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.
Tara Kristen Lipinski is an American former competitive figure skater, actress, sports commentator, and documentary film producer. A former competitor in women's singles, she is the 1998 Olympic champion, the 1997 World champion, a two-time Champions Series Final champion (1997–1998) and the 1997 U.S. national champion. Until 2019, she was the youngest single skater to win a U.S. Nationals and the youngest to become an Olympic and World champion in figure skating history. She is the first woman to complete a triple loop-triple loop combination, her signature jump element, in competition. Starting in 1997, Lipinski had a rivalry with fellow skater Michelle Kwan, which was played up by the American press, and culminated when Lipinski won the gold medal at the 1998 Olympics in Nagano.
The World Figure Skating Championships, commonly referred to as "Worlds", are an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union. Medals are awarded in men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance. Generally held in March, the World Championships are considered to be the most prestigious of the ISU Figure Skating Championships. With the exception of the Olympic title, a world title is considered to be the highest competitive achievement in figure skating.
Katarina Witt is a German former figure skater. A two-time Olympic champion, Witt is regarded as one of the greatest ladies' singles figure skaters of all time. Her Laureus profile states that "she is remembered most for her overall athleticism, her charismatic appeal and her glamorous image on the ice."
Figure skating at the 1924 Winter Olympics took place at the Stade Olympique in Chamonix, France, from 29 to 31 January 1924. Three figure skating events were contested: men's singles, ladies' singles, and pair skating.
Three figure skating events were contested at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, but they were held in April 1920, four months before most of the other Olympic events at the 1920 Games. The figure skating competition took place at the Ice Palace of Antwerp.
The figure skating events at the 1972 Winter Olympics were held at the Makomanai Skating Rink and the Mikaho Indoor Skating Rink.
Mao Asada is a Japanese former competitive figure skater. She is the 2010 Olympic silver medalist, a three-time World champion, a three-time Four Continents champion, and a four-time Grand Prix Final champion. She is the first female figure skater who has landed three triple Axel jumps in one competition, which she achieved at the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Figure skating was first contested in the Olympic Games at the 1908 Summer Olympics. Since 1924, the sport has been a part of the Winter Olympic Games.
The ISU Judging System or the International Judging System (IJS), occasionally referred to as the Code of Points (COP) system, is the scoring system that has been used since 2004 to judge the figure skating disciplines of men's and ladies' singles, pair skating, ice dance, and synchronized skating. It was designed and implemented by the International Skating Union (ISU), the ruling body of the sport.
The following is a glossary of figure skating terms, sorted alphabetically.
Single skating is a discipline of figure skating in which male and female skaters compete individually. Men's singles and women's singles are governed by the International Skating Union (ISU). Figure skating is the oldest winter sport contested at the Olympics, with men's and women's single skating appearing as two of the four figure skating events at the London Games in 1908.
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.
The ladies' individual skating event was held as part of the figure skating at the 1924 Winter Olympics. It was the third appearance of the event, which had previously been held at the Summer Olympics in 1908 and 1920. The competition was held on Monday, 28 January and on Tuesday, 29 January 1924. It was the only women's event at the 1924 Winter Olympics. Eight figure skaters from six nations competed.
The men's individual skating event was held as part of the figure skating at the 1928 Winter Olympics. It was the fourth appearance of the event, which had previously been held at the Summer Olympics in 1908 and 1920 and was also part of the first Winter Games in 1924. The competition was held from Tuesday, 14 February to Friday, 17 February 1928. Seventeen figure skaters from ten nations competed.
The men's individual skating event was held as part of the figure skating at the 1932 Winter Olympics. It was the fifth appearance of the event, which had previously been held twice at the Summer Olympics in 1908 and 1920 as well as at the Winter Games in 1924 and 1928. The competition was held on Monday 8 February and on Tuesday 9 February 1932. Twelve figure skaters from eight nations competed.
The ladies' individual skating event was held as part of the figure skating at the 1932 Winter Olympics. It was the fifth appearance of the event, which had previously been held twice at the Summer Olympics in 1908 and 1920 as well as at the Winter Games in 1924 and 1928. The competition was held on Tuesday 9 February and on Wednesday 10 February 1932. Fifteen figure skaters from seven nations competed.
The ladies' individual skating event was held as part of the figure skating at the 1936 Winter Olympics. It was the sixth appearance of the event, which had previously been held twice at the Summer Olympics in 1908 and 1920 and at all three Winter Games from 1924 onward. The competition was held from Tuesday, 11 February to Saturday, 15 February 1936. Twenty-six figure skaters from 13 nations competed.
Chen Lu is a Chinese former figure skater. She is the 1994 and 1998 Olympic bronze medalist and the 1995 World Champion. Chen won the first ever Olympic medal in figure skating for China.
