Figure skating at the Olympic Games
IOC Discipline CodeFSK
Governing bodyISU
Events5 (men: 1; women: 1; mixed: 3)
Games

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.

Men's singles, ladies' singles, and pair skating have been held most often. Ice dance joined as a medal sport in 1976 and a team event debuted at the 2014 Olympics. Special figures were contested at only one Olympics, in 1908. Synchronized skating has never appeared at the Olympics but aims to be included.[1]

History

Figure skating was first contested as an Olympic sport at the 1908 Summer Olympics, in London, United Kingdom. As this traditional winter sport could be conducted indoors, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) approved its inclusion in the Summer Olympics program.[2] It was featured a second time at the Antwerp Games,[3] after which it was permanently transferred to the program of the Winter Olympic Games, first held in 1924 in Chamonix, France.[2]

In London, figure skating was presented in four events: men's singles, women's singles, men's special figures, and mixed pairs. The special figures contest was won by Russian Nikolai Panin, who gave his country its first ever Olympic gold medal.[4] He remains the event's sole winner, as it was subsequently dropped from the program.

Ice dance joined as a medal sport in 1976, after appearing as a demonstration event at Grenoble 1968.[3]

A team event debuted at the 2014 Olympics.[5] It consists of two segments: qualification and finals. During qualification each team has one men's single skater, one ladies' single skater, one pair, and one ice dance couple skate their short program/dance. Before the finals, each team is allowed to replace up to two skaters/couples. The final consists of each skater/couple skating their free program/dance. Results are determined by placement points.[6]

Summary

Games Year Events Best Nation
119084 Great Britain
2
3
419203 Sweden
519243 Austria
619283 France
 Norway
 Sweden
719323 Austria
819363 Austria
–
–
919483 Canada
1019523 United States
1119563 United States
1219603 United States
1319643 United Team of Germany
1419683 Soviet Union
 United States
1519723 Soviet Union
1619764 Soviet Union
1719804 Soviet Union
1819844 United States
Games Year Events Best Nation
1919884 Soviet Union
2019924 Unified Team
2119944 Russia
2219984 Russia
2320024 Russia
2420064 Russia
2620104 China
 United States
2720145 Russia
2820185 Canada
2920225 ROC

Qualifying

The number of entries for the figure skating events at the Olympic Games is limited by a quota set by the International Olympic Committee. There are 30 participants in each singles events (ladies and men), 20 pairs, and 24 ice dance duos.

In the past, skaters must represent a member nation of the International Skating Union and reach the age of fifteen before July 1 of the previous year. After the previous 2022 Olympic Games, this rule has changed and the new age requirement by the next Olympics will be 17-years-old. They are also required to be citizens of the country they are representing.[7] Competitors have until just before the Olympics to receive citizenship. Since nationality rules are less strict for the ISU Championships, sometimes skaters who have competed at World or European championships are not eligible for the Olympics.

80% of the Olympic spots (24 men/ladies, 19 dance couples, 16 pairs) are allotted to countries according to the results of the previous year's World Figure Skating Championships. A country may have a maximum of three entries per discipline. Countries earn two or three entries by earning points through their skaters' placements. The points are equal to the sum of the placements of the country's skaters (top two if they have three). If a country only has one skater/couple, that skater/couple must place in the top ten to earn two entries and in the top two to earn three entries. If a country has two skaters/teams, the combined placement of those teams must be 13 or less to qualify 3 entries, and 28 or less to qualify two entries. The remaining places are awarded to one skater/couple each from countries that failed to get multiple places, in order of their skaters' placement in the world championships.

Following the World Championships, countries that have not qualified an entry in a particular discipline receive another opportunity in an international competition held in the autumn (usually the Nebelhorn Trophy) prior to the Olympic Games. Six spots are available in men's singles, six in ladies' singles, four in pairs, and five in ice dance. At some Olympics, the host country is automatically entitled to one entry in each discipline, e.g. in 1994,[8] 2010,[9] and 2018 if minimum scores are achieved.[10] If a country receives a spot by being the host, one fewer spot is available in the autumn qualifying competition.

The selection of representatives is at the national governing body's discretion. Some countries rely on the results of their national championships while others have more varied criteria. This may include reaching a certain placement at the European Figure Skating Championships and the Four Continents Figure Skating Championships.[8]

Scoring and judging system

A very specific scoring system is used for every discipline in the Olympics. This is referred to as the International Judging System (IJS). Competitors are scored on the technical score and the program components. Each technical element that is attempted in a program has a specific base value of points, which varies based on the element.[11] Additionally, elements such as spins and step sequences can achieve different levels, which can add or subtract points from that element's final score. At the end of the program, all of the competitors' technical element points are added up to form their technical scores. The program components are determined by the overall presentation of a performance and are separated into five categories. The categories consist of skating skills, transitions, performance, composition, and interpretation of the music.[12] Again, these categories are added together at the end of the program to determine the program components score. The technical elements score and the program components score are added together to create a final segment score.  

The judging system consists of two parts, the technical panel and the judges.[11] The technical panel involves five people that play different roles in judging the technical elements of a skaters program. First, there is the technical specialist, who uses the rules developed by the International Skating Union to identify each element and its level of difficulty. The two judges who support the main technical specialist are referred to as the technical controllers and assistant technical specialist. They make sure the primary specialist has correctly identified the elements and make any final decisions on the technical elements presented in the program. The final two roles presented by the technical panel are the data operator and video replay operator. Separate from the technical panel is the judging panel, which is made up of nine judges. Their job is to judge the quality of each element done by the skater regarding the technical elements, as well as evaluate the program components shown in the program. They do this by a great of execution score, GOE, that ranges from –5 to +5 and determines how many points can be added or subtracted from the base value of an element.

Age rules

Within figure skating, there is a set minimum age limit for all elite competitors through the sport. This age was formerly 15 years old, until after the 2022 Olympic Games in Beijing. During this event, 15-year-old Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva was the favorite to win the ladies' single event, until she was found to have a positive drug test for a banned substance previous to the competition.[13] The International Olympic Committee had to conduct an investigation into Valieva during the Olympics, which brought a great amount of chaos and controversy as to whether she should have been allowed to compete or not. More importantly, it brought attention to the conditions young athletes are faced with physically, mentally, and emotionally[14] as they are preparing for this event, this not being the first time a situation such as this has occurred. After the 2022 Games, the International Skating Union voted to increase the minimum age limit for elite competitors throughout the sport to 17, by a vote of 100 to 16. This limit will be implemented over the course of the next three years, before the 2026 Games in Milan.[15] This decision was based on preserving the physical, mental, and emotional health and wellbeing of figure skaters, and can be summarize by Eric Radford, three time Canadian Olympic medalist, who stated, "Is a medal worth risking the health of a child or young athlete?"

Synchronized skating in the Olympics

The discipline of synchronized skating adds a team element to figure skating, having eight to twenty skaters on the ice at once. They skate together in unison performing difficult step sequences and formations together. This discipline has not yet been included in the Olympic Games. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) determines whether to add a sport or a discipline to the Olympics based on how many athletes and officials would be included, how popular the sport is, and how much money it would bring to them.[16] The ISU has been making efforts the past several years to "investigate, strategize and gather the information required for Synchronized Skating to be accepted as an Olympic discipline."[17] 

Events

Event081220242832364852566064687276808488929498020610141822Years
Men's singles••••••••••••••••••••••••••26
Men's special figures•1
Ladies' singles••••••••••••••••••••••••••26
Pair skating••••••••••••••••••••••••••26
Ice dance•••••••••••••13
Mixed team•••3
Total events403333333333334444444444555

Medal table

Accurate as of 2022 Winter Olympics.[18]

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 United States (USA)16172154
2 Russia (RUS)149326
3 Soviet Union (URS)109524
4 Austria (AUT)79420
5 Canada (CAN)6111229
6 Great Britain (GBR)53715
7 Sweden (SWE)53210
8 France (FRA)43714
9 Germany (GER)4239
10 Japan (JPN)34411
11 East Germany (GDR)33410
12 Norway (NOR)3216
13 Unified Team (EUN)3115
14 China (CHN)2349
15 ROC2316
16 Netherlands (NED)1203
 Olympic Athletes from Russia (OAR)1203
 United Team of Germany (EUA)1203
19 Czechoslovakia (TCH)1135
20 Finland (FIN)1102
 South Korea (KOR)1102
22 Belgium (BEL)1012
 Ukraine (UKR)1012
24 Russian Empire (RU1)1001
25 Hungary (HUN)0246
26 Switzerland (SUI)0213
27 Italy (ITA)0022
 West Germany (FRG)0022
29 Kazakhstan (KAZ)0011
 Spain (ESP)0011
Totals (30 entries)969595286

Participating nations

The number in each box represents the number of figure skaters the nation sent.

Nation08202428323648525660646872768084889294980206101418 22Years
 Argentina1-------------------------1
 Armenia-------------------432--- 24
 Australia-------326---222432421144 216
 Austria--4921210486108363-21-1-1242 321
 Azerbaijan-------------------432-2- 25
 Belarus------------------5221--- 25
 Belgium-232143--------11---11212 114
 Brazil-----------------------11-2
 Bulgaria---------------2211435--- 18
 Canada--2566467812107116151713131012131217171324
 China--------------2664441199911 812
 Chinese Taipei----------------21-1------3
 Croatia-----------------2-111---
 Czechoslovakia--13137-4288162366-------
 Czech Republic------------------8541435 68
 Denmark------11--------1211-----
 Estonia-----2-----------1111352- 29
 Finland-32311-21----12--331123-1 317
 France-2532-323455511561291488898424
 Georgia--------------------12311 66
 Germany3--816-----------6106458108613
 United Team of Germany-------841112--------------
 East Germany-----------8710785--------
 West Germany-----------1154798--------
 Great Britain11666412988457512910976122762 326
 Hungary----47662-2213223532253-1 220
 Israel------------------1344237 38
 Italy-----2212222172347-69791111 920
 Japan----25---34543345647468109 1019
 Kazakhstan------------------25--223
 South Korea-----------3111222214-237 416
 North Korea----------------26---41-2
 Latvia-----4-----------23-----2 15
 Lithuania-----------------22222-2- 27
 Luxembourg-------------------1-1---
 Malaysia------------------------1
 Mexico----------------22------- 13
 Netherlands-------1221-11----------- 17
 Norway-6131434--2------------1-
 Philippines-----------------------11
 Poland-----------223-13235444-2 313
 Romania-----3-----11----1212211-
 Russia------------------151716161615- 187
 Russian Empire1------------------------
 Olympic Athletes from Russia------------------------15
 Serbia and Montenegro---------------------1---
 Slovakia-------------------13-113
 Slovenia-----------------2-1112--
 South Africa---------4--------11-----
 Spain--------1-----1-1-11--244 49
 Sweden441121-21-111-1221-1-1121 221
 Switzerland-112-375438113222-11434-1 222
 Turkey---------------------1122
 Soviet Union---------44101016161717--------
 Ukraine------------------10101111764 68
 Unified Team-----------------17-------
 United States12361299101012121211151418161612131416151514 1626
 Uzbekistan------------------4243111
 Yugoslavia--------------121--------
Skaters 2126295139846463597188966710583112128133129145143147146149153 1172448
Nations 681112131712151514151718182020262828373135313032 30
Year08202428323648525660646872768084889294980206101418 2226

Medals per year

# Number of medals won by the NOC at these Games – NOC did not win medals at these Games NOC did not participate at these Games (in 1912, there was no figure skating)
NOC 08 12 20 24 28 32 36 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76 80 84 88 92 94 98 02 06 10 14 18 Total
 Austria (AUT) –3423212–111––––––––––––20
 Belgium (BEL) –––1––1––––––––––––––––2
 Canada (CAN) ––––1–2–122–11–131211123429
 China (CHN) ––––11122–18
 Czechoslovakia (TCH) ––––––––1–11––1–15
 East Germany (GDR) 11331110
 Finland (FIN) –11––––––––––––––––––––––2
 France (FRA) ––111––1––111––––1121–––113
 Germany (GER) 2––21––1––1119
 United Team of Germany (EUA) –123
 Great Britain (GBR) 611––111–––––111––1––––––15
 Hungary (HUN) –––11111–––––1––––––––––6
 Italy (ITA) ––––––––––––––––––––1––1–2
 Japan (JPN) ––––––––––––––1–––12127
 Kazakhstan (KAZ) –––––1–1
 Netherlands (NED) –––––––11––1––––––––––3
 Norway (NOR) –3–111––––––––––––––––––6
 Olympic Athletes from Russia (OAR) 33
 Russia (RUS) 55542526
 Russian Empire (RU1) 11
 South Korea (KOR) ––––––––––11–2
 Soviet Union (URS) ––123445524
 Spain (ESP) –––––––11
 Sweden (SWE) 331111–––––––––––––––––––10
 Switzerland (SUI) ––1–––1––––––––––––––1–––3
 Ukraine (UKR) 1––1–––2
 Unified Team (EUN) 55
 United States (USA) –1112–145422122333123222251
 West Germany (FRG) 1––1––2
Year 08 12 20 24 28 32 36 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76 80 84 88 92 94 98 02 06 10 14 18 –

See also

References

General

Specific

  1. ↑ Chernoff, Allan (28 February 2013). "A Move to the Front of the Line". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2016-11-21. Retrieved 2017-02-26.
  2. 1 2 "Figure Skating". Official website of the Olympic Movement. International Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on 2008-12-06. Retrieved July 14, 2009.
  3. 1 2 "Figure Skating: History". Official website of the Olympic Movement. International Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on 2008-09-07. Retrieved July 14, 2009.
  4. ↑ Windhausen, John D. (1976). "Russia's First Olympic Victor" (PDF). Journal of Sport History. United States of America: North American Society for Sport History. 3 (1): 35–44. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2010-08-07. Retrieved July 15, 2009.
  5. ↑ Sarkar, Pritha (29 March 2012). "Figure skating-New team event at Sochi Olympics will begin early". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2012-10-22. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
  6. ↑ Anderson Cezar (25 October 2018). "Official Results Book Figure Skating" (PDF). pyeongchang2018.com. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2018-02-25. Retrieved 2018-03-03.
  7. ↑ "2012 Constitution and General Regulations: Rule 108" (PDF). International Skating Union. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2014-02-22. Retrieved 2014-02-11.
  8. 1 2 Hersh, Phil (26 January 1994). "Hard To Figure: No Norwegian Skaters". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on 2014-03-28. Retrieved 2014-03-28.
  9. ↑ "Special Regulations & Technical Rules" (PDF). International Skating Union. June 2008. pp. 36–38. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 March 2010.
  10. ↑ "55th ISU Ordinary Congress". International Skating Union. 13 June 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-08-03. Retrieved 2014-06-14.
  11. 1 2 "Scoring System | U.S. Figure Skating". www.usfigureskating.org. Retrieved 2022-10-25.
  12. ↑ "Figure skating at the Beijing Winter Olympics: What are the rules, how does scoring work, what are Team GB's prospects?". Eurosport. 2021-12-15. Retrieved 2022-10-25.
  13. ↑ Keh, Andrew (2022-06-07). "After Doping Scandal, Figure Skating Will Raise Age Limit to 17". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-10-25.
  14. ↑ Chappell, Bill (2022-06-07). "Figure skaters' minimum age for top competitions will rise to 17 after scandal". NPR. Retrieved 2022-10-25.
  15. ↑ Keh, Andrew (2022-06-07). "After Doping Scandal, Figure Skating Will Raise Age Limit to 17". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-10-25.
  16. ↑ Torchinsky, Rina (2022-02-18). "Synchronized skaters missed out on Beijing, but their Olympic dreams live on for 2026". NPR. Retrieved 2022-10-25.
  17. ↑ Torchinsky, Rina (2022-02-18). "Synchronized skaters missed out on Beijing, but their Olympic dreams live on for 2026". NPR. Retrieved 2022-10-25.
  18. ↑ "Olympic Analytics - Medals by Countries". olympanalyt.com. Retrieved 2022-02-20.

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