Figure Skating in the Olympics
Figure skating made it first appearance in the Olympics in 1908, which was the fourth modern Olympics ever held. Europeans dominated the sport, earning nearly all medals awarded in the years following its establishment. European still dominant in the figure skating world today, but not nearly as much so as they used to. Ice skating became a permanent sport in the Olympics in 1924. In 1928 Sonja Henie debuted as an eleven year old. She won her first gold in the Woman's Singles event, thereafter she won two more consecutive gold medals and currently still holds the world record for most consecutive medals in the Woman's Singles event. The 1950's were full of many of the greatest male skaters the sport had witnessed. Among these men were Dick Button and the Jenkins brothers.
The 1976 Olympics introduced for the first time Ice Dance. Ice Dance looks as if the paired skater are ballroom dancing, while regular pair skaters have to exhibit the jumping and lift skills. The Olympics just added a new event to figure skating called team skating. Essentially team skating combines scores from competitors competing in the normal ice skating events to determine which country has the best overall figure skaters. Figure skating is constantly developing and making changes as time progresses. Olympic figure skating may even entail synchronized team skating in the future, where 12-18 skaters will skate synchronized on the ice together.