The figure skating competition is one of the fiercest at the Winter Olympics - one slight error, and a competitor's chance of a medal goes up in smoke. To win gold, you have to be flawless.
Overview
Australians first competed in Figure Skating at the Oslo 1952 Winter Olympics. Adrian Swan competed in the men’s individual and placed 10th.
Monica McDonald and Rodney Clarke became Australia's first ice dancing Olympians at the Calgary 1988 Winter Games. Monica’s passion for Figure Skating was also taken up by her son Brendan Kerry, who will represent Australia at Beijing in his record-equalling third Olympics. That Australian figure skating record is shared by Cameron Medhurst (1984-1992) and the brother/sister pairing of Stephen Carr and Danielle Carr-McGrath (1992-1998).
Harley Windsor made history in 2018 as Australia’s first Indigenous Winter Olympian, as he paired up with Moscow-born Ekaterina Alexandrovskaya in the pairs competition.
Figure Skating begins on Friday 4 February and concludes with a gala exhibition on Sunday 20 February.
What’s the story?
- Figure Skating is one of the most popular sports at the Winter Olympics and is the oldest sport on the winter schedule.
- Australia will be represented by Kailani Craine in the women’s single skating and Brendan Kerry in the men’s single skating.
- The competition will take place at the Capital Indoor Stadium in Beijing, the venue which hosted the volleyball competition at the Beijing 2008 Olympics.
- Hanyu Yuzuru (JPN) looks to win a third consecutive Olympic gold medal in the men’s single skating and be the first to do it since 1928.
Ones to watch
The Aussies
Kailani Craine lines up for her second Olympics after finishing 17th in the women’s single skating at PyeongChang 2018. The 23-year-old Novocastrian finished 7th at the Nebelhorn Trophy in 2021, to the music of Blondie's ‘Heart of Glass', where she qualified for Beijing 2022.
In December 2021 Brendan Kerry had a personal best total score of 231.35, to finish sixth at the 2021 Golden Spin of Zagreb of Croatia. He is the first and only Australian to have completed two different quadruple jumps.
The competition
Nathan Chen (USA) - the 2018, 2019 and 2021 world champion - appears to be Yuzuru’s toughest challenger for the men’s single skating gold medal.
If Alina Zagitova (ROC) and Evgenia Medvedeva (ROC) are not selected to compete in the women's single skating, it could open things up for Japan’s Satoko Miyahara and 18-year-old Rika Kihira.
Competition format
Men's Single Skating, Women's Single Skating, Pair Skating
The men’s, women’s and pairs competitions consist of two separate parts, the short program and the free skating.
The short program combines eight prescribed elements such as jump combinations and spins. In the free skating program, skaters perform an original arrangement of techniques to music of their choice.
The top 24 of the 30 single skaters qualify for free skating. The top 16 of the 19 pairs qualify to the free skating.
The scores of the short program and free skating are added and the result constitutes the final score of a skater or couple in an event.
In the pairs the couple work as one unit, demonstrating overhead lifts, throw-jumps with the man launching his partner, and other manoeuvres.
Ice Dance
Ice dancing is similar to ballroom dancing and composed of two parts, rhythm dance and free dance.
In rhythm dance, the focus is on the complex steps in time with the music. Skaters maintain contact with each other, limiting lifts and jumps. In free dancing the pair freely express their interpretation of the music they have chosen.
The top 20 of 23 ice dance couples qualify to the free dance.
The scores of the rhythm dance and free dance are added and the result constitutes the final score of a couple in an event.
Team Event
Each figure skating team is made up with competitors from at least three of the following four categories; Men’s single skating, Women’s single skating, pair skating and ice dance. Points are awarded to each skater and couple.
Qualification consists of a short program or rhythm dance. After the qualification a team will be allowed to replace up to two skaters or couples. Teams are awarded 10 to 1 team points for each team segment (1st place – 10 points, 10th place - 1 point). Qualification standings are set according to the sum of the team points.
The top five teams qualify for the final. The final consists of free skating or free dance. In the final phase, teams are awarded 10 to 6 points for each segment (1st place - 10 points, 5th place – 6 points).
The team with the highest number of aggregate points is declared the winner.
