Jackson Haines, the father of modern figure skating. As discussed in our first lesson, he was the first to incorporate ballet and dance movements into his skating, as well as choreograph his programs to music. He was the inventor of the sit spin.
Ulrich Salchow, a Swede, was considered the greatest figure skater of his day, winning the world championships ten times. The Salchow jump, still used in figure skating today, is considered Salchow's greatest contribution to figure skating. |
Sonja Henie, a Norwegian, film star, and ten-time world champion brought a new style to figure skating in both athletic practice and dress. Previously, female skaters wore bulky clothing and long skirts. Henie broke with tradition by wearing a short knee-length skirt during her programs. Her fluid movements and overall elegance was considered a major advancement for figure skating.
Cecilia Colledge was a British figure skater and 1936 Olympic silver medalist. She is credited as the first female skater to perform a double jump, as well as being the inventor of both the camel spin and the layback spin. She passed away in 2008. |
Dick Button, 1948 and 1952 Olympic champion, was the first skater to perform the double axel and triple loop jumps, and is the inventor of the flying camel spin. He is currently still alive and a well-known, long-time figure skating TV analyst.
By the 1980s, some skaters began to practice quadruple jumps. At the 1988 World Championships, Kurt Browning of Canada landed the first quad toe loop. Japan's Midori Ito landed the first triple axel by a woman. Kurt Browning is known for his hilarious comedy and choreography and still performs to this day. |
In 1984, more than 24 million people in Great Britain watched ice dancing pair Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean earn unanimous 6.0s for presentation, the only perfect score in Olympic skating history.
In the 1993 National Sports Study II, considered by some to be the largest study of spectator sport popularity in America, had ladies' figure skating listed as the second most popular spectator sport just behind NFL football. The Tonya Harding scandal in 1994 increased interest in figure skating as well. The first night of the ladies' figure skating competition in the 1994 Winter Olympics achieved higher TV viewership ratings than that year's Super Bowl and was the most watched sports TV program of all-time, to that date. |
Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan
Tonya Harding is a former American figure skater and the second woman to land a triple axel in competition. In 1994, she was banned for life from the US Figure Skating Association after pleading guilty to hindering the prosecution following the attack on a fellow skater, Nancy Kerrigan. Nancy Kerrigan was also an American figure skater on the same team as Tonya Harding. On January 6, 1994, Nancy Kerrigan was attacked by an unknown assailant after a practice session. Apparently, Tonya's ex-husband and her bodyguard had hired a hitman to break Kerrigan's right leg so she would be unable to compete in the 1994 Winter Olympics. When Kerrigan stepped off the ice after practice and walked into a nearby corridor, Shane Stant struck her on the thigh a few inches above the knee with a police baton. Thankfully, her leg was only bruised, not broken, but the injury forced her to withdraw from the national championship. Tonya Harding went on to win that event, and she and Kerrigan were both selected for the 1994 Olympic team. The attack on Kerrigan and Harding's alleged involvement sparked a media frenzy. After USFSA conducted its own investigation of the attack, they stripped Harding of her 1994 U.S. Championships title and banned her for life from participating in any USFSA events, as either a skater or a coach. The USFSA believes she knew about the attack before it happened. |
Now I'm going to be completely biased and talk about my favorites in the figure skating world from the past few years.
As a child, Michelle Kwan was the first figure skater I learned about and was what originally peaked my interest in ice skating at all. She is the most decorated figure skater in U.S. history and for well over a decade maintained her status as one of America's most popular female athletes. From 1997 to 2005, she was the top-paid skater and one of the highest paid Winter Olympic athletes.
One of her trademark moves is a Y-Spin done consecutively on both feet. Kwan is also one of the few skaters who can spin in both directions.
One of her trademark moves is a Y-Spin done consecutively on both feet. Kwan is also one of the few skaters who can spin in both directions.
The 2006 Winter Olympic Games for Ladies' freestyle was one of the best. I liked all 3 top ladies and they were so close in competition! Irina Slutskaya from Russia had power and amazing jumps! Sasha Cohen from the USA had incredible flexibility and artistry. And Shizuka Arakawa was SOLID, solid and calm in everything she did. Ultimately, I'm glad Shizuka got the gold medal, she deserved it. Shizuka's Ina Bauer move is to die for.
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Gracie Gold is a previous favorite in US figure skating and I like her a lot, but she likely will never grab the gold medal at the Olympics. She has the talent, but not the personality. She's like Sasha Cohen, only even more nervous than her. You need nerves-of-steel to handle competition at this level and that's what people like Shizuka Arakawa have in spades.
If nothing else, Gracie impersonated Queen Elsa for me and I can totally get behind that.
If nothing else, Gracie impersonated Queen Elsa for me and I can totally get behind that.
Yuzuru Hanyu is a Japanese mens single skater. He is the 2014 Olympic champion and has broken world records 10 times and has currently achieved the highest short program, free skating, and combined total scores. He is also the youngest to win an Olympic title since Dick Button in 1948. In 2016, he became the first skater in history to land a quad loop in competition. He is well-known for his flexibility in the Biellmann spin, donut spin, and Ina Bauer position. Flexibility is usually much harder for male skaters to achieve.
I like this guy a lot. He's cute as hell and has the same stoic calmness that Shizuka does.
I like this guy a lot. He's cute as hell and has the same stoic calmness that Shizuka does.
Yulia Lipnitskaya is a Russian figure skater and the youngest skater to win a Gold Medal at the Olympics. Her performance to music from Schindler's List was captivating and the girl can spin! She is the Queen of Spins and seems to have a very calm personality just like the Japanese skaters. She's also just as cute and adorable looking as Hanyu.
My current favorite figure skater is Evgenia Medvedeva. She is a Russian figure skater and the 2016 World Champion. I hope I will see her in the 2018 Winter Olympics. This girl has nerves-of-steel. She's always calm and delivers solid performances. I am especially in love with her "Tano" position on her jumps where she elegantly jumps with her arm over her head. It makes her figure skating refreshing to watch because it doesn't look like everyone else's.
She also loves Sailor Moon and Yuri on Ice! As a fellow anime fan, I love that! And we even share a birthday! (albeit different years)
It's fate. I have to like this girl because her ice skating, her costumes, her face, her style are just gorgeous, along with her calm demeanor and love of anime.
She also loves Sailor Moon and Yuri on Ice! As a fellow anime fan, I love that! And we even share a birthday! (albeit different years)
It's fate. I have to like this girl because her ice skating, her costumes, her face, her style are just gorgeous, along with her calm demeanor and love of anime.
People to watch in 2018-19:
Starr Andrews - promising USA skater who just jumped up to the Senior level.
Bradie Tennell - another promising USA skater new to the Senior level.
Alysa Liu - USA skater who just moved up to the junior level. She is 12 years old and currently the youngest person ever to land a triple axel in competition.
Alina Zagitova - beat Evgenia Medvedeva by only 1 point at the Olympics in 2018 to claim the Gold medal.
Alexandra Trusova - Russian junior level skater, currently landing 3-4 quads in her programs. Most promising of the junior girls in Team Eteri.
Gracie Gold or Evgenia Medvedeva may make significant comebacks this year or next year.
People to watch in 2019-20:
**The amount of triple axels and quads on the Junior and Senior circuit of ladies competitions this year is something that has never been seen before.**
Alena Kostornaia - Team Eteri russian skater. Currently has triple axel and the highest artistry marks.
Alexandra Trusova - Team Eteri russian skater. Currently has the most quad jumps of all the ladies and has triple axel too. Waiting for her to land a quad loop next.
Anna Shcherbakova - Team Eteri russian skater. Has almost as many quads as Alexandra Trusova. Alena, Alexandra, and Anna are called the "3A" of Team Eteri and regularly sweep the entire podium of any event they enter together.
Kamila Valieva - Team Eteri russian skater. She is still a junior skater, but already has a quad toe loop and extremely high artistic marks.
Daria Usacheva - another Team Eteri russian skater. She doesn't have any quads yet, but she is doing well as a junior skater.
Daniil Samsonov - a MALE Team Eteri skater. Currently showing a lot of promise as a junior skater with incredible artistry for such a young skater and is landing some quads and triple axels in competitions already.
Alysa Liu - first US lady to land a quad in competition and also has triple axel. She is currently the only hope the USA has of challenging any of the Russian, Japanese, and South Korean skaters that currently dominant the sport.
Rika Kihira - Japanese skater who currently has a solid triple axel and has attempted quad salchow in competition.
South Korea has many promising Junior skaters who will move up to Senior level soon: Haein Lee, Seoyeong Wi, Seoyeon Ji, Yeonjeong Park, etc. Many of them have solid triple axels and are certainly working on developing quads.
Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan and Nathan Chen of the USA continue their unending battle for dominance in the men's events.
Starr Andrews - promising USA skater who just jumped up to the Senior level.
Bradie Tennell - another promising USA skater new to the Senior level.
Alysa Liu - USA skater who just moved up to the junior level. She is 12 years old and currently the youngest person ever to land a triple axel in competition.
Alina Zagitova - beat Evgenia Medvedeva by only 1 point at the Olympics in 2018 to claim the Gold medal.
Alexandra Trusova - Russian junior level skater, currently landing 3-4 quads in her programs. Most promising of the junior girls in Team Eteri.
Gracie Gold or Evgenia Medvedeva may make significant comebacks this year or next year.
People to watch in 2019-20:
**The amount of triple axels and quads on the Junior and Senior circuit of ladies competitions this year is something that has never been seen before.**
Alena Kostornaia - Team Eteri russian skater. Currently has triple axel and the highest artistry marks.
Alexandra Trusova - Team Eteri russian skater. Currently has the most quad jumps of all the ladies and has triple axel too. Waiting for her to land a quad loop next.
Anna Shcherbakova - Team Eteri russian skater. Has almost as many quads as Alexandra Trusova. Alena, Alexandra, and Anna are called the "3A" of Team Eteri and regularly sweep the entire podium of any event they enter together.
Kamila Valieva - Team Eteri russian skater. She is still a junior skater, but already has a quad toe loop and extremely high artistic marks.
Daria Usacheva - another Team Eteri russian skater. She doesn't have any quads yet, but she is doing well as a junior skater.
Daniil Samsonov - a MALE Team Eteri skater. Currently showing a lot of promise as a junior skater with incredible artistry for such a young skater and is landing some quads and triple axels in competitions already.
Alysa Liu - first US lady to land a quad in competition and also has triple axel. She is currently the only hope the USA has of challenging any of the Russian, Japanese, and South Korean skaters that currently dominant the sport.
Rika Kihira - Japanese skater who currently has a solid triple axel and has attempted quad salchow in competition.
South Korea has many promising Junior skaters who will move up to Senior level soon: Haein Lee, Seoyeong Wi, Seoyeon Ji, Yeonjeong Park, etc. Many of them have solid triple axels and are certainly working on developing quads.
Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan and Nathan Chen of the USA continue their unending battle for dominance in the men's events.
Figure Skating Timeline
3000BC - first pair of ice skates made from animal bones and leather straps.
1200-1300AD - The Dutch begin to make ice skate blades out of metal.
1742 - Edinburgh Skating Club. Ice skating was a sport only for men and involved circles and figure eights, not jumps or spins. Blades were strapped to boots.
1880s - sex segregation at ponds disappeared and men and women skated together. Jackson Haines screwed his blades directly to his boots to perform ballet and dance style movements on the ice. The first artificial ice rinks were made. International figure skating competitions appeared.
1908 - Figure skating appeared in the Olympics for the first time.
1920s - Sonja Henie starts the trend of females wearing shorter skirts and white boots.
1997 - compulsory figures were removed from competitions.
3000BC - first pair of ice skates made from animal bones and leather straps.
1200-1300AD - The Dutch begin to make ice skate blades out of metal.
1742 - Edinburgh Skating Club. Ice skating was a sport only for men and involved circles and figure eights, not jumps or spins. Blades were strapped to boots.
1880s - sex segregation at ponds disappeared and men and women skated together. Jackson Haines screwed his blades directly to his boots to perform ballet and dance style movements on the ice. The first artificial ice rinks were made. International figure skating competitions appeared.
1908 - Figure skating appeared in the Olympics for the first time.
1920s - Sonja Henie starts the trend of females wearing shorter skirts and white boots.
1997 - compulsory figures were removed from competitions.
Year | Jump | Name of Skater | Gender | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1909 | Salchow | Ulrich Salchow | male | |
1920 | Salchow | Theresa Weld | female | (reprimanded for attempting anything so "unladylike") |
1920s | Double salchow | Gillis Grafström | male | |
1930s | Double salchow | Cecilia Colledge | female | |
1955 | Triple salchow | Ronnie Robertson | male | |
1962 | Triple salchow | Petra Burka | female | (first triple jump of any type by a woman) |
1998 | Quad salchow | Timothy Goebel | male | |
2002 | Quad salchow | Miki Ando | female | (first woman to ever land any kind of quad jump) |
2018 | Quad salchow | Alexandra Trusova | female | (second woman to ever land any kind of quad jump) |
- | - | - | - | - |
1910 | Loop | Werner Rittberger | male | |
1952 | Triple Loop | Dick Button | male | |
1968 | Triple Loop | Gaby Seyfert | female | |
2016 | Quad Loop | Yuzuru Hanyu | male | |
- | - | - | - | - |
1920s | Toe Loop | Bruce Mapes | male | |
1964 | Triple toe loop | Thomas Litz | male | |
1988 | Quad toe loop | Kurt Browning | male | (first quad jump ever landed by anyone.) |
2018 | Quad toe loop | Alexandra Trusova | female | |
- | - | - | - | - |
1913 | Flip | Unknown (maybe Bruce Mapes) | male | |
1950s-1960s | Triple Flip | Unknown (maybe David Jenkins, Donald Jackson, etc) | male | |
1981 | Triple Flip | Katarina Witt | female | |
2016 | Quad Flip | Shoma Uno | male | |
2019 | Quad Flip | Alexandra Trusova | female | |
- | - | - | - | - |
1913 | Lutz | Alois Lutz | male | |
1949 | Double Lutz | Alena Vrzáňová | female | |
1962 | Triple Lutz | Donald Jackson | male | |
1978 | Triple Lutz | Denise Biellmann | female | |
2011 | Quad Lutz | Brandon Mroz | male | |
2018 | Quad Lutz | Alexandra Trusova | female | |
- | - | - | - | - |
1882 | Axel | Axel Paulsen | male | |
1920s | Axel | Sonja Henie | female | |
1948 | Double Axel | Dick Button | male | |
1953 | Double Axel | Carol Heiss | female | |
1978 | Triple Axel | Vern Taylor | male | (now a standard jump for male competitions, very rare for females) |
1988 | Triple Axel | Midori Ito | female | (Only 6 women in the world have succeeded at Triple Axel in competition.) |
- | Quad Axels are considered theoretically impossible, but some believe it may be possible one day. | Yuzuru Hanyu and Artur Dmitriev have made attempts at Quad Axel, but so far they fall or under-rotate it. | - | Is the Quad Axel the Next Frontier? |
If you would like to learn more about Figure Skating history, here's some good books to pick up:The books are a little dated because they were written during the "Michelle Kwan era" when Figure skating became really popular, but they still contain lots of good information. You'll find the most recent books were all written during the Michelle Kwan era.