The most anticipated event in Russia in 2014 is, of course, the twenty-second Winter Olympic Games held in the city of Sochi. An event that promises new discoveries in sports and it is unlikely that anywhere else you can meet so many gifted athletes and set records as in the Olympic competitions.
And one of the brightest and most colorful and sporting disciplines of all Olympic sports, which attracts many people, both fans and just lovers of beauty, is figure skating, a sport in which not only philosophic preparation is important, but also artistry of performances.
Europe
Let's start our review of the history of figure skating in the Winter Olympics from northern Europe, the birthplace of figure skating. Scandinavia holds some of the earliest figure skating records, holding for almost a hundred years.
The greatest number of gold medals in figure skating among men was won by Gillis Grafström, a figure skater from Sweden. Yillis managed to win 3 gold medals at the Olympic Games from 1920 to 1928.
The record for the most gold medals in figure skating among women belongs to the Norwegian figure skater Sonja Henie. Sonya won from 1928 to 1936 and is the first and, to date, the only three-time Olympic champion in women's singles.
Moving a little south towards central Europe, let's focus on the United Kingdom, which at first glance does not have much achievements in Olympic figure skating. Nevertheless, the UK has played an extremely important role in the development of this sport. The Edinburgh Skating Club, founded in 1742, became the first figure skating association in history, and it was the British who became famous in the 19th century for performing complex tricks and figures while skating on ice. The UK later witnessed many records, including the double record of Robin Cousins, who on November 16, 1983, completed the longest Axel (5m 81cm) and back flip (5m 48cm).
Outstanding representatives of figure skating in Europe are not limited to the territory of Great Britain. Lucinda Ruh is a Swiss figure skater who is considered the best in performing spin elements, and she proved it on April 3, 2003 in New York, setting the record for the longest vertical rotation on skates - Lucinda performed continuously 115 turns on one leg.
Russia
Of course, Russia is rightfully considered the dominant country in figure skating.
The world record for the sum of points for the programs played belongs to the Russian pair of figure skaters Tatyana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov, who in 2013 set the limit at 237.71 points for pair skating. In general, Russia (including the former USSR) holds the longest championship in pair figure skating, which was the leader in this discipline for 46 years in a row, from 1964 to 2006.
To list all the achievements of Russia in this sport, you will need a separate article, but there are a couple of facts showing the advantage of Russia in figure skating:
The fastest spin on skates was shown by the Russian athlete Natalya Kanunnikova on March 27, 2006, she rotated at a speed of 308 rpm;
The largest ice skating rink, 185.95 m long and 74 m wide, was built in 2003 in the city of Nizhny Novgorod, and has a surface area of 12,600 sq.m.
Asia.
Further east is Asia, which has done well in figure skating over the last decade. South Karen's Yu-Na Kim holds the record for the short program total of 228.56 points, which she set at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.
There are also record holders in figure skating in Japan. Japanese figure skater Mao Asada, at the Vancouver Olympics in 2010, was awarded a place in the Guinness Book of Records for three triple axels, which she completed in one competition in the women's singles performance.
North America
Canadian and American figure skaters are also keeping up with world achievements in figure skating. The highest score for single skating in the overall standings belongs to a resident of Canada - Patrick Chan, he scored 295.27 points.
Despite the fact that many famous figure skaters live in the United States, this country cannot boast of many world records in figure skating. But the states are home to the most dedicated skater - Richard Dwyer (Richard Dwyer), known as the athlete with the longest career as a professional skater, who began his career in 1950, and is still devoted to his hobby.
Figure skating has always been a vibrant sport that gathers many different fans, regardless of gender, age and hobbies, and the popularity of this sport is growing every year, and every year the competition becomes more colorful, and the elements are more difficult, and every year new peaks and records are reached.
A list of all Olympic medalists in figure skating can be found at
In response to the congratulations of journalists in the mixed zone after the short program on. Most likely, the Russian figure skating star was cunning, but she did it very naturally. - It's no secret that I have the most difficult program in the world. If it is well skated, there will be the highest scores. There are no trifles, we worked on everything with my coaches.
- It's a little strange to ask about the rental, given your result, but still. What do you think?
- I am very glad that I was able to cope with my excitement and show a clean skating.
- You have a very interesting dress.
- On two programs I have packs. Last season, when I was still a junior, Zhenya kindly lent me her dress. I think she remembers how uncomfortable it was for me to ride in it! But during the competition it doesn't matter what I'm wearing.
- How did you manage to work out a combination of a triple lutz and a triple loop like that?
- I was very focused on training. I jumped, they pointed out my mistakes, and I tried to correct them. Through the work and efforts of the coaches, I managed to cleanly perform not only this combination, but the entire short program.
Breaking records. What did Medvedev and Zagitova do!
Russian figure skaters staged a battle in the short program at the Olympics.
Lately, American single skaters have not been so good. Tell us, what is the secret of the success of Russian figure skaters?
- To show the result, you need to love figure skating. Do the same thing over and over. Every day I go out on the ice and feel how much I love my job. And I completely surrender to the training process.
- You look very serious for a 15-year-old girl.
- I just don’t show or spill my emotions - I keep everything in myself. That is my character.
- You had a serious injury. How did you manage to recover?
- I broke my leg about two or three years ago, at the Spartakiad. Yes, the fractures were serious, so I didn’t exercise at all for two or three weeks, but I was able to recover. And then Eteri Georgievna kicked me out. True, she wanted to do this for a long time, because I worked poorly and did not understand all the seriousness. In this group, no one forces you - if you want, then you train.
Was that a turning point in your career?
- When Eteri Georgievna kicked me out, I was very upset. I cried. We decided to go back to Izhevsk, and I'm finishing with figure skating. We went to the coach to thank her, and she said: "Let's try again." I was so happy then that butterflies flew in my stomach! Probably, if not for this moment, I would not have come to the Olympic Games now.
- You and Zhenya have one coach. Does this fact increase the competition between you?
- I try not to pay attention to the competition. I only look at my results. I don’t have such that I want to go out and prove something to someone. The most important thing is to skate cleanly.
It just so happened historically that the Soviet Union, and then its successor Russia, were and continue to be the dominant force in world figure skating. To understand this, just look at the results of our skaters, because the USSR and Russia, if you add up the victories together, lead the world medal standings in history, both in the number of gold medals and in the total number of awards.
But today I want to remember not about the collective achievements of our skaters, but about their individual records, which hardly anyone will be able to surpass in the near future. Moreover, there is an excellent reason for this: on January 19, 2005, the Russian figure skater Irina Slutskaya for the first time in world history she became the seven-time European champion, thereby setting a record.
European Championships
Slutskaya is far from the first and not the only Russian figure skater who has set a record for the number of awards at the European Championships. But this, unfortunately, is our only record for the number of titles among the "singles". All other achievements in international competitions belong to couples.
Irina Rodnina and Alexander Zaitsev. Photo: www.russianlook.com
So, two impressive records at once, which no one can ever even come close to, belong to Irina Rodnina- the queen of world pair figure skating. During her career, the domestic prima won 11 gold medals in the continental championship. And 10 of them were won in a row. It seems surprising that records in pair skating belong to one person. But if you look, there is nothing strange in this, because Rodnina “forged” all these titles with two partners. Helped her first Alexey Ulanov, who was soon replaced by the future spouse of the skater Alexander Zaitsev.
Our skaters also hold the record for the number of gold medals at the European Championships in ice dancing. Six titles of the strongest pair on the continent were won by Soviet skaters Ludmila Pakhomova and Alexander Gorshkov who subsequently created the union in their non-sporting life. It would hardly have been possible if at one time little Lyuda Pakhomova had obeyed her father and took up not figure skating, but parachuting.
World Championships
Belong to domestic figure skaters and four world championship records.
First, we will again remember Irina Rodnina, who became the world champion in pair figure skating for a record ten times. Interestingly, all of these ten titles were won in a row. The value, as in the case of the European Championship medals, is given by the fact that they were won with two different partners.
A little less impressive in quantitative terms, but no less significant, are the achievements of the same Lyudmila Pakhomova and Alexander Gorshkov, who became the strongest ice dancers in the world a record six times. Moreover, five of the six gold medals were won by them in a row - also a record. Our record.
Lyudmila Pakhomova and Alexander Gorshkov - winners of the XII Olympic Games in ice dancing, 1976. Photo: RIA Novosti / Yuri Somov
Olympic Games
And again gold medals, and again a record number of them, and again Irina Rodnina. Unlike the World Championships, which take place annually, the Olympic Games only happen once every four years. Irina Rodnina was lucky enough to take part in three Winter Olympics and win a gold medal at each with two different partners, thereby setting a record in world pair skating.
In ice dancing, the record achievement also belongs to the national school of figure skating. Only instead of Lyudmila Pakhomova and Alexander Gorshkov, who are already familiar to us, the Russians go out here “on the ice” Oksana Grischuk and Evgeny Platov, who have won gold medals twice in the Olympic ice dancing competition. There could have been a third medal in their piggy bank, but in 1992, young athletes had enough experience and skill only for the fourth line.
The Olympic records include the half that is reflected in the title of the article. She belongs Evgeni Plushenko. Where without him when it comes to records? So far, he only shares the record for the number of medals taken at the Olympic Games - four medals of different denominations in four competitions of different years. But he set out to take part in the fifth Olympics in his career. If that happens, Plushenko will be the only figure skater in history to do it. Not so long ago, he won a tournament in Japan, showing that he is still capable of winning, and began preparing for 2018. Starting a business is already half the battle. So we counted this good intention of Plushenko for half of the record that has not yet taken place.
Evgeny Plushenko. Photo: www.globallookpress.com
Points
Figure skating is a rather subjective sport that cannot be judged on a simple scale farther-higher-stronger. Judging scores are in progress. But with a unified scoring system, world records can be set in this component as well.
Russia owns two such records at once. The first, back at the World Championships in 2005, Russians excelled in ice dancing Tatiana Navka and Roman Kostomarov. They scored a record score in the compulsory and free program - 227.81. For the past ten years, this achievement has remained impregnable for the best couples in the world.We hope that the result of our representatives in pair figure skating will become the same impregnable fortress, Tatyana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankova, which they showed at the American stage of the world Grand Prix in 2013. The Russians received 237.71 from the judges - an assessment that they could not repeat even at the Olympic Games in Sochi, despite the fact that the judges rated the short program in the homeland of the skaters even higher than the one they showed in the USA.
Tatyana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov. Photo: www.globallookpress.com
Guinness record
But there is an even more objective record, which also belongs to the representative of our country.
March 27, 2006 Russian athlete Natalia Kanunnikova showed the fastest rotation on skates. It rotated at a speed of 308 revolutions per minute. For this, unfortunately, no medals from the World Championships or the Olympic Games are supposed to be. But all the same, the name of Natalia still remains inscribed in the Guinness Book of Records, published all over the world in millions of copies.
Exactly 10 years ago, January 20, 2006, Russian figure skater Irina Slutskaya For the first time in my life I woke up as an outstanding record holder. The day before, she won the European Championship for the seventh time and was ahead of Sonya Henie and Katharina Witt. In this regard, we recall the champions of figure skating - not only traditional and well-known, but also very unusual.
Irina Rodnina. Record Champion
Since we are talking about the number of various titles in the first place, it is worth remembering the great Soviet athlete Irina Rodnina, who set the bar for results in pair skating to an unattainable height. It is hard to imagine that someone in the coming years will be able to overcome it. Rodnina, together with her partners Alexei Ulanov and Alexander Zaitsev, won the European Championships 11 times, 10 of which in a row. At the world championships, the queen of pair skating stood on the top step of the podium for 10 years in a row - she has the same number of gold medals. Finally, Rodnina is one of the best skaters in Olympic history: she managed to win a gold medal at three Olympics in a row.
pre-war achievements. What else is Salchov famous for?
Rodnina is not the only skater in history to win so many starts. But all of its competitors have been successful since before World War II. Norwegian athlete Sonya Henie shone from 1927 to 1936 and during this time managed to win three Olympics and 10 world championships. The Swede Gillis Grafström, who won the first medal as part of the 1920 Summer Olympics, could also boast of three gold medals of the Games. Finally, the Swede Ulrich Salchow, who won the World Championship 10 times at the beginning of the century, also noted. At the same time, he is known for inventing one of the basic jumps in figure skating, which was named after him. However, the Swede, I think, would be very surprised to learn about the existence of a quadruple salchow.
Four medals is the limit
Concluding the medal theme, it is worth noting that only two athletes in the entire century-long Olympic history of figure skating managed to win four awards at the Games. The first is the already mentioned Gillis Grafström, who, already a three-time champion, took second place at the 1932 Olympics in the USA. The second is the Russian athlete Evgeni Plushenko, who has two gold medals (a personal one from Turin and a team one from Sochi), as well as two silver ones. Given that Eugene continues to train, it may well be that the record of 80 years ago will fall in Pyeongchang.
Ultimate Artists
There are records in figure skating that, with all the desire, it will not be possible not only to surpass, but even to repeat. Almost all of them have to do with grades and the fact that in 2004 their system was completely overhauled. British couple Jane Torvill and Christopher Dean blew up the world of ice dancing in 1983. Athletes combined an amazing style of performance and amazing emotionality of their performances, and therefore, for the first time in the history of major international competitions, all judges gave the couple a mark of 6.0 for artistry. In 1984, the British managed to repeat their own record twice. Even then it was absolutely impossible to surpass him.
10 year old record
New century, new rules. Sixes are gone, and a new scale of records has appeared. In women's single skating, the best world results at the Russian Championship were rewritten by Evgenia Medvedeva. Recently, all the figure skaters of the planet are guided by a total amount of 234.88. However, now records everywhere are rewritten quite often. Everywhere except dancing on ice. 117.14 points for the free dance performed by Tatiana Navka and Roman Kostomarov at the 2003 Russian Cup is still an unattainable height for all their followers. It should be noted that the record holder in men's skating is Yuzuru Hanyu, and in doubles - Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Maxaim Trankov.
Six four equals Boyang Jin
The dependence of the resulting estimate on the complexity of the program, of course, is not direct, but very significant. Therefore, of course, every skater strives to saturate his performance with the most complex elements. The Chinese Boyan Jin went the farthest, having included in his programs a total of six quadruple jumps! So far, the athlete has not succeeded in fulfilling them purely, and therefore he achieves high results with tangible difficulty. But what will happen if Jin one day spins all his quads ...
To spite the judges
The dark-skinned French figure skater Suria Bonaly ended her sports career long ago, but many fans of the sport still remember her performances. And the point is not at all in the color of the skin, but first of all in the fact that in 1991 Suriya became the first girl to perform the fourth sheepskin coat. However, she did not get on our list for this, but rather for her record-breaking stubbornness. By the 1998 Olympics, Bonaly was already seriously inferior to her rivals in the technical arsenal, and then she also fell at the very beginning of the performance. Realizing that she had no chance for a medal, she decided to perform a back flip forbidden by the rules. The girl was rewarded with a standing ovation and 0.2 penalty points in each of the ratings.
Long distance figure skating
Briton Robert Cousins, in addition to the gold medal of the 1980 Olympics, also has a certificate from the Guinness Book of Records. At competitions in London, three years after his Olympic victory, he made a unique jump. In an ordinary axel technique, he flew an incredible distance - 5.81 meters. Such “long jumps” were no longer successful for any of the skaters. Although, perhaps, simply no one set out to surpass the achievement of Cousins.
So it won't take long to find oil
Another curious record from the world of figure skating belongs to the Russian figure skater Natalia Kanunnikova. In March 2006, the girl showed the fastest rotation on skates: she moved at a speed of 308 revolutions per minute. It's amazing how one can not feel dizzy at such a crazy speed! However, no one takes such risks at competitions like the Olympic Games or World Championships - the reward of such a tournament is still more expensive than an entry in the world famous book of records.
Give me 50 shades of grey. Three times
Finally, we can recall the amazing “achievement” of Russian figure skating during the demonstration performances of the 2016 Russian Championship. The song I put a spell on you, which is the soundtrack to the film "50 Shades of Grey", sounded three times in a row. First, Polina Tsurskaya performed with her program, then Elena Ilyinykh and Ruslan Zhiganshin came on the ice to the same melody, and then the well-known motive accompanied the rental of Elizaveta Tuktamysheva. The compiler of the schedule for the release of athletes on the ice, it seems, decided not to bother and put all three performances in a row. But the audience in the stands received a lot of positive emotions - Tuktamysheva had to start her performance under friendly laughter.
Expert:
According to the results of the short program with a world record (82.92 points), Alina Zagitova (Russia) is in first place. Two-time world champion Evgenia Medvedeva (Russia) is 1.31 points behind. The top three is closed by the silver medalist of the 2017 World Championship - Caitlin Osmond (Canada).
Maria Sotskova is 12th in the short program.
Maria Sotskova (Russia) closed the short program. The athlete did not cope with the rental. A fall on a triple lutz in the first half of the program, a cascade of triple flip - triple toe loop (underrotation), double axel. According to the results of the first stage, Maria takes the twelfth place with a score of 63.86 points.
Carolina Kostner (Italy) lost her temper in the short program. Cascade triple flip - double sheepskin coat, triple loop (hand touching the ice, under-rotation), double axel (in the second half of the program). Before the free program, Carolina takes only sixth place.
Alina Zagitova (Russia) set a new world record in the short program at her debut Olympic Games - 82.92 points. All jump elements were performed purely in the second half of the program: triple lutz combination - triple loop, triple flip, double axel.
Caitlin Osmond (Canada) showed a brilliant performance of the short program. The athlete completed a triple flip - a triple toe loop in a cascade and a triple lutz (wrong edge) in the first half of the program, a double axel in the second half of the program. With a score of 78.87 (the best result of the season), the representative of Canada is currently in second place.
Satoko Miahara (Japan) missed a triple toe loop combination with a triple lutz in the first half of the program. The triple loop and double axel are clean. For the short program, Satoko gets 75.94 (the best result of the season), and this is the second place at the moment.
The performances of the final group of participants were opened by two-time world champion Evgenia Medvedeva (Russia). The athlete updates her own world record in the short program for the second time in the Olympic Games. 81.61 with impeccable performance of all jump elements in the short program: triple flip cascade - triple toe loop, triple loop, double axel.
On the ice, the final warm-up of the participants. Here, two-time world champion Evgenia Medvedeva (Russia), European champion 2018 - Alina Zagitova (Russia), silver medalist of the championship 2017 - Caitlin Osmond (Canada), silver medalist of the World Championship 2015 - Satoko Miahara (Japan), bronze medalist of the Olympic games in Sochi - Carolina Kostner (Italy).
A technical break is announced.
The warm-up was closed by the representative of South Korea - Dabin Choi. The athlete made a blot on the triple lutz cascade - a triple toe loop (underrotation) in the first half of the program, a triple flip and a double axle in the second half of the program. With a score of 67.77 (the best result of the season), the athlete takes the current third place.
Elizaveta Tursynbayeva (Kazakhstan) made a gross mistake in the short program, performing a double loop (forbidden element) instead of a triple (first half of the program). The athlete coped with the cascade of triple salchow - triple sheepskin coat and double axel. 57.95 points, and she is in eighth place.
Last year's US champion Karen Chen (USA) couldn't avoid mistakes in the short program. Stepout and hand touching the ice on the triple lutz (first part of the program), triple loop cascade - double toe loop (tano), double axel (in the second half of the program). The athlete receives 65.90 points for the short program and takes the current fourth place.
Gabriela Delman (Canada) couldn't avoid blots in the short program. Stepout and touching the ice with hands during the execution of the triple toe loop cascade - triple toe loop (first half of the program), triple lutz and double axel (second half of the program). 68.90, and this is the second intermediate place.
Mira Nagasu (USA), who cleanly performed a triple axel in the team competition, today failed to cope with the ultra-c element at the beginning of the program. The offensive fall did not bring down the athlete, and she performed the rest of the jumping elements cleanly: a cascade of triple flip - triple toe loop (first half of the program), triple rittberger (second half of the program). 66.93, and this is the second place to this minute.
The warm-up was opened by Kaori Sakomoto (Japan). The athlete performed all the jumps in the second half of the program: triple flip cascade - triple toe loop, triple loop, double axel. With a score of 73.18 (the best result of the season), the Japanese tops the standings.
On the ice, the fourth warm-up of the participants. Your attention should be paid to the bronze medalist of the 2017 World Championship Gabriela Delman (Canada), Karen Chen (USA), the bronze medalist of the 2018 Olympic Games Mirai Nagasu (USA), who performed the triple axel in the team tournament, will also perform here.
At the moment, Brady Tennell (USA) is in the lead with a score of 64.01 points.
