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.
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.
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.
Mirai Aileen Nagasu is an American figure skater. She is a 2018 Olympic Games team event bronze medalist, three-time Four Continents medalist, the 2007 JGP Final champion, a two-time World Junior medalist, and a seven-time U.S. national medalist.
The 2008 World Figure Skating Championships was a senior international figure skating competition in the 2007–08 figure skating season. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing. The event was held at the Scandinavium arena in Gothenburg, Sweden from March 16 to 23.
The 2009 World Figure Skating Championships was a senior international figure skating competition in the 2008–09 season. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing.
The 2010 World 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 Palavela in Turin, Italy from 22 to 28 March.
The ladies' single skating competition of the 2010 Winter Olympics was held at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The short program was held on February 23, 2010 and the free skating was held on February 25, 2010. Yuna Kim from South Korea won the gold medal setting three world best scores. Mao Asada from Japan became the first lady to accomplish one triple Axel during the short program and two during the free program at the Olympics.
The 2012 World Figure Skating Championships was an international figure skating competition in the 2011–12 season. The event determined the World Champions in men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing. It was held between March 26 and April 1 in Nice, France.
The 2011 World Junior Figure Skating Championships was an international figure skating competition during the 2010–11 season. Commonly called "World Juniors" and "Junior Worlds", the event crowned the World Junior Champions in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing.
Figure skating at the 2014 Winter Olympics was held at the Iceberg Skating Palace in Sochi, Russia. The five events took place between 6–22 February 2014. For the first time at the Winter Olympics, a figure skating team event was held.
The 2014 World Figure Skating Championships was an international figure skating competition held in Saitama, Japan, at the Saitama Super Arena from March 24 to 30. 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 2015 World Championships.
The 2017 World Figure Skating Championships were held 29 March – 2 April 2017 in Helsinki, Finland. The host was named in June 2014. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pairs, and ice dancing. The event also determined the number of entries for each country at the 2018 World Championships and the 2018 Winter Olympics.
The 2018 World Figure Skating Championships were held in Milan, Italy from 19–25 March 2018, at the Mediolanum Forum.
The 2017–18 Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final and ISU Junior Grand Prix Final took place from 7 to 10 December 2017 at the Nagoya Civic General Gymnasium in Nagoya, Japan. Nagoya was announced as the host on 3 November 2016. The combined event was the culmination of two international series — the Grand Prix of Figure Skating and the Junior Grand Prix. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dance on the senior and junior levels.
The 2019 World Figure Skating Championships were held in Saitama, Japan, from March 18–24, 2019.
The 2019–20 Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final and ISU Junior Grand Prix Final was held from December 5–8, 2019 at the Torino Palavela in Turin, Italy. The combined event was the culmination of two international series — the Grand Prix of Figure Skating and the Junior Grand Prix. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dance on the senior and junior levels.
Figure skating at the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics took place at the Centre intercommunal de glace de Malley in Lausanne, Switzerland from 10 to 15 January 2020.
