BEGINNINGS Alina Zagitova skated to center ice at the 2018 Olympics The Russian skater was only 15 years old But she was ready to show what the next generation of Russian skaters had in store for the world Zagitova’s movements matched her upbeat music as she hopped and twirled across the ice Then the music changed It was slower Zagitova began a series of jumps As her toe pick dug into the ice she gracefully leapt into the air She tucked her arms in and spun She landed Alina Zagitova displayed balletic grace while sewing up the Olympic gold medal 5 CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 1
seven triple jumps For triple jumps skaters spin three times in the air Big jumps like triples are harder to land at the end of a routine when skaters are tired But Zagitova showed she had plenty of energy Her difficult routine earned her an Olympic gold medal Many legendary skaters SKATING FIGURES Before skaters leapt and spun in competitions they traced shapes on the ice with their skates This was called skating figures This practice is how figure skating got its name Tracing figures was part of competitions until 1990 Today competitions include a short program and a longer free skate paved the way for Zagitova One of the first big stars was Sonja Henie She competed for Norway in the 1924 Olympics when she was only 11 years old Henie placed last But she did not give up She attended the next three Sonja Henie trains in Germany before the 1936 Winter Olympics 7
