Figure Skating in 1908: Grade of execution · 477

Four minutes to launch quadruple jumps off a four-millimetre blade and make it look like music. International Skating Union, founded at Scheveningen in 1892 — the oldest international winter-sport federation 1908 London Summer Games — the first winter sport ever contested at an Olympics

Men's singles, women's singles, pairs and ice dance, plus a team event added at Sochi 2014 ISU Judging System since 2004: base value plus a grade of execution from -5 to +5, plus program components Toe loop, Salchow, loop, flip, Lutz and Axel — the Axel alone takes off facing forward

Ten each: Ulrich Salchow (men, 1901-1911), Sonja Henie (women, 1927-1936), Irina Rodnina (pairs, 1969-1978) Figure skating is the only Olympic sport judged on both what the body can do and what it can say. A skater has between two minutes forty seconds and four minutes to launch multi-rotation jumps off a blade about four millimetres wide, spin fast enough to blur, and hold a musical argument together while doing it. The International Skating Union, founded at Scheveningen in 1892 and the oldest winter-sport federation in the world, governs four Olympic disciplines — men's and women's singles, pair skating and ice dance — plus a team event added at Sochi in 2014.