![Nathan Chen at 2018 Internationaux de France Men Free Skating-IMG 2480](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2a/Nathan_Chen_at_2018_Internationaux_de_France_Men_Free_Skating-IMG_2480.jpg)
A quad, or quadruple, is a
figure skating jump
Figure skating jumps are an element of three competitive figure skating disciplines: men's singles, women's singles, and pair skatingbut not ice dancing. Jumping in figure skating is "relatively recent". They were originally individual compulso ...
with at least four (but fewer than five) revolutions.
All quadruple jumps have four revolutions, except for the quadruple
Axel, which has four and a half revolutions. The quadruple
toe loop
The toe loop jump is the simplest jump in the sport of figure skating. It was invented in the 1920s by American professional figure skater Bruce Mapes. The toe loop is accomplished with a forward approach on the inside edge of the blade; the ska ...
and quadruple
Salchow are the two most commonly performed quads. Quadruple jumps have become increasingly common among
World
In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...
and
Olympic
Olympic or Olympics may refer to
Sports
Competitions
* Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896
** Summer Olympic Games
** Winter Olympic Games
* Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...
level men's single skaters, to the point that not performing a quad in a program has come to be seen as a severe handicap.
This phenomenon is often referred to as the "quad revolution".
Since 2018, quadruple jumps have also become an increasingly common feature of women's skating, although they are not allowed under the ISU rules in the ladies' short program.
The first person to land a ratified quadruple jump in competition was Canadian
Kurt Browning
Kurt Browning, (born June 18, 1966) is a Canadian figure skater, choreographer and commentator. He is the first skater to land a ratified quadruple jump in competition. He is a four-time World Champion and Canadian national champion.
Career ...
in 1988. Japanese
Miki Ando
is a retired Japanese figure skater. She is the 2007 and 2011 World champion, 2011 Four Continents champion, 2004 World Junior champion, and a three-time (2003, 2004 & 2010) Japanese national champion.
Ando is the first female skater to c ...
became the first female skater to do so, in 2002.
History of firsts
Men
The following table lists the first recorded quadruple jumps by male skaters in men's
singles
Singles are people not in a committed relationship.
Singles may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series
* ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe
* ''Singles'' ...
competition. Only successfully ratified jumps landed in an ISU sanctioned event, or officially recognized by the ISU count towards these records.
![Bundesarchiv Bild 183-1989-0407-021, Kurt Browning](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8c/Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-1989-0407-021%2C_Kurt_Browning.jpg)
Soviet skater
Alexandre Fadeev was the first skater to attempt a quadruple jump (a quad
toe loop
The toe loop jump is the simplest jump in the sport of figure skating. It was invented in the 1920s by American professional figure skater Bruce Mapes. The toe loop is accomplished with a forward approach on the inside edge of the blade; the ska ...
) in competition, at the
1984 Winter Olympics
The 1984 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIV Olympic Winter Games (Serbo-Croatian and Slovene: ''XIV. Zimske olimpijske igre''; Cyrillic: XIV Зимске олимпијске игре; mk, XIV Зимски олимписки игр ...
in
Sarajevo
Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its a ...
,
SR Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Bosna i Hercegovina, Социјалистичка Pепублика Босна и Херцеговина), commonly referred to as Socia ...
,
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
, but it was not officially recognized by the ISU because of a flawed landing.
[
On March 25, 1988, at the 1988 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, Canadian skater ]Kurt Browning
Kurt Browning, (born June 18, 1966) is a Canadian figure skater, choreographer and commentator. He is the first skater to land a ratified quadruple jump in competition. He is a four-time World Champion and Canadian national champion.
Career ...
landed the first ratified quadruple jump (a quad toe loop) in competition (with three turns on the landing).[ Browning said: "I remember that there were a few people landing the jump (in practice) long before I did, and by watching them I was inspired to try it myself. After landing it, I certainly expected more skaters to start doing it in competition. I was surprised in the next few years when that really did not happen."][
At the ]1994 Winter Olympics
The 1994 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVII Olympic Winter Games ( no, De 17. olympiske vinterleker; nn, Dei 17. olympiske vinterleikane) and commonly known as Lillehammer '94, was an international winter multi-sport event held fro ...
in Lillehammer, Norway, Chinese skater Zhang Min landed the first clean quad (a toe loop) in Olympic competition.
On March 7, 1998, at the 1997–98 Junior Grand Prix Final in Lausanne, Switzerland, American skater Timothy Goebel
Timothy Richard Goebel (born September 10, 1980) is an American former competitive figure skater. He is the 2002 Olympic bronze medalist. He was the first person to land a quadruple salchow jump in competition and the first person to land th ...
landed the first ratified quadruple Salchow, in combination with a double toe loop.[
On September 16, 2011, in the short program at the Colorado Springs Invitational, American skater ]Brandon Mroz
Brandon Mroz (born December 22, 1990) is an American former competitive figure skater. He is the 2009 U.S. silver medalist and the 2006 & 2007 Junior Grand Prix Final silver medalist. He is the first skater to have completed a quadruple Lutz j ...
landed the first ratified quad Lutz
Lutz is a surname and given name, occasionally a short form of Ludwig. People with the name include:
Surname
*Adolfo Lutz (1855–1940), Brazilian physician
*Aleda E. Lutz (1915–1944), American Army flight nurse
* Alois Lutz, Austrian figure ...
in a sanctioned competition.[ On November 12, he landed a ratified quad Lutz at the ]NHK Trophy
The NHK Trophy is an international, senior-level figure skating competition held as part of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series. Organized by the Japanese Skating Federation, it began in 1979 and was added to the Grand Prix series in 199 ...
, becoming the first skater to successfully land a quad Lutz in international competition.[
On April 22, 2016, in the short program at the Team Challenge Cup in Spokane, United States, Japanese skater ]Shoma Uno
is a Japanese figure skater. He is a three-time Olympic medalist ( 2018 silver, 2022 bronze, 2022 team bronze), the 2022 World champion and a two-time World silver medalist (2018, 2017), the 2022–23 Grand Prix Final champion, the 2019 Fo ...
landed the first ratified quadruple flip in competition.[
On September 30, 2016, in the short program at the ]Autumn Classic International
The Autumn Classic International is a figure skating competition organized by Skate Canada. It is part of the ISU Challenger Series in some years. Medals may be awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice d ...
in Montreal, Canada, Japanese skater Yuzuru Hanyu
is a Japanese former competitive figure skater. He is a two-time Olympic champion (2014, 2018), a two-time World champion (2014, 2017), a four-time Grand Prix Final champion (2013–2016), the 2020 Four Continents champion, the 2010 World J ...
landed the first ratified quadruple loop
Loop or LOOP may refer to:
Brands and enterprises
* Loop (mobile), a Bulgarian virtual network operator and co-founder of Loop Live
* Loop, clothing, a company founded by Carlos Vasquez in the 1990s and worn by Digable Planets
* Loop Mobile, an ...
(also known as the "Rittberger" in Europe) in competition.[
The first quadruple Axel attempt was by Russian skater Artur Dmitriev Jr. at the 2018 Rostelecom Cup. He landed forward and fell, receiving both a downgrade and fall deduction.][ On September 14, 2022, in the free skate at the ]2022 CS U.S. International Figure Skating Classic
The 2022 CS U.S. International Figure Skating Classic was held at the Olympic Center in Lake Placid, New York on September 12–15, 2022. It was the first event in the 2022–23 ISU Challenger Series. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of ...
, American skater Ilia Malinin
Ilia Malinin (born December 2, 2004) is an American figure skater. He is the 2022 Skate America champion, the 2022 Grand Prix of Espoo champion, the 2022-23 Grand Prix Final bronze medalist, the 2022 CS U.S. Classic champion, 2021 CS Cup of ...
landed the first successful quadruple Axel in competition. , he is the only skater to successfully land the jump in competition.
No quadruple-quadruple combination (quadruple jumps followed by quadruple loop or toe loop) or sequences (quadruple jumps followed by any quadruple jumps except for quadruple loop or toe loop) have yet been ratified. However, other quadruple combinations have been performed. Canada's Elvis Stojko
Elvis Stojko, (born March 22, 1972) is a Canadian figure skater. He was a three-time World champion (1994, 1995, 1997), two-time Olympic silver medallist (1994, 1998), and seven-time Canadian champion (1994, 1996–2000, and 2002).
Personal ...
landed the first quadruple jump in combination (a quad toe loop-double toe loop) at the 1991 World Championships.[ Stojko also landed the first quad-triple combination (a quad toe loop-triple toe loop) at the 1997–98 Champions Series Final in December 1997.][ Russian skater ]Evgeni Plushenko
Evgeni Viktorovich Plushenko (, born 3 November 1982) is a Russian former figure skater. He is a four-time Olympic medalist (2006 gold, 2014 team gold, 2002 & 2010 silver), a three-time World champion (2001, 2003, 2004), a seven-time European ...
performed the world's first quad-triple-double combination (a quad toe loop-triple toe loop-double loop) at the 1999 NHK Trophy. Plushenko also landed the first quad-triple-triple combination (a quad toe loop-triple toe loop-triple loop) in competition at the 2002 Cup of Russia. Japanese skater Yuzuru Hanyu
is a Japanese former competitive figure skater. He is a two-time Olympic champion (2014, 2018), a two-time World champion (2014, 2017), a four-time Grand Prix Final champion (2013–2016), the 2020 Four Continents champion, the 2010 World J ...
landed the first quad-triple sequence (a quadruple toe loop-triple Axel) at the 2018 Grand Prix of Helsinki.[
]
Women
The following table lists the first recorded quadruple jumps by female skaters in women's singles competition. Only successfully ratified jumps landed in an ISU sanctioned event, or officially recognized by the ISU count towards these records.
French skater Surya Bonaly
Surya Varuna Claudine Bonaly (born 15 December 1973) is a French-born retired competitive figure skater. She is a three-time World silver medalist (1993–1995), a five-time European champion (1991–1995), the 1991 World Junior Champion, and a ...
was the first female skater to attempt a quadruple jump in competition. She attempted a quad toe loop and a quad Salchow at the 1990 European Championships, however the jumps were not ratified. She attempted quad jumps at four more competitions (including the 1992 Winter Olympics
)
, nations = 64
, athletes = 1,801 (1313 men, 488 women)
, events = 57 in 6 sports (12 disciplines)
, opening = 8 February 1992
, closing = 23 February 1992
, opened_by = President François Mitterrand
, cauldron ...
[), the final being the 1996 World Championships, but all were unsuccessful.
]
On December 14, 2002, Japanese skater Miki Ando
is a retired Japanese figure skater. She is the 2007 and 2011 World champion, 2011 Four Continents champion, 2004 World Junior champion, and a three-time (2003, 2004 & 2010) Japanese national champion.
Ando is the first female skater to c ...
became the first female skater to land a ratified quadruple jump (a Salchow) in her free skate at the 2002 Junior Grand Prix Final in The Hague, Netherlands.[
On March 10, 2018, in the free skate at the ]World Junior Figure Skating Championships
The World Junior Figure Skating Championships (''"World Juniors"'' or ''"Junior Worlds"'') is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union in which figure skaters within a designated age range compete for ...
in Sofia, Bulgaria, Russian skater Alexandra Trusova
Alexandra "Sasha" Vyacheslavovna Trusova ( rus, Александра Вячеславовна Трусова, , ɐlʲɪˈksandrə ˈtrusəvə; born 23 June 2004) is a Russian figure skater. She is the 2022 Olympic silver medalist, the 2021 Wor ...
became the first female skater to land a ratified quadruple toe loop in competition. She also became the first female skater to successfully land two quads in one free skate.
The first ratified quadruple Lutz was landed by Russian skater Anna Shcherbakova in a domestic event in October 2018. On October 12, 2018, in the free skate at the Junior Grand Prix
The ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating (titled the ISU Junior Series in the 1997–98 season) is a series of international junior-level competitions organized by the International Skating Union. Medals are awarded in the disciplines of men ...
in Yerevan, Armenia, Alexandra Trusova
Alexandra "Sasha" Vyacheslavovna Trusova ( rus, Александра Вячеславовна Трусова, , ɐlʲɪˈksandrə ˈtrusəvə; born 23 June 2004) is a Russian figure skater. She is the 2022 Olympic silver medalist, the 2021 Wor ...
landed the first ratified quadruple Lutz in international competition, becoming the first woman to land the jump.
On December 7, 2019, in the free skate at the Grand Prix Final
The Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final (formerly Champions Series Final), often shortened to ''Grand Prix Final'' and abbreviated as ''GPF'', is a senior-level international figure skating competition. Medals are awarded in men's singles, ladies ...
in Torino, Italy, Alexandra Trusova
Alexandra "Sasha" Vyacheslavovna Trusova ( rus, Александра Вячеславовна Трусова, , ɐlʲɪˈksandrə ˈtrusəvə; born 23 June 2004) is a Russian figure skater. She is the 2022 Olympic silver medalist, the 2021 Wor ...
landed the first ratified quadruple flip in competition.[
In November 2021, Russian skater ]Adeliia Petrosian
Adeliia Tigranovna Petrosian (russian: Аделия Тиграновна Петросян; born 5 June 2007) is a Russian figure skater. She is the 2023 Russian Grand Prix Final champion, the 2021 JGP Slovenia champion, the 2021 Russian junio ...
became the first female skater to attempt a quad loop in competition, at the 5th stage of Russian Cup qualifier, in combination with a double toe loop.[ She landed the quad loop with a "q" call (underrotated) and tried a second quad loop but fell. At the 2022 Russian National Championships on the senior level in December 2021, Petrosian landed two clean quad loops (one in combination). These were domestic events. Since then till now (fall 2022) there are no any ISU international competitions for Petrosian since the ISU banned participation by Russian skaters in all international competitions due to the ]2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...
.
The first female skater landed a quadruple jump in Olympic competition at the 2022 Winter Olympics
The 2022 Winter Olympics (2022年冬季奥林匹克运动会), officially called the XXIV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Beijing 2022 (2022), was an international winter multi-sport event held from 4 to 20 February 2022 in Beij ...
. Competing as a Russian Olympic Committee
The Russian Olympic Committee (ROC; russian: Олимпийский комитет России (ОКР), Olimpiyskiy komitet Rossii (OKR); Full name: All-Russian united social union "Olympic Committee of Russia", russian: Общероссий ...
athlete, Kamila Valieva
Kamila Valeryevna Valieva (russian: Камила Валерьевна Валиева; born 26 April 2006) is a Russian figure skater. She is the 2022 European champion, 2021 Rostelecom Cup champion, 2021 Skate Canada International champion, ...
landed multiple quads during the team event free skate on February 7 and one quad in the women's singles free skate on February 17. However, she faces disqualification pending investigation into a doping violation from earlier in the season. Fellow Russian Olympic Committee skaters Alexandra Trusova
Alexandra "Sasha" Vyacheslavovna Trusova ( rus, Александра Вячеславовна Трусова, , ɐlʲɪˈksandrə ˈtrusəvə; born 23 June 2004) is a Russian figure skater. She is the 2022 Olympic silver medalist, the 2021 Wor ...
and Anna Shcherbakova also landed quad jumps in the women's singles free skate.[
, no female skater has attempted a quadruple Axel in competition.
Russian skater ]Alexandra Trusova
Alexandra "Sasha" Vyacheslavovna Trusova ( rus, Александра Вячеславовна Трусова, , ɐlʲɪˈksandrə ˈtrusəvə; born 23 June 2004) is a Russian figure skater. She is the 2022 Olympic silver medalist, the 2021 Wor ...
was the first female skater to land a quadruple jump in combination (a quad toe loop-triple toe loop), at the ISU Junior Grand Prix in Lithuania in September 2018.
Pairs
In pair skating
Pair skating is a figure skating discipline defined by the International Skating Union (ISU) as "the skating of two persons in unison who perform their movements in such harmony with each other as to give the impression of genuine Pair Skating a ...
competition, Russian skaters Marina Cherkasova
Marina Evgenievna Cherkasova (russian: Марина Евгеньевна Черкасова; born 17 November 1964) is a Russian retired pair skater. With Sergei Shakhrai, she won the 1979 European title at the age of 14. At 15, she was the 1 ...
and Sergei Shakrai performed the first ever quadruple twist lift
Figure skating lifts are required elements in two disciplines of figure skating, pair skating and ice dance. There are five groups of lifts in pair skating, categorized in order of increasing level of difficulty. Judges look for the following when ...
in competition during their free skate at the 1977 European Championships.[
At the ]2002 Winter Olympics
The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 ( arp, Niico'ooowu' 2002; Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; nv, Sooléí 2002; Shoshoni: ''Soónkahni 2002''), was an internation ...
in Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...
, Utah
Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
, United States, Chinese pairs skaters Shen Xue
Shen Xue (; born 13 November 1978) is a Chinese retired pair skater. With her husband Zhao Hongbo, Shen is the 2010 Olympic champion, the 2002 & 2006 Olympic bronze medalist, a three-time World champion (2002, 2003 and 2007), a three-time Fou ...
and Zhao Hongbo
Zhao Hongbo (; born 22 September 1973) is a Chinese retired pair skater. With his wife Shen Xue, Zhao is the 2010 Olympic champion, the 2002 & 2006 Olympic bronze medalist, a three-time World champion (2002, 2003 & 2007), a three-time Four Co ...
became the first skaters to attempt a throw
Throwing is an action which consists in accelerating a projectile and then releasing it so that it follows a ballistic trajectory, usually with the aim of impacting a remote target. This action is best characterized for animals with prehensil ...
quadruple jump (a throw quad Salchow). She landed, then fell, and the jump was not ratified. On November 17, 2007, in the free skate at the Trophée Eric Bompard
The Grand Prix de France is an international, senior-level figure skating competition held as part of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series. It was previously known as the Grand Prix International de Paris (1987–1993), Trophée de France ...
competition in Paris, France, American pairs skaters Tiffany Vise
Tiffany Vise (born February 2, 1986) is an American retired pair skating, pair skater. Between 2003 and 2009, she competed with partner Derek Trent. On November 17, 2007, Vise and Trent landed the first clean throw quadruple salchow jump in inte ...
and Derek Trent
Derek Trent (born March 21, 1980) is an American former competitive pair skater. He competed for most of his career with Tiffany Vise. On November 17, 2007, Vise and Trent landed the first clean throw quadruple salchow jump in international compe ...
landed the first ratified throw quadruple jump (a quad Salchow).[ At the ]2018 Winter Olympics
, nations = 93
, athletes = 2,922 (1,680 men and 1,242 women)
, events = 102 in 7 sports (15 disciplines)
, opening =
, closing =
, opened_by = President Moon Jae-in
, cauldron = Kim Yun-a
, stadium = Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium
, winte ...
in Pyeongchang
Pyeongchang (; in full, ''Pyeongchang-gun'' ; ) is a county in the province of Gangwon-do, South Korea, located in the Taebaek Mountains region. It is home to several Buddhist temples, including Woljeongsa. It is about east southeast of Seou ...
, South Korea, Canadian pairs skaters Meagan Duhamel
Meagan Duhamel (born December 8, 1985) is a Canadian pair skater. With partner Eric Radford, she is a two-time world champion (2015, 2016), a 2018 Olympic gold medallist in the team event, a 2014 Olympic silver medallist in the team event, a 2 ...
and Eric Radford
Eric Radford (born January 27, 1985) is a Canadian pair skater. With former partner Meagan Duhamel, he is a two-time world champion ( 2015, 2016), a 2018 Olympic gold medallist in the team event, a 2014 Olympic silver medallist in the team even ...
completed the first throw quadruple Salchow in Olympic competition.[
In 2004, Chinese pairs skaters Ding Yang and Ren Zhongfei attempted a throw quadruple toe loop at the Four Continents Championships; the landing was two-footed.
In 2015, Russian pairs skaters ]Yuko Kavaguti
Yuko Kavaguti (also: Kawaguchi; Japanese: , russian: link=no, Юко Кавагути, born 20 November 1981) is a retired pair skater who has represented Japan and Russia in international competition. In 2006, she began competing with Alexander ...
and Alexander Smirnov, at a domestic competition ( 1st stage of 2015 SPB Cup) became the first skaters to attempt a throw quadruple loop. The landing was two-footed, then she fell.[ Later in 2015, Kavaguti and Smirnov performed a throw quadruple loop at the 2015 Cup of China, although the landing was two-footed.]
Also in 2015, Canadian pairs skaters Meagan Duhamel
Meagan Duhamel (born December 8, 1985) is a Canadian pair skater. With partner Eric Radford, she is a two-time world champion (2015, 2016), a 2018 Olympic gold medallist in the team event, a 2014 Olympic silver medallist in the team event, a 2 ...
and Eric Radford
Eric Radford (born January 27, 1985) is a Canadian pair skater. With former partner Meagan Duhamel, he is a two-time world champion ( 2015, 2016), a 2018 Olympic gold medallist in the team event, a 2014 Olympic silver medallist in the team even ...
, at a domestic competition (2015 Souvenir Georges-Ethier), attempted the first throw quadruple Lutz, but she fell.
Scoring
The quad jump is currently the highest scoring single element in the skater's program short of performing combinations. The current ISU scoring for quad jumps in base values is listed below.
Execution
All quadruple jumps have four revolutions, except for the quadruple Axel, which has four and a half revolutions.[
A jump harness is often employed in training quads.][ Quads require an average rotational frequency of around 340 rpm, with the peak rotational frequency usually exceeding 400 rpm.][ The optimum height is estimated to be around ;][ however, most skaters rarely go above . This is partly because of the heaviness of the skates and partly because skaters have to maintain the balance between the energy put into the jump versus the energy put into the rotation.][ The height of a quad can be between five percent and eight percent higher than a triple jump. If skaters cannot achieve the necessary height, they must spin faster to compensate.][ Efficient body contraction is also important due to conservation of ]angular momentum
In physics, angular momentum (rarely, moment of momentum or rotational momentum) is the rotational analog of linear momentum. It is an important physical quantity because it is a conserved quantity—the total angular momentum of a closed syst ...
.[ According to Deborah King, a professor of exercise and sports sciences at ]Ithaca College
Ithaca College is a private college in Ithaca, New York. It was founded by William Egbert in 1892 as a conservatory of music and is set against the backdrop of the city of Ithaca (which is separate from the town), Cayuga Lake, waterfalls, and go ...
, quads have a slightly higher angular momentum than lower difficulty jumps, but the major difference is in how skaters control the moment of inertia
The moment of inertia, otherwise known as the mass moment of inertia, angular mass, second moment of mass, or most accurately, rotational inertia, of a rigid body is a quantity that determines the torque needed for a desired angular acceler ...
.[
Skaters usually begin rotating the jump as soon as they leave the ice,][ but generally have less than two-thirds of a second to complete their rotation.][ However, some skaters begin rotating their jumps before they leave the ice, which is known as pre-rotation. This technique is reliant on the skater being physically small and puts added strain on the back, thereby increasing the risk of injury. It is particularly favoured by Russian women skaters but usually fails post-puberty.] Despite being considered an example of flawed technique, it is not currently penalised by the technical panel.[
Greater understanding of successful jump technique has developed over time. Kurt Browning, the first skater to land a ratified quad in competition, has said that when training the jump, "we really just jumped as high as we could and pulled in as hard as we could and hoped for the best."][ The smallest error may make the difference in the success of a quad attempt. ]Max Aaron
Maxwell Theodore "Max" Aaron (born February 25, 1992) is an American former figure skater. He is the 2013 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, 2013 U.S. national champion, the 2015 Skate America champion, the 2011 U.S. Figure Skating Championships ...
has stated that "The minute your left arm is behind you, or your three-turn is too fast, if your hips don't turn in time, if your foot isn't in the right place, anything will throw you off."[ Research indicates that changes in arm position of even three or four degrees can significantly affect the rotational speed.][ According to ]Ross Miner
Ross Miner (born January 24, 1991) is an American skating coach and retired competitive figure skater. He is the 2012 Four Continents bronze medalist, 2009 JGP Final bronze medalist, 2013 and 2018 U.S. national silver medalist and 2009 U.S. j ...
, the quality of the ice can also affect the success of the jump, especially for the quad Salchow.[
]
Controversy
Practicing quads increases the risk of injury as well as wear and tear on a skater's body.[ According to Aaron, "the force of a quadruple is huge", and practicing them means "you're going to fall a lot and take a beating".][ There is a lack of research into the impact of quads on the joints, but the repetitive nature of jump training and the fact that skaters always land on the same foot means that skaters are at risk of developing microfractures that can become more serious with time. Because of this, some coaches try to limit the number of jump repetitions skaters do in practice.][
Concerns have been raised about the long-term impact of quads on the bodies of young skaters, especially girls. So far, only teenage girls have been able to land quads. The figure skating community remains divided about the sustainability of such jumps for women past puberty. Rafael Arutanian, coach of skaters such as ]Nathan Chen
Nathan Chen (born May 5, 1999) is an American figure skater. He is the 2022 Olympic champion, a three-time World champion ( 2018, 2019, 2021), the 2017 Four Continents champion, a three-time Grand Prix Final champion ( 2017, 2018, 2019), a ...
and Ashley Wagner, has questioned, "Will they still land these jumps at age 18 or 19? They are doing these jumps with bodies that have not developed yet, with bones that are still growing. What will they be at age 40? Will they all need new hips?"[ His concern has been echoed by fellow coach Linda Leaver, who predicts that "it will be extremely rare for a female skater to be able to do multiple quadruple jumps past puberty". She added, "I also think careers for men will be shorter because of the stress on backs, knees, and ankles, and the body type will be more of a determinate in who can dominate the sport."][ Quads are thought to favor those with lighter, slimmer bodies as they have a smaller moment of inertia.][ The tight body contraction necessary for landing quads is harder for adult women due to their wider hips.][
]
See also
*Quadruple jump controversy
At the 2010 Winter Olympics held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, the final results of the men's figure skating competition sparked what has been dubbed a quadruple jump controversy.
At the heart of it lies a quadruple jump done in combin ...
References
Further reading
*
USA Today Graphic "Quad Jumps Require Speed, Power"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Quad (Figure Skating)
Figure skating elements
Figure skating records and statistics
Jumping sports