The World Figure Skating Championships ("Worlds") is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union. Medals are awarded in the categories of men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance. Generally held in March, the World Championships are considered 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.
The Goodwill Games were an international sports competition created by Ted Turner in reaction to the political troubles surrounding the Olympic Games of the 1980s. In 1979, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan caused the United States and other Western countries to boycott the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, an act reciprocated when the Soviet Union and other Eastern Bloc countries boycotted the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
Alexei Konstantinovich Yagudin is a Russian former competitive figure skater. He is the 2002 Olympic champion, a four-time World champion, a three-time European champion, a two-time Grand Prix Final champion, the 1996 World Junior champion, and a two-time World Professional champion.
Evgeni Viktorovich Plushenko is a Russian former figure skater. He is a four-time Olympic medalist, a three-time World champion, a seven-time European champion, a four-time Grand Prix Final champion, and a ten-time Russian national champion. Plushenko's four Olympic medals once tied with Sweden's Gillis Grafström's record for most Olympic medals in figure skating, which has since been surpassed by Scott Moir and Tessa Virtue. He also won a record total of 22 titles on the Grand Prix circuit.
Evan Frank Lysacek is an American retired figure skater. He is the 2010 Olympic champion, the 2009 World champion, a two-time Four Continents champion, the 2009 Grand Prix Final champion, and a two-time U.S. national champion. Lysacek was the 2010 United States Olympic Committee's SportsMan of the Year, and the winner of the James E. Sullivan Award as the top U.S. amateur athlete of 2010. On January 22, 2016, he was inducted into the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame.
Carolina Kostner is an Italian figure skater. She is the 2014 Olympic bronze medalist, the 2012 World champion, a five-time European champion, and the 2011 Grand Prix Final champion. She is also a medalist at five other World Championships, six other European Championships, and three other Grand Prix Finals, the 2003 World Junior bronze medalist, and a nine-time Italian national champion. Kostner has won 11 medals at the European championships, most recently in 2018, and is the most decorated singles skater in the history of the competition.
Ilia Izyaslavich Averbukh is a Russian ice dancer. With his then-wife Irina Lobacheva, he is the 2002 Olympic silver medalist, the 2002 World champion and the 2003 European champion.
Luxembourg sent a delegation to compete in the 2006 Winter Olympics, held in Turin, Italy from 10–26 February 2006. Luxembourg returned to the Winter Olympic Games after missing the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. The Luxembourgian delegation consisted of a single figure skater, Fleur Maxwell, making her Olympic debut. In the ladies' singles she finished in 24th place.
Yuna Kim, also credited in eastern name order as Kim Yuna or Kim Yeon-a, is a retired South Korean competitive figure skater. She is the 2010 Olympic champion and 2014 Olympic silver medalist in ladies' singles, the 2009 & 2013 World champion, the 2009 Four Continents champion, a three-time Grand Prix Final champion, the 2006 World Junior champion, the 2005 Junior Grand Prix Final champion, and a six-time South Korean national champion.
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 Nebelhorn Trophy is an international senior-level figure skating competition organized by the Deutsche Eislauf-Union and held annually in Oberstdorf, Germany. It became part of the ISU Challenger Series in the 2014–15 season.
The Nepela Memorial, formerly known as the Ondrej Nepela Trophy in 2013–15 & 2017 and the Ondrej Nepela Memorial, is an annual senior-level international figure skating competition. Named after 1972 Olympic champion Ondrej Nepela, the competition has been held annually since 1993. It became part of the ISU Challenger Series in the 2014–15 season.
The Golden Spin of Zagreb is an annual senior-level figure skating competition, held yearly in Zagreb, Croatia. It became part of the ISU Challenger Series in the 2014–15 season. Medals are awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing, although, in some years, not every discipline is included. The equivalent for junior-level skaters is the Golden Bear of Zagreb.
The Asian Open Figure Skating Trophy is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the Asian Skating Union. Skaters compete in the disciplines of men's and ladies' singles across three levels: senior, junior, and novice.
The 2010 European Figure Skating Championships was a senior international figure skating competition in the 2009–10 season. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing. The event was held at the Saku Suurhall Arena in Tallinn, Estonia from January 18 to 24, 2010.
The 2001 Goodwill Games was the fifth and final edition of the international multi-sport event. The competition was held in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia from 29 August to 9 September 2001. A total around 1300 athletes took part in 14 sporting competitions.
Nathan Chen is an American figure skater. He is the 2022 Olympic champion, a three-time World champion, the 2017 Four Continents champion, a three-time Grand Prix Final champion, a ten-time Grand Prix medalist, and a six-time U.S. national champion (2017–22). At the junior level, Chen is the 2015–16 Junior Grand Prix Final champion, 2013–14 Junior Grand Prix Final bronze medalist, 2014 World Junior bronze medalist, and a six-time Junior Grand Prix medalist. Chen also helped the U.S. Olympic team win the bronze medal in the 2018 team event, and the silver medal in the 2022 team event.
The 2013 World Figure Skating Championships was an international figure skating competition in the 2012–13 season. The event was held at the Budweiser Gardens in London, Ontario, Canada on March 11–17. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing. The event also determined the number of entries a country may send to the 2014 World Championships and 2014 Winter Olympics.
The 2011–12 ISU Junior Grand Prix was the 15th season of the series of junior international competitions organized by the International Skating Union. It was the junior-level complement to the 2011–12 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating contested by senior-level skaters. Skaters competed in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dance.
Figure skating at the Goodwill Games was a senior international figure skating competition. It was held in July, August, or September. Medals were awarded in men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing.
Evgeni Plushenko 
