Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, with its introduction occurring at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance; the four individual disciplines are also combined into a team event, which was first included in the Winter Olympics in 2014. The non-Olympic disciplines include synchronized skating, Theater on Ice, and four skating. From intermediate through senior-level competition, skaters generally perform two programs, which, depending on the discipline, may include spins, jumps, moves in the field, lifts, throw jumps, death spirals, and other elements or moves.
Figure skating jumps are an element of three competitive figure skating disciplines: men's singles, women's singles, and pair skating – but not ice dancing. Jumping in figure skating is "relatively recent". They were originally individual compulsory figures, and sometimes special figures; many jumps were named after the skaters who invented them or from the figures from which they were developed. It was not until the early part of the 20th century, well after the establishment of organized skating competitions, when jumps with the potential of being completed with multiple revolutions were invented and when jumps were formally categorized. In the 1920s Austrian skaters began to perform the first double jumps in practice. Skaters experimented with jumps, and by the end of the period, the modern repertoire of jumps had been developed. Jumps did not have a major role in free skating programs during international competitions until the 1930s. During the post-war period and into the 1950s and early 1960s, triple jumps became more common for both male and female skaters, and a full repertoire of two-revolution jumps had been fully developed. In the 1980s men were expected to complete four or five difficult triple jumps, and women had to perform the easier triples. By the 1990s, after compulsory figures were removed from competitions, multi-revolution jumps became more important in figure skating.
Elvis Stojko, is a Canadian figure skater. He was a three-time World champion, two-time Olympic silver medallist, and seven-time Canadian champion.
Surya Varuna Claudine Bonaly is a French-born retired competitive figure skater. She is a three-time World silver medalist (1993–1995), a five-time European champion (1991–1995), the 1991 World Junior Champion, and a nine-time French national champion (1989–1997).
Kurt Browning, is a Canadian figure skater, choreographer and commentator. He is the first skater to land a ratified quadruple jump in competition. He is a four-time World Champion and Canadian national champion.
Midori Ito is a retired Japanese figure skater. She is the 1989 World champion and the 1992 Olympic silver medalist. She is the first woman to land a triple-triple jump combination and a triple Axel in competition. At the 1988 Calgary Olympics, she became the first woman to land seven triple jumps in an Olympic free skating competition. She is widely recognised as one of the best figure skaters of all time.
The toe loop jump is the simplest jump in the sport of figure skating. It was invented in the 1920s by American professional figure skater Bruce Mapes. The toe loop is accomplished with a forward approach on the inside edge of the blade; the skater then switches to a backward-facing position before their takeoff, which is accomplished from the skater's right back outside edge and left toepick. The jump is exited from the back outside edge of the same foot. It is often added to more difficult jumps during combinations and is the most common second jump performed in combinations. It is also the most commonly attempted jump.
Timothy Richard Goebel is an American former competitive figure skater. He is the 2002 Olympic bronze medalist. He was the first person to land a quadruple salchow jump in competition and the first person to land three quadruple jumps in one program. He landed 76 career quadruple jumps before his retirement in 2006.
Brandon Mroz is an American former competitive figure skater. He is the 2009 U.S. silver medalist and the 2006 & 2007 Junior Grand Prix Final silver medalist. He is the first skater to have completed a quadruple Lutz in a sanctioned competition.
Javier Fernández López is a Spanish former figure skater. He is the 2018 Olympic bronze medalist, a two-time World champion, a two-time World bronze medalist, a seven-time European champion (2013–2019), a two-time Grand Prix Final silver medalist, a three-time Rostelecom Cup champion (2014–2016), a two-time Grand Prix in France champion (2016–2017) and an eight-time Spanish national champion.
The 1999 Skate America was the first event of six in the 1999–2000 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the World Arena in Colorado Springs, Colorado on October 27–31. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing. Skaters earned points toward qualifying for the 1999–2000 Grand Prix Final. The compulsory dance was the Viennese Waltz.
A quadruple jump or quad is a figure skating jump with at least four revolutions. All quadruple jumps have four revolutions, except for the quadruple Axel, which has four and a half revolutions. The quadruple toe loop and quadruple Salchow are the two most commonly performed quads. Quadruple jumps have become increasingly common among World and Olympic level men's single skaters, to the point that not performing a quad in a program has come to be seen as a severe handicap. This phenomenon is often referred to as the "quad revolution". Since 2018, quadruple jumps have also become an increasingly common feature of women's skating, although they are not allowed under the International Skating Union ("ISU") rules in the ladies' short program. The first person to land a ratified quadruple jump in competition was Canadian Kurt Browning in 1988. Japanese skater Miki Ando became the first female to do so, in 2002.
Konstantin Alexandrovich Menshov is a Russian former competitive figure skater. He is the 2014 European bronze medalist, the 2015 Finlandia Trophy champion, a two-time Nebelhorn Trophy silver medalist, a two-time NRW Trophy champion, and the 2011 Russian national champion. Menshov is one of the skaters to have landed two quad jumps in a short program and three quad jumps in a free program.
The 1997 U.S. Figure Skating Championships took place between February 8 and February 16, 1997, in Nashville, Tennessee. The primary venue was the Nashville Arena and the secondary was the Nashville Municipal Auditorium. Skaters competed in five disciplines across three levels. The disciplines of the competition were men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, ice dancing, and compulsory figures. The levels of competition were Senior, Junior, and Novice. Medals were awarded in four colors: gold (first), silver (second), bronze (third), and pewter (fourth). In the figures event, the novice competitors skated one figure, and the juniors and seniors skated three.
The 1986 European Figure Skating Championships was a senior-level international competition held in Copenhagen, Denmark from January 28 to February 2, 1986. Elite skaters from European ISU member nations competed in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing.
Shoma Uno is a Japanese figure skater. He is a three-time Olympic medalist, a two-time World champion, and a two-time World silver medalist. He was also the 2019 Four Continents champion, the 2022–23 Grand Prix Final champion, a fourteen-time Grand Prix medalist, the 2017 Asian Winter Games champion, and a six-time Japanese national champion. At the junior level, Uno is the 2015 World Junior champion, the 2014–15 Junior Grand Prix Final champion, and 2012 Youth Olympic silver medalist.
Jin Boyang is a Chinese figure skater. He is a two-time World bronze medalist (2016–2017), the 2018 Four Continents champion, a two-time Four Continents silver medalist, the 2017 Asian Winter Games silver medalist, a five-time Chinese national champion and a two-time (2016,2024) Chinese national winter games champion. On the junior level, he is the 2015 World Junior silver medalist and the 2013 JGP Final champion. He is the first Chinese skater to medal in the men's singles event at a World Championships.
Alexandra "Sasha" Vyacheslavovna Trusova is a Russian figure skater. She is the 2022 Olympic silver medalist, the 2021 World bronze medalist, a European silver (2022) and bronze (2020) medalist, the 2019 Grand Prix Final bronze medalist, the 2019 Skate Canada champion, the 2019 Rostelecom Cup champion, the 2019 CS Ondrej Nepela Memorial champion, the 2021 U.S. Classic champion, and the 2021 Skate America champion. Domestically, she is the 2022 Russian national champion, the 2019 silver medalist, and the 2020 and 2021 bronze medalist. At the junior level, she is a two-time Junior World Champion, the 2018 Junior Grand Prix Final champion, the 2019 Junior Grand Prix Final silver medalist, a four-time champion on the Junior Grand Prix series, and a two-time Russian Junior national champion.
Ilia Malinin is an American competitive figure skater. He is the 2024 World champion, 2023–24 Grand Prix Final champion, 2023 World bronze medalist, the 2022-23 Grand Prix Final bronze medalist, a six-time Grand Prix medalist, a three-time ISU Challenger Series medalist, the 2023 and 2024 U.S. national champion, and the 2022 U.S. national silver medalist. At the junior level, Malinin is the 2022 World Junior champion, and a two-time Junior Grand Prix gold medalist. He holds the current world junior record for the men's short program, free skate, and combined score, along with the world senior record for the men's free skate.
Sofia Vladimirovna Samodelkina is a figure skater, representing Kazakhstan. She is 2021 JGP Slovenia silver medalist, 2021 JGP Russia bronze medalist, and 2021 Denis Ten Memorial Challenge champion.
Brian Boitano 
Katarina Witt 
Elena Valova / Oleg Vassiliev 
