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 RussianNikolai 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.
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]
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.
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]
^ ab"Figure Skating: History". Official website of the Olympic Movement. International Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on 2008-09-07. Retrieved July 14, 2009.
^Windhausen, John D. (1976). "Russia's First Olympic Victor"(PDF). Journal of Sport History. 3 (1). United States of America: North American Society for Sport History: 35–44. Archived(PDF) from the original on 2010-08-07. Retrieved July 15, 2009.
