Figure skating at the 2010 Winter Olympics
Encyclopedia
The figure skating competition of the 2010 Winter Olympics
was held at Pacific Coliseum
between February 14 and 27, 2010. It was the 23rd edition of the figure skating event at the Olympics, and the 21st edition at the Winter Olympics.
(UTC-8
).
events, in the case of a pair or ice dancing team, both skaters must be citizens of the country they represent in competition. In addition, International Olympic Committee
rules requires that at least three years have passed since the competitor last represented another country in competition.
.
. There will be 30 skaters in the disciplines of ladies and men's singles, 20 pair teams, and 24 ice dancing teams.
Countries may qualify entries to the 2010 Winter Olympics in two ways. The host country, if it has not already qualified an entry in an event, is given one entry.
The majority of the country qualification occurred at the 2009 World Figure Skating Championships
. At the World Championships, countries qualified up to 3 entries in each discipline. The number of multiple entries was the same as usual for the World Championships and countries who earned multiple spots to the Olympics also earned multiple spots to the 2010 World Figure Skating Championships
.
Every discipline qualified separately.
The multiple spots qualification to the Olympics from the World Championships was as follows:
Placement score did not directly correlate to the placement rank. In ice dancing, if a couple did not qualify to the original dance from the compulsories, they were assigned 20 points. If an ice dance couple did not qualify to the free dance, or if a singles skater or pair team did not qualify for the free skate, they were assigned 18 points. If a skater or team competed in the free skate or free dance and placed lower than 16, they were assigned 16 points. For those placing above 16th, the placement rank is the same as the placement score.
The results of the 2009 World Championships determined 83 total spots: 24 entries in each singles discipline, 16 in pairs, and 19 in ice dancing. The available spots were awarded going down the results list, with the multiple spots being awarded first.
The remainder of the spots were filled at the 2009 Nebelhorn Trophy
, held in the fall of 2009. Countries who have already earned an entry to the Olympics were not allowed to qualify more entries at this final qualifying competition.
If a country declined to use one or more of its spots, the vacated spot was awarded based on the results of the Nebelhorn Trophy.
2010 Winter Olympics
The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially the XXI Olympic Winter Games or the 21st Winter Olympics, were a major international multi-sport event held from February 12–28, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with some events held in the suburbs of Richmond, West Vancouver and the University...
was held at Pacific Coliseum
Pacific Coliseum
Pacific Coliseum is an indoor arena, at Hastings Park, in Vancouver, British Columbia.Completed in 1968, at the former site of the Pacific National Exhibition, the arena currently holds 16,281, for ice hockey, though capacity at its opening was 15,713....
between February 14 and 27, 2010. It was the 23rd edition of the figure skating event at the Olympics, and the 21st edition at the Winter Olympics.
Competition Firsts and World Records
- Overall, this was the first Olympic Winter Games since 1960 in which no European skater, pair, or dance team placed first. Instead, the gold medals went to skaters representing nations from the Four ContinentsFour Continents Figure Skating ChampionshipsThe Four Continents Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition. The International Skating Union established it in 1999 to provide skaters representing non-European countries with a similar competition to the much older European Figure Skating Championships and a chance...
.
- It was the first time after 1960 that a Russian, Soviet or Unified Team (CIS) flagged team did not win the pair skatingPair skatingPair skating is a figure skating discipline. International Skating Union regulations describe pair teams as consisting of "one lady and one man." The sport is distinguished from ice dancing and single skating by elements unique to pair skating, including overhead lifts, twist lifts, death spirals,...
gold medal. Instead the Chinese team of Shen XueShen XueShen Xue is a female Chinese pair skater. With her partner and husband Zhao Hongbo, Shen is the 2010 Olympic champion, the 2002 & 2006 Olympic bronze medalist, a three-time World champion, a three-time Four Continents Champion and a six-time Grand Prix Final champion.Shen and Zhao were the first...
& Zhao HongboZhao HongboZhao Hongbo is a male Chinese pair skater. With his partner and wife Shen Xue, Zhao is the 2010 Olympic champion, the 2002 & 2006 Olympic bronze medalist, a three-time World champion, a three-time Four Continents Champion and a six-time Grand Prix Final champion.Shen and Zhao were the first...
won. They were the first Chinese skaters in any figure skating discipline to win an Olympic gold.
- At the pair skatingFigure skating at the 2010 Winter Olympics – Pair skatingThe pair skating competition of the Vancouver 2010 Olympics was held at Pacific Coliseum on February 14 and February 15 , 2010.-Short program:...
event the team of Shen XueShen XueShen Xue is a female Chinese pair skater. With her partner and husband Zhao Hongbo, Shen is the 2010 Olympic champion, the 2002 & 2006 Olympic bronze medalist, a three-time World champion, a three-time Four Continents Champion and a six-time Grand Prix Final champion.Shen and Zhao were the first...
& Zhao HongboZhao HongboZhao Hongbo is a male Chinese pair skater. With his partner and wife Shen Xue, Zhao is the 2010 Olympic champion, the 2002 & 2006 Olympic bronze medalist, a three-time World champion, a three-time Four Continents Champion and a six-time Grand Prix Final champion.Shen and Zhao were the first...
(CHN) set a new world recordISU Judging SystemThe ISU Judging System , is the scoring system on the event and on the level of competition. At the senior international level, single and pairs short programs contain eight technical elements. The actual eight elements are detailed for single skaters in ISU rule 310...
for the short program of 76.66 points. They then set a new world recordWorld recordA world record is usually the best global performance ever recorded and verified in a specific skill or sport. The book Guinness World Records collates and publishes notable records of all types, from first and best to worst human achievements, to extremes in the natural world and beyond...
for the overall combined score of 216.57 points. The team of Pang QingPang QingPang Qing is a Chinese pair skater. With partner Tong Jian, she is the 2010 Olympic silver medalist, the 2006 and 2010 World Champion, a five-time Four Continents champion and the 2008 Grand Prix Final Champion.-Career:...
& Tong JianTong JianTong Jian is a Chinese pair skater. With partner Pang Qing, he is the 2010 Olympic silver medalist, 2006 & 2010 World Champion, a five-time Four Continents champion and the 2008 Grand Prix Final Champion....
(CHN) set a new world recordISU Judging SystemThe ISU Judging System , is the scoring system on the event and on the level of competition. At the senior international level, single and pairs short programs contain eight technical elements. The actual eight elements are detailed for single skaters in ISU rule 310...
for the free skate with a score of 141.81 points.
- Canadians Tessa VirtueTessa VirtueTessa Virtue is a Canadian ice dancer who competes with Scott Moir. Virtue and Moir are the 2010 Olympic champions, the 2010 World Champions, the 2008 Four Continents Champions, the 2006 World Junior Champions and the 2008–2010 Canadian national champions.At the 2009 Skate Canada competition, they...
& Scott MoirScott MoirScott Moir is a Canadian ice dancer. He ice dances with Tessa Virtue. Moir and Virtue are the 2010 Olympic champions, the 2010 World Champions, the 2008 Four Continents Champions, the 2006 World Junior Champions and the 2008–2010 Canadian national champions.They were the first ice dance team to...
become the first North American team to win the ice dancing title, ending Europe's 34-year streak. Ice dance was introduced into the Winter Games in 1976, and all but two gold medals had been won by Soviet/CIS/Russian pairs until 2010. Virtue and Moir are also the youngest skaters (aged 20 and 22 years of age, respectively) to win the title. The pair is also the first former World Junior Champion2006 World Junior Figure Skating ChampionshipsThe World Junior Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition. The 2006 competition took place in Ljubljana, Slovenia from March 6–12, 2006...
dance team to win the Olympic gold medal, the first pair to win the gold on an Olympic debut, and the first team to win the Olympic gold on home ice.
- Kim Yu-Na's gold medal at the ladies' event is South Korea's first medal at the Winter Olympics in a sport other than speed skatingSpeed skatingSpeed skating, or speedskating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors race each other in traveling a certain distance on skates. Types of speed skating are long track speed skating, short track speed skating, and marathon speed skating...
or short trackShort trackShort track is a phrase with several meanings:* Short track motor racing, motor racing conducted on a track less than one mile in length* Short track speed skating, a form of competitive ice skating similar to speed skating...
.
- In the ladies' singles event, Kim Yu-Na (KOR) set a new World recordISU Judging SystemThe ISU Judging System , is the scoring system on the event and on the level of competition. At the senior international level, single and pairs short programs contain eight technical elements. The actual eight elements are detailed for single skaters in ISU rule 310...
of 78.50 for the short program. She also set a new world record of 150.06 points for the free skate and another world record for the combined total of 228.56 points.
- Mao AsadaMao Asadais a Japanese figure skater.She is the 2010 Winter Olympic silver medalist, the 2008 & 2010 World champion, the 2008 & 2010 Four Continents champion, a two-time Grand Prix Final champion, the 2005 World Junior champion, the 2004–2005 Junior Grand Prix Final champion and a four-time Japanese...
(JPN) became the first lady to land a triple axel in an Olympic short program, and landed three of them throughout the competition.
- Daisuke TakahashiDaisuke Takahashiis a Japanese figure skater, notable as the 2010 Olympic bronze medalist, the 2010 World Champion, the 2007 World silver medalist, a two-time Four Continents Champion, and a four-time Japanese national champion....
's bronze medal is the first Olympic medal for Japan in the men's event.
Medal table
| 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | |
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Total | 4 | 4 | 4 | 12 |
Events
| Men's singles |
|||
| Ladies' singles |
|||
| Pair skating |
|||
| Ice dancing |
Competition Schedule
All times are Pacific Standard TimePacific Time Zone
The Pacific Time Zone observes standard time by subtracting eight hours from Coordinated Universal Time . The clock time in this zone is based on the mean solar time of the 120th meridian west of the Greenwich Observatory. During daylight saving time, its time offset is UTC-7.In the United States...
(UTC-8
UTC-8
UTC−08:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of −08. This time is used in:-As standard time :*Canada**Northwest Territories***Tungsten and the associated Cantung Mine*Mexico...
).
| Day | Date | Start Time | End Time | Event | Segment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day 3 | Sunday, February 14 | 16:30 | 19:55 | Pairs | Short Program |
| Day 4 | Monday, February 15 | 17:00 | 20:55 | Pairs | Free Skating |
| Day 5 | Tuesday, February 16 | 16:15 | 20:45 | Men | Short Program |
| Day 7 | Thursday, February 18 | 17:00 | 21:05 | Men | Free Skating |
| Day 8 | Friday, February 19 | 16:45 | 20:05 | Ice Dancing | Compulsory Dance |
| Day 10 | Sunday, February 21 | 16:15 | 19:45 | Ice Dancing | Original Dance |
| Day 11 | Monday, February 22 | 16:45 | 20:55 | Ice Dancing | Free Dance |
| Day 12 | Tuesday, February 23 | 16:30 | 21:00 | Ladies | Short Program |
| Day 14 | Thursday, February 25 | 17:00 | 20:55 | Ladies | Free Skating |
| Day 16 | Saturday, February 27 | 16:30 | 19:00 | Exhibition Gala | |
Skater Eligibility
Skaters must be older than fifteen as of July 1, 2009 and must be a citizen of the country they represent to be eligible for the Olympic Games. Unlike qualification rules for International Skating UnionInternational Skating Union
The International Skating Union is the international governing body for competitive ice skating disciplines, including figure skating, synchronized skating, speed skating, and short track speed skating. It was founded in Scheveningen, Netherlands in 1892, making it one of the oldest international...
events, in the case of a pair or ice dancing team, both skaters must be citizens of the country they represent in competition. In addition, International Olympic Committee
International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee is an international corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president...
rules requires that at least three years have passed since the competitor last represented another country in competition.
Skater Qualification
There is no individual athlete qualification to the Olympics; the choice of which athlete(s) to send to the Games is at the discretion of each country's National Olympic CommitteeNational Olympic Committee
National Olympic Committees are the national constituents of the worldwide Olympic movement. Subject to the controls of the International Olympic Committee, they are responsible for organizing their people's participation in the Olympic Games...
.
Country Qualification
The number of entries for the figure skating events at the Olympic Games was limited by a quota set by the International Olympic CommitteeInternational Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee is an international corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president...
. There will be 30 skaters in the disciplines of ladies and men's singles, 20 pair teams, and 24 ice dancing teams.
Countries may qualify entries to the 2010 Winter Olympics in two ways. The host country, if it has not already qualified an entry in an event, is given one entry.
The majority of the country qualification occurred at the 2009 World Figure Skating Championships
2009 World Figure Skating Championships
The 2009 World Figure Skating Championships were the World Figure Skating Championships for the 2008–2009 season. Commonly called "Worlds", they are an annual figure skating competition in which elite figure skaters compete for the title of World Champion...
. At the World Championships, countries qualified up to 3 entries in each discipline. The number of multiple entries was the same as usual for the World Championships and countries who earned multiple spots to the Olympics also earned multiple spots to the 2010 World Figure Skating Championships
2010 World Figure Skating Championships
The 2010 World Figure Skating Championships were the World Figure Skating Championships for the 2009–2010 season. Commonly called "Worlds", they are an annual figure skating competition in which elite figure skaters compete for the title of World Champion...
.
Every discipline qualified separately.
The multiple spots qualification to the Olympics from the World Championships was as follows:
| Number of skaters/teams entered at Worlds |
To earn 3 entries to the Olympics |
To earn 2 entries to the Olympics |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Place in the top 2 | Place in the top 10 |
| 2 | Total placement score is equal to or less than 13 | Total placement score is equal to or less than 28 |
| 3 | Top two placement score is equal to or less than 13 | Top two placement score is equal to or less than 28 |
Placement score did not directly correlate to the placement rank. In ice dancing, if a couple did not qualify to the original dance from the compulsories, they were assigned 20 points. If an ice dance couple did not qualify to the free dance, or if a singles skater or pair team did not qualify for the free skate, they were assigned 18 points. If a skater or team competed in the free skate or free dance and placed lower than 16, they were assigned 16 points. For those placing above 16th, the placement rank is the same as the placement score.
The results of the 2009 World Championships determined 83 total spots: 24 entries in each singles discipline, 16 in pairs, and 19 in ice dancing. The available spots were awarded going down the results list, with the multiple spots being awarded first.
The remainder of the spots were filled at the 2009 Nebelhorn Trophy
2009 Nebelhorn Trophy
The 2009 Nebelhorn Trophy was the Nebelhorn Trophy figure skating competition of the 2009-2010 figure skating season. It served as the final Olympic qualifier to the 2010 Winter Olympics. Skaters competed in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies singles, pair skating, and ice dancing.The event...
, held in the fall of 2009. Countries who have already earned an entry to the Olympics were not allowed to qualify more entries at this final qualifying competition.
If a country declined to use one or more of its spots, the vacated spot was awarded based on the results of the Nebelhorn Trophy.
External links
See Also
- Quadruple jump controversyQuadruple jump controversyAt the 2010 Winter Olympics held in Vancouver, Canada, the final results of the men’s skating competition sparked what many have dubbed a quad controversy....