lamour said he did not think I would be able to win any major competition the following year. But he was almost the first one to congratulate me on the phone as soon as the medal ceremony in Tokyo was over.”

His dealings with the French federation have been difficult as well. “There were problems with the national technical director,” Joubert said. “He was challenging my team and did not support me. It was almost like an arm wrestle. For example, my federation was very late in transferring to my bank account the prize money I earned.” The situation has changed recently, Joubert added.
Following his performance in Torino, Joubert realized he had to make some changes if he hoped to reach the pinnacle of his sport. “I had to find the right coach, the right choreographer, the right environment,” he said.

After splitting with former coach Andrei Berezintsev, Joubert announced late last fall that Simond was to be his new coach. “Jean-Christophe and I had known each other for a while,” Joubert revealed. “We met previously when he was doing summer camps in Pralognan and we had a good connection.

“My relationship with Andrei was too friendly perhaps. He was almost like a good friend. With Jean-Christophe, he is the coach and I am the skater. Period. We respect each other a lot. I totally trust him when he is correcting my flaws. He is meticulous and scrupulous in every single detail of my jumps, landings, takeoffs, spins and footwork. Thanks to him, I can now describe all the meanings of the word ‘accuracy.’”

Simond noted that the timing of their collaboration presented some challenges. “We had to prepare four events in a five-week period,” Simond stressed. “Brian’s physical condition had to be perfect. The first part of the season was handled well but we both knew we had made mistakes when Europeans and Worlds approached. Brian was not fit enough. For the upcoming season, we will have more time between his competitions. My main task is to always listen to him.”

Joubert chose to work with Canadian choreographer Kurt Browning in 2006 and returned to him in the spring of 2007 to have new programs crafted. “Kurt has influenced me in many ways,” Joubert said. “When we first met during the 2006 Worlds in Calgary we both thought that we could improve together my skating skills and the other presentation components. Kurt opened me to new directions and I really enjoyed working with him again.

“Another situation that illustrates the faith I have in Kurt is when he asked me if it would bother me that Evan Lysacek had asked him to choreograph one of his routines. I know that Kurt is honest and that he would have different sources of inspiration for both Evan and I,” Joubert said.

A Private Champion

Perhaps one of Joubert’s best-kept secrets is the charity work in which he is involved. “Brian has never revealed this aspect of his life,” Raymonde Joubert said. “In the past, Brian raised funds for an orphanage in Poland that he had visited. That experience moved him a lot.”

The French star also loves animals, especially dogs. “I have forbidden him to visit kennels,” his mother said, “because he would always ask me to adopt new pets.

“Brian is not only a sensitive person, he is hypersensitive. He is very generous towards his family and to others.”

When asked about his life off the ice, Joubert said he prefers to keep that aspect out of the public eye. “As far as my private life is concerned, I no longer mention whether I have a girlfriend or not,” Joubert candidly answered. “I had a short relationship with Miss France 2004 (Laetitia Bléger) and I was not pleased that it was so publicized. So I keep my private life private.”

Off the ice, Joubert likes to spend his time at home in Poitiers with his family and friends. He is an avid sports car fan and also enjoys going bowling or playing pool with friends.

New Challenges

“I am very excited that I will compete at Skate Canada and Trophée Eric Bompard this season,” Joubert said. “I have never competed in a Grand Prix event in Canada and this year it takes place in Quebec City with a French-speaking audience. That sounds great to me. And as it is only two years until the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, it will be good for me to get some media exposure in that country.

“My second event, Trophée Eric Bompard, is two weeks later and this is perfect timing for me to recover from jetlag before I will skate in front of my home fans in Paris.”

Simond noted that Trophée Eric Bompard, French nationals, Europeans and Worlds are the milestones of a typical season. “These are the events that matter the most to the French media,” Simond said. “We can use the other competitions — French Masters, Skate Canada and the Grand Prix Final — as occasions to explore new possibilities. Brian and I are thinking of new combinations with triple jumps and of a new quad in the near future.”

Joubert said that his success last season has not changed his motivation or goals. “I said that I would become European champion,” he stated. “I succeeded twice already. Later I mentioned I would be World champion. I won in Tokyo in 2007. Four years ago, in a press conference during the 2003 Europeans, many were skeptical when I announced my goals. At the time, I also mentioned that I wanted to be [an] Olympic champion. I have not changed my focus.”

With less than three years to the 2010 Olympic Games, Joubert and his coach are already looking ahead. “We have already exchanged ideas for Vancouver,” Simond said. “It is deep inside him but he is not obsessed by that specific competition, especially since Evgeni Plushenko has announced he intends to come back to amateur competition.”

Joubert is happy his rival Plushenko is returning to the competitive arena. “I fully respect his decision [to return],” Joubert said. “The competition will be even bigger and more interesting. I can hardly wait to take my revenge.”