JUMP HEIGHT IN LADIES SINGLE FIGURE SKATING IN THE 18TH WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES IN NAGANO 1998

Abstract

As a part of the IOC Olympic Biomechanics Research Projects conducted at the 1998 Nagano Olympic Winter Games, jump height was examined for the free program session of ladies single figure skating. Jump height varied according to the number of rotations and the type of jump. Jumps using toe-picks, such as Lutz, Flip and Toe-Loop tended to be higher than jumps involving a swinging free leg style such as the Axel, Loop and Salchow. There was no remarkable difference for the maximum jumping height among groups with different competition ranking. Though jump height tended to decrease in the latter half of the performance, the decrease was smaller in skaters with a higher standing in the competition.